6 months ago i would have said “it’s the gaming-in-libraries blog”! And I’m not, 6 months later, saying that statement is wrong. But we’re about a bigger issue, and that is: “we’re the #makeithappen blog“.

In libraries, #makeithappen is a taking new exciting ideas and seeing them through to the end. It’s the blog about all the really cool new stuff people are actually doing in libraries.

I had the opportunity to watch the Joaquim Phoenix movie I’m Still Here thanks to the Netflix instant queue. It was a great documentary about Joachim trying to become a Hip-Hop star. I won’t give spoilers, but the end, to say the least, “leaves you wondering”.

Tonight, again because of the Netflix Instant Queue on Xbox, I got to see the 1998 documentary Wrestling with Shadows, which ultimately chronicles the end of Bret Hitman Hart’s WWF career, with the Montreal Screwjob being the crux of the story. Everyone KNOWS wrestling is scripted, and the movie takes you through the process of how wrestling IS scripted. However, the end of the movie is the story of a script gone wrong, where the person who was supposed to win was “screwed”. In the 90s wrestling era, this was a defining moment of “OMG, wrestling can be REAL sometimes!!!”.

When the movie started, I felt that the fact that a documentary was being recorded at the convenient moment when the ultimate wrestling “real” outcome (vs the usual fake wrestling) was proof that even at the time wrestling was “real”, it was also an elaborate hoax.

I suggested to my wife that this would be a great program for a library (like a book discussion, but with movies instead of books). Show both movies and have people discuss the fictional and the factual elements of both, and maybe try to decide which told a better fictional but factual story.

My wife said “this doesn’t belong in libraries“. There’s lots of dicks, boobs, balls, sex, and drug use in the Joachim movie after all, and the wrestling movie was full of violence: everything we love to censor.

I thought back to all the books I have read since becoming a librarian. Lots worse violence. Way more sex and drug use. Much more graphic violence. They are making a MOVIE out of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, after all! As an aside, that book was set right in the same historical period as the Montreal Screwjob.

I said to myself: WHY is it ok to have certain forms of “inappropriate” expression in books but not movies? Why do we treat some forms of media as sacred, and other forms as dirty?

This, of course, is also what 8bitlibrary.com is about. We believe that storytelling media shouldn’t be judged just because it is presented in a certain media format and not another.

And so, I ask, how have libraries dealt with “controversial” content in one form of media that is less-controversial in other forms? We already know that some library board in the middle of nowhere decided to ban their library from showing the Michael Moore movie Sicko just because they didn’t agree with the argument the movie made. I’m sure they already own books that make similar arguments, and no one cares. Cranky Kong, Donkey Kong’s grandfather, would probably applaud their ban.

So, should libraries ban content in some formats and not others? And, do you feel like 8bitlibrary.com is just a “gaming blog”, or do you feel like we talk about gaming so much because we are touching on an issue that is really relevant to current libraries?

I wrote an article in January 2011′s School Library Journal along with 8bitlibrary.com contributor Beth Gallaway on the USA Supreme Court Case on First Amendment Rights and how they apply to video game content (vs, say, the same content in a Bugs Bunny cartoon). Same issue, different media format.

I would really love to get a convo going, either here, on twitter, or on facebook, about what you think!!!

Thanks for reading, true believers.

#makeithappen!

Guess what? We’re starting a Comic Book and Graphic Novel Member Interest Group in the American Library Association! Robin Brenner, Creator and Editor-in-Chief of www.noflyingnotights.com & I will be co-conveners, with the fab Tina Coleman serving as our ALA Staff Liaison.

BUT WAIT! Before we can make it happen, a

“Petition to Establish a Comic Book and Graphic Novel Member Initiative Group
in the American Library Association”

must go before the ALA’s Committee On Organization (COO) to be voted on and approved. We need 100 signatures on that petition. Would you kindly help us get them?

