Game Crazy & Public Libraries


The John Steinbeck Library (Salinas, CA) offers gaming seven days a week. Our Young Adult lounge has a 52 inch LCD TV for games and movies. We are currently running the X-box 360 and Nintendo Wii gaming systems.

There are many challenges to running a gaming program every day of the week. One of the challenges is keeping the program fresh. You need new games and frequent contests!

Salinas Public Library does NOT have the the money to buy new games or the staff to run contests (these can be a real pain). This is why I decided to see if our local gaming store (Game Crazy) would like to help us out. I dropped by and spoke with the store manager.

He was stoked! He offered to let us borrow a new game every week. He also offered to do gaming tournaments at the library. They actually bring in their own equipment, lead the event and give out prizes. How great is this company!

I look forward to seeing how this new library partnership with Game Crazy plays out... I'll try to keep you posted.

P.S. Starting the gaming program at Salinas Public Library has been a learning experience. I am willing to share what I have learned. If you have specific questions please feel free to email me... bjornthelibrarian@gmail.com

 

posted by BJORN THE LIBRARIAN on 2:27 PM under , , ,

Online Photo Sharing

One of my passions is online photo sharing. During my Fall 2007 internship with San Jose Public Library I developed and delivered a class on this topic. Brian Herzog (The Swiss Army Librarian) is an avid Flickr user. He is even one of my Flickr Contacts. Brian has posted an outline on the topic of online photo sharing. Click HERE to check it out!

This introductory video he uses caught my eye. Beginning a technology instruction session with a simple video is a good idea. Give it a play!




From: http://www.commoncraft.com/photosharing

 

posted by BJORN THE LIBRARIAN on 2:35 PM under , ,

Teen Tech Week

When: March 2-8th, 2008

What: Now in its second year, Teen Tech Week is a national initiative aimed at teens, their parents, educators and other concerned adults with a general theme of competence and ethical uses of technologies, especially those that are offered through libraries.

Why: This is your opportunity to recognize the teen customers and show them some love! YALSA’s Teen Tech Week committee has come up with a list of 25 things teens can do for Teen Tech Week... [click here to view]

YALSA's list of suggestions is not great, but can be a helpful starting point for generating ideas. I would also suggest:

  1. Creating a book/video display related to the technology theme
  2. Giving a brief presentation about creative commons
  3. Presenting a hot Web 2.0 application
  4. Engaging frequent conversation/questions about people's favorite technologies

 

posted by BJORN THE LIBRARIAN on 3:05 PM under

Gaming In Libraries?

flickr photo by mpdflickr photo by mpd
Thanks to Jenny (the shifted librarian) for her continued coverage on gaming in libraries. She has posted this great article about a library that allowed their users to dance off their library fines. This idea is inspiring!

I'm not really a gamer, but I have to admit that some of today's video games are truly amazing. Establishing the presence of video games in the library could be very positive.

Can you see their faces pucker? Who's face? Just about anybody who believes in the "good old fashioned" library. You know, the traditional library that's quite and and smells like musty books... (I admit, I like that smell).

Why is the idea of video games in the library so remarkable? It could be completely normal and natural. Kids hang-out at the library and they like video games. I am very excited to see librarians taking the initiative to make libraries a fun and interactive place for teens to hang-out. Kudos!

Check out the following article about gaming and storytelling: Readers should get game-literate By Alastair Harper

 

posted by BJORN THE LIBRARIAN on 2:41 PM under ,

Blogs + Programs

On Thursday, Nov. 8th, I gave a 15 minute presentation at the monthly adult services meeting for SJPL. The presentation was about combining blogs with library programs and covered the history and uses of blogs. I also demonstrated an example of using blogs to teach technology classes. The crowd response and questions indicated that the presentation was well received. The following is an outline I used...

I. BLOGS = Personal Homepage
General Advantages

  1. Free
  2. Easy
  3. User-Friendly Interface
  4. Interactive
Why use Blogs + Programs
  1. Visual Compliment (like Power Point)
  2. Extra Info (links and media)
  3. Reinforce the Experience (revisit anytime)
II. WEB ACTIVE (http://webactive-photos.blogspot.com)
  1. Purpose
  2. Growth Potential
  3. Outline Program Activities
  4. Extra Resources
  5. Comments
III. CONSIDERATIONS
  1. Collaboration
  2. Consistency
  3. Creativity
  4. Evaluation

 

posted by BJORN THE LIBRARIAN on 4:12 PM under , ,

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