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Posts tagged games
Video Game Collection Development (UPDATE!)
310 months ago
Video Game Collection Development 101
VERSION 2
Much thanks to Alex Lent for giving us the nudge to update this post!
1. Start small
I still stand by this idea 100%. You don’t have to go for broke with your new collection. I recently had a great conversation with Devin Burritt of the Jackson Memorial Library about starting up a video game collection. He made it happen at his library recently and started off with a small collection of Wii titles aimed at all ages. By keeping things small at the start, you will understand how your collection is being used by your patrons. With this information, you can continue to build your collection and have it guided by patron input. Which brings me to my second point…
2. Know your audience
Who will be playing these games? Your patrons. As fun as it is to buy video games, you have to put aside your personal preferences. Sure, I really dug Elite Beat Agents but you know what? My patrons didn’t. It’s one of the few games that constantly stays on the shelves here at my library. What did I learn from this? Don’t trust my gut reaction when purchasing games. Instead, TALK to your patrons when they’re browsing your game collection. Notice what they’re checking out. Heck, just simply ASK them what they want!
3. Plan ahead
You have to have a plan for your collection. Are you going to collect games for systems that are no longer supported by companies? Are you going to invest in the newest video game systems even though there is a chance they may not take off? Once again, gauging your patrons interests is key to planning ahead. At my library, we recently received a donation of Nintendo Gamecube and Playstation 1 and 2 games. I decided to add them into the collection just to see what people would think. It turns out that they circulate like mad and now I have people asking me to get a bigger selection of older titles. I’ve even had to submit an interlibrary loan request for a title I couldn’t find in print anywhere.
4. Gamer’s Advisory
Over the past year, I’ve found the topic of what I’m calling Gamer’s Advisory key to making a video game collection work in your library. Sure, you will most likely have a rabid set of patrons that will check out your games, but the collection only really starts to show its true worth when you can add recommendations (not just for other games, but for other materials and experiences the library can offer). Keep the patrons coming back for more at the library. Turn the avid gamers onto something that else that they may not have tried in the past.
5. It’s not just about lending physical items out
I’m a big fan of this topic. Libraries are struggling to grasp how to circulate electronic materials in the library. This is cause for some concern, but at the same time it opens up a new door for us. Instead of lending out items, create experiences. Give the patrons something they cannot get elsewhere. I bring up the example of the local Portland, ME store The Fun Box Monster Emporium. They’ve got a row of awesome pinball machines in their store that their customers can play. Why can’t libraries do something like this? Invest in some gaming tools that will give patrons gaming experiences that they can’t get everyday at the local video game store. Personally, I want to buy a Pac Man arcade machine for my teen lounge.
Instruction Manuals
211 months ago
I am a fan of instruction manuals. They’re usually the first thing I check out when I buy a new video game. I have so many fond memories of going to my local mall and into Babbage’s to buy whatever NES and Sega Genesis tickled my fancy. After the purchase, I’d hoof it over to the food court and scarf down some bad (actually, good) fast food while perusing the instruction manual.
But oh, times have changed. The internet gives us all the information the instruction manual and more. I’m finding out through lending out games that many times the instruction manuals just don’t come back. What do libraries do after that? Do we shell out money for a new copy of the booklet and make an already pricey item even pricier?
That’s where I turn to http://www.gamefaqs.com. Basically, it’s like a library for video game FAQ’s, cheats, instructions, and more. I simply find a decent FAQ for the game with the missing instruction booklet, and print a sticker with the link on it and place it in the circulating game. If a patron needs the instruction manual, they could follow the link to the GameFAQs site to find their information. Maybe when QR codes catch on in the world (have they? They seem like a novelty to me) putting QR code links to the online Game FAQ’s will be the way to go.
Do you have any methods you use for replacing lost instruction booklets? Do you think games should still come with instruction manuals?
Most downloaded iPhone app Bubble Ball created at a public library
21 year ago
From John Kirriemuir over at his most excellent blog Use Libraries and Learn Stuff:
Where do you go to find help and information that enables you to make a game which is downloaded over two million times in two weeks, gets rave reviews and becomes more popular than Angry Birds?
When you are 14 years old.
The public library, of course. In this particular case, Spanish Fork Public Library in Utah.