Enclosed in this post is the petition and the statement of purpose for the newly proposed group. If you are an ALA member-in-good-standing (i.e., you’ve paid your membership dues) and you’d like to sign your name to the petition, please fill out this info. An automated email will be sent to my email box and will serve as your digital signature.
Thanks so much, and please help us spread the word by posting / tweeting this link: 8bitlibrary.com/?p=2101

And here’s what you are agreeing to when you email me:

Petition to Establish a Comic Book and Graphic Novel Member Initiative Group
in the American Library Association

To the Committee On Organization (COO)

We, the undersigned members in good standing of the American Library Association, ask that the Committee On Organization approve the establishment of a Member Initiative Group (MIG) concerned with comic books and graphic novels in libraries, pursuant to ALA policy and refer to Council the following “statement of purpose” for the MIG,

“To provide a method for engagement and networking among ALA members interested in comic books and graphic novels. To collaborate with ALA units to support the inclusion of comic books and graphic novels in library initiatives and programs across the Association. To advocate for wider incorporation and acceptance by the profession and the Association for comic books and graphic novels in library services, programming, and collections. This group is open to all members, and encourages participation from members from all library types and members who serve various library user demographics.”

IF YOU AGREE to this, please click here to email me!

Thanks errbody. – J2theP

http://blog.8bitlibrary.com/sign-the-petition/

NJ has a truly great library community.

*************************************************************************************************
Simple & easy shared library ideas – August 2010

Ways to Engage Patrons
Front Desk Raffle
Run a fun contest at the circ desk every few months (e.g. get a quote from a book, display it and have patrons guess origin of quote. Those who guess correctly are entered into a drawing to win something simple (a gift card to Starbucks, DD, etc)

Raffle Ticket Inside Book
Variation of above, but put a “raffle” ticket inside books so people will be surprised when they find the ticket. (Bestsellers, hot movers, etc). The raffle ticket could even ask people for their opinion of the book.

Summer storytime

Does your town have a pool or a lake? There’s no law that says storytime must always be offered at the library. One library does a special storytime at the pool during the summer.

Book Bingo for the Whole Family

“Join us to play Bingo and win a book! All ages welcome, parents and grandparents too! No registration required.” All you need is some refreshments and some books as prizes (they use donated books so there is no cost aside from the refreshments). This has been very popular – the library who ran this had over 70 people in July.

Adult Summer Reading Program
A librarian writes: Based on this year’s water theme, we expended to the elements in general. We asked people to read a book or watch a DVD concerning the elements. We provided a list of suggestions to get them going. For each title, they fill out an entry slip for a drawing. We’ll do a drawing for some mugs at the end of August.

Teen summer reading program
At Long Hill we run both a teen and an adult summer reading program. For each book the patron reads or listens to, they fill out a raffle ticket. We draw winners weekly, and they win either a mug or a book (we use donated books as prizes). At the end of the summer we have one grand prize teen winner and one grand prize adult winner, each win a $25 gift card to Borders. We also offer the option for the patron to review the book, and we post their reviews on our library blog.

Storytime for Grownups

Because why should kids have all the fun?

Blind Date with a Book

In late January/early February, wrap up some books in brown paper, decorate with Valentine’s Day theme and encourage patrons to choose one to take home. Long Hill did this last year, it was fun and patrons enjoyed the opportunity to check out a book they might not otherwise have chosen.

Happy Holidays from the Library Staff!

Engage the staff by asking them to recommend holiday or winter themed books or DVDs. Then create a bookmark with their recommendations and give it out to library patrons.

Sharing Our Knowledge w/ Patrons
Staff Picks/May We Recommend?
Display backlist titles or staff picks that people may not have had a chance to read, at the front desk. You’d be surprised at how the staff picks fly off the desk. One caveat: pick books that are in good shape with interesting cover art. They are more likely to catch patrons’ interest.

If You Like cards in the stacks near popular authors

“If you like James Patterson you might also like….” these have been very popular at our library, I am happy to share the cards with anyone who wants to use and/or modify them.

Help patrons find their way around Nonfiction with shelf end cards that include not only the Dewey numbers but the subject patrons will find within that Dewey range – e.g 910.202 – 940.54 Geography, Travel, Ancient History or 600 – 618.24 Nutrition & diets, health & medicine

Recent Returns cart
In front of the circ desk, we have a cart where we put recently returned new books. We deliberately put the cart next to the book drop at the desk, because right after people drop off their old set of books is when they’re looking for new stuff to read. It cuts down on shelving, gives people a smaller section of books to browse.

“Bestsellers You Haven’t Read Yet”
Create a new section right next to New Fiction (or even use a folding bookcase or cart in front of the circ desk) with colorful books by big authors (Grisham, Roberts, Patterson, Picoult etc). You could even do a variation on the theme and do a “Best Books You Haven’t Heard Of” or a “Staff Picks” section. Assign someone to keep the display fresh and replenish it when necessary.

