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librarymafia
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Posts by librarymafia
Gaming Reader’s Advisory SMACKDOWN
41 year ago
Calling all 8bit contributors and readers – time for some friendly competition! Working together, we can compile an awesome list of Reader’s Advisory recommendations based on our favorite games. Here’s how to play!
Leave a comment on this post with the following info:
- First, the game you’re using as a jumping off point. You can use console, PC, MMORPG, board games – whatever floats your boat – and give us a few words about why you love it.
- Then, three recommendations based on #1 – a book, a movie, and another game. Also, a quick explanation for why you chose each.
Next – the friendly competition part! Others will reply to your post giving your RA a score, out of a total 15 possible – 5 for synergy (“Those recommendations TOTALLY work together!”), 5 for originality (“Dude, I NEVER would have thought of that!”), and 5 for pure AWESOME (“OMGWTFBBQ, I need to go get those RIGHT NOW!!!”).
Winner gets eternal 8bit glory. All participants benefit from each other’s kickass ideas.
Let’s do this!! And I’ll go first…
Zombies @ your library
62 years ago
In case you haven’t noticed, zombies are so hot right now. In movies and books, in flash mobs and on college campuses, even in social networking, they’re everywhere — shouldn’t they be @ your library, too? Gaming is a great way to bring them there!
Zombies have an incredibly rich history in video games, reaching all the way back to Zombie Zombie on the ZX Spectrum in 1984. Some of today’s hottest titles are zombie related, like Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2, the Resident Evil series, the House of the Dead series, Dead Rising and its sequel, Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse – Nazi zombies even make an appearance in Call of Duty: World at War. Zombies show up in other types of games as well – they appear in Magic: The Gathering, D&D, and even in board games.
As I’ve discussed before, video games are a great Reader’s Advisory tool – why not use a zombie gaming night to introduce patrons to other zombie-themed materials they might enjoy? Maybe someone who’s never picked up a graphic novel could be enticed by a copy of The Walking Dead. A DVD display could spotlight the original Romero archetypes, feature some campy classics and introduce a few exciting new takes on the genre. Zombies are running rampant in fiction these days – I’m sure you already have a few copies of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies on hand – so you could assemble a veritable smorgasbord of undead delights (my favorites are those by Max Brooks, Z.A. Recht and Jonathan Maberry). Zombie fiction is an excellent gateway to the larger world of horror writing, so you might want to add a few non-zombie titles as well to see if you can pique some interest.
The undead are everywhere these days — don’t miss the opportunity to bring them into the library as well!
Broadening the Experience: Games as Readers’ Advisory
72 years ago
I was inspired by Liz Danforth’s article and Justin’s response — how can we as librarians broaden the experience of gaming for our patrons, and empower them to connect their passion for games with other things that might interest them? Liz had some great suggestions (I’m particularly intrigued by World of Warcraft and Philosophy), one of which was to pull books from the shelves to put out during gaming events. This idea, coupled with the “Like this? Try this” concept that Amazon and Netflix have used to great success with their recommendations, led me here:
Bioshock is one of my favorite games, so I thought I’d use it as a jumping-off point. What books would I suggest for someone who enjoyed the game? Well, Atlas Shrugged is a natural choice, as it was one of the primary inspirations behind the game. But Chuck Palahniuk‘s books also might be of interest — they’re edgy and violent, and have some amazing and unexpected twists, so it’s the narrative structure that’s the tie-in here. Fight Club and Choke are both excellent, with great movie adaptations.
Speaking of movies, what about suggestions for them? Visually, Bioshock gives us a lot to work with — Metropolis is a classic that also inspired the makers of the game, and City of Lost Children has some of the same thematic elements, as well as a dark, fantastic steampunk setting where Big Daddies would fit right in.
But “broadening the experience” doesn’t mean we have to leave out other games — as Craig’s last post illustrates, games are evolving past button-mashing to become rich, immersive story experiences. Craig gives some great suggestions of other story-rich games that Bioshock fans might enjoy. In terms of gameplay, Dead Space covers a lot of similar ground, and has the same dark, ominous feel that Bioshock cultivates so well. An older but extremely well-received game that combines the dystopian theme with role-play and first-person shooter elements is Deus Ex (and its sequel, Deus Ex: Invisible War).
Any popular game could be a starting point for a display or recommendation list. Try it — what would you recommend for someone who loves Modern Warfare 2, Mass Effect or Assassin’s Creed?
IRL: Gaming at the Newport Beach Public Library
02 years ago
Reference Librarian Allen Kesinger is such an avid gamer, he has a Vault-Tec bobble head keeping watch over his cubicle. That alone was enough to make him my personal hero, but there’s another, even more important reason why I admire him: Kesinger brought gaming to the Newport Beach Public Library.
In early 2009, Kesinger went to his library’s board with a proposal for a pilot program to add games to the library’s collection. He had done his homework, checking out what other libraries were doing with gaming, and he made his case: gaming has a wide audience, and bringing games to the library would add value for patrons. Gaming’s not just for kids anymore – just ask Jack Davis, the 86 year old man who rolled 40 perfect games in Wii bowling.
The board gave Kesinger a $1,500 budget to get started, which he used to purchase 40 games for the top 3 platforms: PS3, Xbox360 and Wii. As the games could only be rented by patrons 18 and over, Kesinger included popular rated M games, basing his first purchases on his own personal collection. The games were an immediate hit, and now that the program has proven itself, the board has approved a budget increase, which Kesinger plans to invest mostly in Wii games, the library’s most popular titles.
In addition to lending games, the NBPL has hosted several gaming events. They held their first event in March of 2009 in honor of Teen Tech Week, and have since held another “study break” game night. Their next event will be an intergenerational game night, a “bring your parents” evening where old school games will have a place of honor right beside the newer titles.
Kesinger has big dreams for gaming at the NBPL. He hopes to grow the collection enough to earn its own shelf space, eventually adding PC and Nintendo DS games, and someday even making DS consoles available for check-out on weekends. He even imagines LAN parties on the library’s 30 internet access computers, with dozens of gamers settling in for an evening of WoW, Call of Duty or Left 4 Dead. I hope he makes it happen – because when he does, I will be there!
Here are a few of Kesinger’s tips for librarians looking to start a gaming program at their library:
- Talk to your staff – you might find some “closet” gamers who would be interested in helping and could make some great suggestions.
- Use online resources to build your proposal and your collection. The ESA’s website is a great source for statistics on gamers, which can be useful in your pitch to the powers that be. Websites like GameRankings.com can help you figure out what’s popular when the time comes to buy your first games.
- From a collection development standpoint, don’t be afraid to reach out to adult gamers with rated M titles – Kesinger has had great success with them.
- Use comment cards to gauge patrons’ reactions to your game program! Kesinger has had only positive feedback – and requests for more games!—and the comments help him continue to make his case to grow the program.
Allen Kesinger is a Reference Librarian at the Newport Beach Public Library, an SJSU MLIS grad, and an all-around standup guy. You can contact him at akesinger@newportbeach.ca.gov. Thanks so much, Allen!
Do you know a library or librarian doing awesome stuff with gaming IRL? Let us know and we’ll spotlight them here on 8bitlibrary.com!