Since starting the SLIS program, I occasionally stumble across an article about using video games in the library to draw in more users. Initially, this both surprised and intrigued me. Were libraries really doing this? And does it work? I recently did a literature review for my research class on those very questions and the answers appear to be “Yes” and “Probably”.
A pilot study recently found that roughly 40% of public libraries run an in-house gaming program of some kind. If true, that’s far more than I would of guessed. But looking around it seems to be a new wave that’s rapidly catching on. Articles are popping up everywhere, detailing how the libraries got their gaming projects started and what the outcome has been. Every one of these stories I have read has been entirely positive. The patrons, especially the kids, seem to love it and the librarians are having some fun too. Does it help circulation? Well, that depends on who you ask. The anecdotes seem to vary wildly, all the way from “no change” to a “400 percent increase” in young adult materials circulation. Unfortunately, despite the growing enthusiasm for such programs, no studies have yet been published on the outcomes. Still, it’s hard to imagine a downside to this, unless you feel this undermines the purpose of the library.
I could certainly understand someone feeling that way, but I don’t think I would agree. We’re far beyond the stoic intellectual library at this point, in practice at least, if not in image. Videos games fit right in with the fiction section, DVDs, music CDs, audio books, and computer terminals. But perhaps more importantly, video games fit with the library as a community center. If I had to guess, that’s the direction see things going in the public library world. The Internet might be convenient, but it will never really replace meeting up with people face-to-face and having fun talking, playing games, watching movies, doing workshops, and yes, even learning.
- Joe
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2 comments:
We talked about this some in my reference class, too, and I think it was a pretty even split between libraries that did have games & those that didn't. It would be interesting to find out if in those libraries who saw the huge increase in circulation what formats those materials were in - did it increase book circ, or just games, DVDs, CDs, etc.
Last summer I attended ALA's first Gaming, Learning and Libraries Symposium in Chicago. It's fascinating to hear what libraries are doing. I was aware of some of the initiatives public libraries were doing, Charlotte-Mecklenberg, example. It interested me more that even academic libraries see gaming as a way to promote library services and even to deliver instruction. Check one example out at:
http://gaming.techsource.ala.org/index.php/Quarantined:_Axl_Wise_and_the_Information_Outbreak:_Creating_an_Online_Game_to_Teach_Information_Skills
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