Get those oversized books circulating!
A librarian writes: “One thing we do is combine our browsing shelf with two lower shelves, and we choose a selection of oversized books there. Our oversized books tend not to go out as much as the other books, mainly because they are shelved separately. By showcasing them, not only do they go out, but people will go to the oversize shelves more than before.”

Oversized art books
One library I visited has a special set of shelving near the circ desk where they display oversized art books. As soon as they created this special section, the circulation of this type of book skyrocketed.

Summer Reading Lists
Make sure you have printouts of the local schools’ summer reading lists (both required, and recommended), and put them in binders. It may also be nice to post links to the reading lists on your library’s web site. We didn’t have the K – grade 5 recommended reading lists printed out until one of our staff members mentioned that she was getting a lot of requests for them. So I talked to the elementary school librarian and got the lists, then printed them & posted on our website.

Creative use of volunteers
Reading Buddies (teen volunteers)
Teen volunteers come in to read to little kids. Great all year round but especially during the summer when you have all those teens who want to volunteer

Computer Tutors (adult volunteers with computer skills)
Adult volunteers who have computer skills come to the library once a week at a set time, and help whoever comes in with their questions. It’s been very successful at Westwood Library and they’ve gotten great feedback from their patrons.
Another library described a similar program, PC Tutoring. They offer one-on-one computer tutoring to patrons twice a month, on several PC basics.

Better Communication with Patrons
Ask patrons for help in maintaining your collection
Patrons complaining about DVDs, audio CDs not working properly? You can create a simple slip asking patrons “Help us keep our collection in good repair” and including checkmarks where they can indicate what is wrong with the item. Then train staff to look for those checkmarks when an item is returned. And clean/repair item before it is reshelved.

Ask for what you need in your answering machine message
At Long Hill, we noticed that when people left messages for us at the front desk they usually failed to give us the info we needed (e.g. if it was a renewal) or they would be crystal clear in their message up until they told us their last name, which always ended up sounding like “Blarfengar.” So we changed our answering message to say “We’re sorry we missed your call. Please leave a message with your name, and please spell out your last name for us. Provide your phone number and your request. We’ll return your call as soon as we can.” This friendly message that clearly tells them what info we needed from them. It has cut down on the head-scratching we were doing when we checked our messages.

“You don’t have enough mysteries.”
One librarian writes: I met an elderly gentleman at a community event. He told me he stopped using our library because we didn’t have many mysteries. When I asked him for more details I learned that he thought the only mysteries we owned were on the New Book shelves. So now we have a sign on our New Mysteries shelves that says “We have over 7,500 mystery novels and many others available from other libraries at no charge…”

Cheap Advertising/Marketing
Use printable business cards to advertise services. For instance, if you want to promote Reference USA you can print business cards and hand them out to business patrons for them to file in their wallet, where they might actually have a chance of finding it when they need it.

Contact your local newspaper and find out if they have “community blogs.” Long Hill’s local newspaper encouraged us to start a blog with them. We use it to promote library events and what is interesting is that the newspaper staff read our blog, so occasionally they will print an article in the paper about the library even though we didn’t send them a press release – they just take the info from our blog.

At Long Hill we get BookPage book review magazine (for patrons) and we subscribe to the NextReads database (providing 21+ book related email newsletters people can sign up for.) When BookPage comes we put a sticker on it saying “Like what you read here? Sign up for NextReads for even more great recommendations.” To increase use of NextReads newsletters we also created easy sign up sheets and put them all around the library (including in our New Book binder) to encourage people to sign up. (We also use NextReads for our monthly children’s events email newsletter.)

Tax Forms
As you know the State of New Jersey stopped providing tax forms and instructional booklets this year. One of Long Hill’s staff members suggested we print out a couple copies of the instructional booklet, put them in binders and allow patrons to check them out for 7 days. This was a great way for us to serve the patrons

Easy Technology Tools
A librarian writes “We are a small library and only have 4 public Internet computers. We also have a large number of latchkey kids. This summer we decided to implement separate adult and juvenile usage times. Adults get their time on the computers from 10:30 to 12:30 and kids get their time from 2 to 4. Now we don’t have adults complaining about the noisy kids at the computers with them, and can guarantee that kids won’t be bothered by adults during their designated time period.”

