15 two, 15 four, and there ain’t no more

Saturday before the Roller Girls matchat Roy Wilkins, I played cribbage with Change Angent and company.  And I am sad to report, for the second time I was dethroned of my 6th grade Cribbage Champion status.  Yes, second time.  I am just now admitting that I was beat the first time.  The first time took place in a break room in a Suburban Library near I94.  And it was only half a game as that is what 15 minutes allows you.  But now as I havehad time to reflect, MzH did in fact win that game.

The second time I was beat was a game of pairs.  Two of the four of us knew how to play.  Doesn’t matter, I didn’t hold up my end of the deal.  At least we were not skunked.  We need more cribbage in our lives.

This game called the election

Rachel Maddow just told me

that Barack Obama

is using video games as a campaign tool.  Brilliant!  

How many times do I have to tell you that video games are relevant to so many different types of people that to neglect the gaming community is not the greatest move?   More  and More

Gaming, even in the collection

Some people celebrate their final class of a degree by having a party or going out to dinner or to the bar.  I celebrated my final class by watching The King of Kong: A Fist Full of Quarters.

Even if you are not really all that into video games, this is a really great film about hardcore gaming, a world that very few are a part of.  I have heard it all before, gaming is a waste, it rots your brain and it is nerdy.  I agree with the nerdy part, and that is why I enjoy the gaming culture.  The strategy behind playing video games, just like a borad game or poker, is intense.

I checked the movie out from the suburban library near I94 (yeah, I know, that library is super rad for having the movie in its collection, but there are tons of really great materials in the collection, obv.) on Friday.  I had a gaming and literacy grant presentation on Saturday and a gaming and literacy paper due on Sunday so I was hoping to watch the movie and use it as a bit of insight for my paper.  Well, that did not happen, I was not able to fit the movie in.  So then thought that I could watch the movie Sunday night, but then I realized I had another paper and presentation I had to prepare for, start, and complete by Wednesday.  So I put the movie off again.  On Monday, on my way from one job to the other, I was listening to the Current with Mary Lucia when she started raving about Fist Full of Quarters.  blah, blah, blah,  so anyway, after having the movie in my possesion for six days I was finally able to watch the wonderfulness.  And I was able to enjoy it due to not having to worry about some homework assignment.  The is pretty intense and pretty wonderful.  I don’t know who wouldn’t like it.

GH3 open game night, for real

Dude!  The suburban library near I94 totally held a teen gaming event and it was a-w-e-s-o-m-e!  We had an open gaming event with Guitar Hero III(GH3);  seventeen teens participated between the ages of 13-18.  The teens were at various levels between easy and expert(GH3 has four levels: easy, medium, hard, and expert).  Before tonight I had never witnessed anyone play the expert level, pretty amazing.  People met new friends, caught up with old friends, cheered each other on and even a few high fives where thrown around.  Regardless of one’s skill level, everyone felt welcome.

Get this, one of the teens organizes a Guitar Hero club, how cool is that.  The group gets together to compete against other.  Seems pretty perfect.

I really believe that gaming belongs in libraries.  Some of the reasons I believe this are:

gaming creates community and dialogue

gaming encourages literacy 

gaming enhances team building skills

gaming promotes information seeking skills

gaming attracts patrons

gaming creates positive relationships between patrons and librarians/libraries

gaming facilitates important skill sets

gaming is relevant to patrons

Just in case you don’t agree with me, check out The Shifted Librarian. Jenny Levine is way better at articulating how great gaming in libraries is.   Gaming is not just about Guitar Hero or Dance Dance Revolution.  Believe it or not, there are actually vocabulary building and logic games such as My Word Coach and Big Brain Academy.  However, one could argue that some literacy is taking place with Guitar Hero as well.  In between songs, there are little music history tidbits, and hello, since when does a 14 year old love Slow Rider or Barracuda?  Literacy all up in your face!   Why not integrate literacy into something that is relevant to young users.  Why not be inviting?

I am super excited to be involved in this and I hope it continues.  I think there is a need for teen programing and gaming seems to have been a success with the demographic.