“Get Your Game Face On” via At Your Library
01 year ago
Click on the picture to be taken to the full article
Check out this awesome article by Rebecca Walden on gaming in libraries over at At Your Library. It features two 8BitLibrarians, myself and resident author Eli Neiburger talking about gaming in their own libraries.
The Importance of Play
11 year ago
My son Finn exploring "The Legendary Starfy" on the Nintendo DS.
From such an early age, we’re taught the importance of play. In their publication titled The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds, the American Academy of Pediatrics stresses the importance of play for young children.
Play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth.
I couldn’t agree with them more. In watching my son Finn grow over the past year and a half, I have seen how his playing with toys, dirt, sticks, pots, pans, and more have helped him develop his personality and skills. Through playing with pots, pans, and spatulas, the kid now has the motor skills to do very specific and focused tasks. I remember back to when he was 6 months old and how he was nothing more than a little blob that crawled around a bit and screamed for his mom’s breastmilk and think, “holy shit, play is really like his third parent.” It’s taught him so much.
However, I don’t fully agree with the American Academy of Pediatrics. They go on to talk about the decrease of free play in our society and how the “routine” of childhood has changed. One of their key factors as to why free play in childhood has changed has to do with, yup, video games:
The decrease in free play can also be explained by children being passively entertained through television or computer/video games. In sharp contrast to the health benefits of active, creative play and the known developmental benefits of an appropriate level of organized activities, there is ample evidence that this passive entertainment is not protective and, in fact, has some harmful effects.
Really? Call me a hippie, but I think video games are just a new form of free play and it’s about time we quit labeling them as something negative in regards to childhood. As someone who grew up on video games and turned out alright, I’m walking proof that video games are not as detrimental as we like to think they are.
Video games expanded my mind as a child. I would spend part of my days exploring the vast world of Hyrule as Link, scaling Death Mountain, collecting fairies, and exploring dungeons. The other part of my day was playing in the woods, discovering nature, and dreaming that this was my own Hyrule. It was a great childhood and I often look forward to the days where my son and I can enjoy life and explore both the real and virtual world together in the same way that I did.
Recently, my son Finn and I began experimenting with the Nintendo DS game The Legendary Starfy. A simple 2-D side scrolling game that features a star named Starfy as the main character, I got absorbed into this title not only because the simplicity and fun of the game but I also identified it as a good title to use to introduce the world of video games to Finn. He took to it quickly, at first because Starfy is as cute as hell and really, who can resist him? After Finn got the hang of the controls (and by hang, I mean he figured out that the buttons made Starfy do cool things like walk and spin), that’s where the fun began. I saw Finn moving Starfy left and right and use the buttons to make Starfy spin and interact with the bubbles around him. There was a giggle and a smile. Finn was not only enjoying the title, but he was picking up a new skill: “Hey, if I do this, it makes this star do cool things! What else can I do?” His focused changed and grew the longer he played the game. He explored the other elements of the game. He interacted with other characters on the screen. He pushed more buttons. One of the best moments came when he realized that the start button pauses the game and changes the screen to a giant, hopping Starfy. He looked at me and smiled. It’s as if he has found the holy grail of video games. And he did it all by himself. With this in mind, I ask you to recall the quote that I used to open up this post: “play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth.” Heck yes it is. I saw my son grow and learn before my eyes all because of a giant star named Starfy on the Nintendo DS.
The key is balance. The American Academy of Pediatrics report talks a lot about balance, but at no point does it mention that a balance between virtual play and free play being an essential element towards having a healthy child. Instead, it gives video games the brand that they’ve been long marked with: mind numbing technology that will turn your child into a blob who can’t identify with society. Balance between different types of play (not just video games and free play) contributes to a healthy child, one who will develop the necessary cognitive, physical, social, and emotional they need to face the 21st century world.
In closing, I’d like to ask this: As librarians, we’re dealing with the public day in and day out. One of the great opportunities we have is the chance to educate our communities. How can we move forward towards a world where all forms of play are seen on a balanced level? It goes back to
the idea of Gamer’s Advisory that I had a few days ago. What types of programs and initiatives can we come up with to show the world the importance of many different types of play?—-
- You can find the publication The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds here.
- Read more about The Legendary Starfy here
- Thanks to The Unquiet Librarian and the Libraries and Transliteracy blog for helping me think outside the box about education and learning.