Digital frame
You can get a cheap digital frame and put pictures from library events on it. Long Hill has this at our front desk. The kids especially are mesmerized by this – they look for themselves and their friends in the pictures.

We’re happy to announce that libraries can now register for National Gaming Day 2010, which will take place on Saturday, November 13.

Registering will also get your location on the national map we’ll be promoting to both the public and the press. Does your library plan to participate in the national Rock Band and/or Super Smash Bros. Brawl tournaments? Be sure to register so we can work with you ahead of time to get everything in place and tested.

National Gaming Day needs your help!!!

Please visit this link for the full post. Help us help the gaming-in-libraries cause!

Hi, Everyone –

I’m happy to say that we have more international libraries signing up for National Gaming Day this year. Unfortunately, we can’t ship the free donation to them, but they still want to participate (hooray for international libraries!).

Right now, a foreign services librarian with the State Department named Elenita is working with libraries worldwide that are partnering with U.S. embassies. She’s asking for our help to give them ideas for games they can play on NGD (Saturday, November 13).

“I would like to suggest free games that they can find on the Internet to play on NGD. Do you know any paper-based games, such as crossword puzzles or word games for them to try? Anything that is low-tech or no-tech based is preferable. Many participants are learning English as a foreign language.”

Does anyone have suggestions to help with this? TIA!

HAPPY GAMING, 8BITLIBRARIANS.

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.

Released in 1990 as the flagship title for the Super Nintendo, Super Mario World didn’t change how we play video games but it gave the Super Mario Brothers universe some wonderful features that are still featured in the games that we play today.

In particular, two things about Super Mario World stood out to me as I recently replayed the game:

1. The Spin jump:  Basically, you jump gets some more firepower.  In addition to being able to KO enemy by stomping on their head, the spin jump allowed you to bust bricks and defeat some enemies that couldn’t be killed with the standard jump.

Doesn’t sound too fancy, right?  BUT IT IS!  Think about modern Mario games and his ever popular butt thump.  This is where it came from.  The butt thump is a central feature in 3D Mario games.

2. Yoshi: Mario’s always been the star of his games, but Yoshi gives him a major run for his money.  It was in Super Mario World that Yoshi made his first appearance.  Since then, Yoshi’s had so many spin offs (read my review of one of those here) that he’s almost become his own franchise.

This is what Nintendo does so very well.  They’ll add one small element to a game that won’t seem like a big deal, yet over time it becomes almost as important as the original game itself.  Yoshi is a perfect example of how a simple idea can be taken to the next level.

So how can we incorporate Super Mario World into the classroom?

• Examine how Yoshi has changed the landscape of Super Mario Brothers.  Look at the Yoshi character over a large period of time (1990 to present) and trace the path of his humble beginnings to his current status as a gaming icon almost as big as Mario.
• The little details: The spin jump changed how we play Mario games forever.  Has this element been translated into any other games that you can think of?  Have students look at the history of games over a time period and focus on the little details.  What elements have changed the way we play games?

Sorry for the long overdue part 4 of this installment.  I promise to not make you wait for part 5 as long!   -Justin

It is called “5 Clicks to Jesus” and the rules are simple:

ONLY use your mouse.

Go to the main Wikipedia page and click on “Random Article”. From there, using only the links within the Wikipedia articles, you have 5 mouse clicks to get to the Wikipedia article on Jesus.

I found it a bit too easy after playing for awhile. Additional rules, such as not being allowed to click on the articles for Years or Countries, will increase the difficulty.

The variation we liked to use is “5 clicks to Batman”. And getting to this guy doesn’t count:

The Jesus, from The Big Lebowski

Teachers & Librarians who prefer print encyclopedias over Wikipedia are ruining the fun for us gamers.

Feel free to share any 5 click paths that were especially fun or difficult with us in the comment box below!

• Larger screen size than the DSi, 93% larger than the DS lite
• Two locking viewing angles
• Speakers are louder and clearer
• Longer stylus comes with system, also includes pen type stylus
• DSIware games included, Brain Age Express Arts & Letters; Math
• Top is glossy with a matte bottom
• Larger size, weight seems same
• Buttons all identical to DSi

Nintendo is hoping to gain an older gaming market with this system.   The larger screen size makes it easier to see, and the look and pen makes it seem less juvenile.  Sharing gaming experience could be better with this larger model.

