Game on!

“The time has come for games to be reintegrated with education, ending a longstanding rift between work and play” writes Diana G. Oblinger in Educause Quarterly, 2006. A statement I agreed with (even though I had never read it) when attempting to teach the workings of Ancient Rome to my Year 7/8 SOSE class in 2007. Why learn boring facts and figures by rote from some well worn textbooks when it was much more fun to play ‘Caesar 3’ instead?! So we did, in spite of flack from certain members of the staff, Administration and parent bodies. But only until the results of the tests came back. Students performed significantly (and I mean SIGNIFICANTLY!!) better – probably due to their enthusiasm and engagement with the topic from an ‘immersed’ perspective. So, gaming in education works. Does this necessarily translate into the Library sphere though?

I guess the question needs more detail. What sort of Library is being referred to – School? Academic? Public? Special? Context will play a big role in determining the answer. It’s my opinion that gaming is more important for Libraries which teenagers could access – the School Library and the Public Library, rather than the Academic or Special.

Meredith Farkas, back in 2007, made a convincing argument: “Within a decade, most of today’s teens will be tax-paying citizens with a say in the future of their libraries. If their experiences as teens lead them to view libraries as irrelevant and obsolete, they may not see them later as a valuable service to spend their tax dollars on… Gaming may be the way to lure them back to libraries” (2007, 211 / 222) Indeed, if her conclusion, “Gaming nights offer teens an activity unlikely to be found elsewhere in the Community” (2007, 231) is true, then it would seem that Gaming in the Library sphere is not just ‘workable’ but also necessary for future survival – of Public Libraries, at least.

Unfortunately, reaching that conclusion and owning that opinion is not the final goal. Gaming in Libraries is a polarising topic, so it’s wise to be prepared to fight for what you believe in. Just like in my SOSE program, there will be flack. There will be nay-sayers. There may even be fearmongerers. So if you believe that Gaming in the Library is worth it? Then treat it as such. Have a ‘Game on!’ attitude to those nay-sayers; work hard to ensure the Gaming Program is a success, then let the results speak for themselves!

Image courtesy Blake Paterson athttp://www.flickr.com/photos/blakespot/2379756675/in/pool-1017777@N20/

“Expand the walls of the Library”

I’ve written some posts recently about the how to make the High School Library more relevant. Re-reading them earlier this morning reminded me of a piece I wrote late in 2010 on the same topic, on my very first (and now inactive) blog. It’s amazing how much of it is still relevant! The blog entry is below…

Text a Librarian? I love this idea. “Expand the walls of the Library”. Especially seeing as the three High Schools I have regular contact with, are all in the process of building beautiful, large new Libraries thanks to PM Julia Gillard’s BER. I didn’t think of this phrase myself though, I nicked it from a promotional comment on Mosio’s Text a Librarian website. But I think it encapsulates the attitude that libraries – all libraries, without exception – need to adopt as we head into a mobile-intensive world. Technology is changing at a rapid pace, and those who want to hold onto the past will be left behind. Back in July, TechCrunch’s MG Siegler started a furore with his prediction that Apple’s new Magic Trackpad signalled the beginning of the end of the mouse. An interesting post, he also referred to the trend of tablets and smartphones replacing desktops. Which is why we, as up-and-coming Librarians, need to be thinking about, and planning for, our patrons and user groups who are already, or will be soon, wanting to use Library services from the convenience of their mobile devices.

The ‘Text a Librarian’ service, powered by Mosio, is one such tool, offering libraries the ability to ‘connect with more patrons on-the-go’. They state: “We manage mobile so you don’t have to” – a line which I’m sure many time-poor librarians would jump at, as the product they offer certainly sounds promising! Within the School Library context, systems such as LibCode already allow for borrowers to be emailed notification of overdue resources, but I wonder how much more effective text messages would be, considering the user group.  Even a number of years ago now,  teenagers saw email as ‘old school’ – just another reminder of quickly the tools are changing, and another strong argument for why we need to keep current awareness with the changing pace of technology!

So, no longer should the phrase ‘mobile libraries’ conjure up images of large  buses or trucks. Instead, we need to be in the same space as our users, offering them the services they need, where they need it. Let’s expand the walls of our libraries – right into the palms of our patrons’ hands.

CC Image “Text a Librarian Booth at ALA Midwinter” courtesy noelieo at http://www.flickr.com/photos/41993437@N00/3687133143/

Does your Library wiki?

Source: thefrugalgirl.com via Danetta on Pinterest

I just don’t get why wikis aren’t more popular. As a student completing my Masters in IT, I used them to collaborate with others in the creation of documents. As a teacher, I used wikis to create websites with my classes. And who hasn’t used Wikipedia as the starting place for research?

It seems as though Libraries are a little slow on the uptake of wikis, though. Which is sad, as they can be so useful. Just as Wikipedia is the world’s starting place for research, why shouldn’t a wiki in your School Library be the same sort of starting place for your patrons?

Take “The Children’s Series Binder“, for example. Created by staff members at the Webster Pubic Library, it is a shining example of how excellent a wiki can be for a Library. It looks and feels like Wikipedia, but has narrowed down the overwhelming content of the internet as a whole into the bite-size chunks of Children’s Book Series information.

Administratively, I believe it works well as a wiki – there are far more views than there are edits (1.63 average edits per page, and 132.75 views per edit). Unlike the content of Wikipedia, content in The Children’s Series Binder is less likely to change; it is more likely to be added to, rather than changed. And I can fully understand why ‘users from all over the globe’ help to maintain it – now that I’ve discovered it, I’ll be joining their ranks! One of its best features is a well-maintained ‘External Links’ section for each entry I looked at. What easier way to access sites I want to visit with my kids!

Successful? Hands down. I’m going back. I have a feeling I’ll need their bite-size chunks of goodness for ideas to use with my own children the next rainy weekend we have. So what are your thoughts? Besides wikipedia, what other wikis do you use?