Libraries could potentially have gaming with DSi XLs, perhaps attracting a different age crowd.  E-books are rumored to be released by DSIware– could be a player in the ebook market for libraries to be aware of.

Price point is $20 more than the DSi.   Comes in either Bronze or Burgundy color

If you have a DSi, you might wanna wait for the upgrades in the next version (DS2)…

Nintendo DSi XL game system

Nintendo DSi XL compared to DS Lite

Cnet review

Each world that Mario or Luigi found themselves in was an epic, themed world that featured multiple levels, different castles, and a boss.  These themed levels really created the template for the future worlds that Mario would explore.  It gave us characters, locales, and items that all gamers and most non gamers will recognize.

Even more interesting was the promotional campaign Nintendo rolled out for the game.  In 1989, the feature film The Wizard starring Fred Savage and Jenny Lewis (later of Rilo Kiley fame!).  Basically, the film was an hour and a half long commercial for Nintendo.  Did it work.  Heck yes.  I remember being a rather impressionable nine year old kid that wanted EVERYTHING THAT THIS MOVIE OFFERED ME.

So, wait, where were we?  Oh yeah.  The movie ended with a video game tournament featuring Super Mario Bros. 3 as the final challenge.  It was the first time the game had been shown to a wide audience in North America.  The effect?  Mass pandemonium and huge sales.  Super Mario Bros. 3 quickly became one of the biggest selling and most influential games of all time.  Did it have something to do with The Wizard? Thinking back to my nine year self, I’d say yes.  I was in hysterics about the game after I saw the film.  I had to have it.  Advertising really does work.

So how can we incorporate Super Mario Bros. 3 into the classroom?

• Super Mario Bros. 3 really drew a line in the sand for Mario games.  It combined elements of the first game and took a major step forward.  Since then, every Mario game has incorporated some element originally found in Super Mario Bros. 3. Have students play Super Mario Bros. 3 and then some of the later games in the series (Super Mario World, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Galaxy come to mind first) and have them compare and contrast the games.  Obviously, all the games are different, yet there are features running through each game that link them all together.  What are these features?  Why do you think these features remain a mainstay in Mario games?
• How has promotion and advertising for video games changed over the years?  Have your students look at a brief history of video game ads.  How have they changed?  What was the focus of some of the older ads?  What is the focus now?  I highly recommend having your students create YouTube playlists that take the viewer on a journey through video game advertising history.  You can find my example here on the 8BitLibrary YouTube Video Game Ads Playlist.

But saying “we need video games in our classrooms” is one thing, actually implementing that is another. I’ve posted some lesson plan ideas that use Pokemon to teach, and Justin has posted some teaching ideas based around Super Mario (are we Nintendo fanboys much?!). Here’s two more ideas that you can use in the classroom to help the cause of “reforming education”:

This first link comes to me via Dennis Nagle, a fellow 2010 ALA Emerging Leader and one of my tweeps. It’s a school library that uses a Flash-animated game to teach the topic of “plagiarism”:

http://www.lycoming.edu/library/instruction/plagiarismgame.html

This second link circulated all over twitter via the #edtech hastag. Both librarians and teachers should follow this hashtag very closely, because it’s a resource for educators who use technology in the classroom. There are a small number of librarians who use the hashtag as well. It is a link to an article about how employers and teachers are using the gaming model of “leveling up” as an incentive. The basic idea is that tasks are assigned numbers. When a certain task is completed, points are earned and your “score” is raised (aka, you are “leveling up”). The most interesting part of this is that it is essentially an assessment model, yet the teachers in the article said it is exciting and motivating students. Think of other ways that students are assessed, and ask yourself if you could EVER describe the assessment as motivating? This can be a revolution in education resulting in large learning increases.

http://www.itnews.com.au/News/169862,employers-look-to-gaming-to-motivate-staff.aspx

Feel free to pass on your gaming in education and libraries links to us. I would like to give a shout out to Sara Kelly Johns, who is a school librarian in NY. She’s running for ALA President, and the idea to put these links together into a post was sparked by a discussion she started on facebook about rethinking curriculum and instruction. Justin & I both personally endorse her for president because of her use of these modern communication tools, so she absolutely has 8bitlibrary.com‘s endorsement as well!