Week 11: Gaming and Virtual Worlds

Gaming and virtual worlds are a great way to bring the library to where the younger generations are spending a lot of their time. Gathering youths together through these two areas forms positive relationships both with the library and between the youths themselves, everyone interacting and having fun together. Gaming and virtual worlds can be very engaging and this increased focus can be harnessed into a positive learning environment. Bringing library services into virtual worlds such as Second Life increases the visibility of libraries and virtual worlds and helps the library to reach an even wider patron base. Virtual worlds have a ways to go, but there is a lot of potential here for learning and connecting with people all over the world in a more personal way than is possible through other mediums. Exploring Second Life for this week's group project was an interesting experience and, while I'm uncertain how much use I will make of Second Life, I don't think I can fully appreciate what it has to offer without looking deeper. There may be little gems to be discovered with some hard work - hopefully the learning curve will get easier. I can see how the various seminars and other training opportunities in Second Life offer a great learning opportunity. Libraries should be taking advantage of new technologies and evaluating their benefit both in their current and future states. Gaming and virtual worlds  add another way of connecting with many patrons and we can have extra fun while doing it!

Reading about Apolyton University's learning environment for Civ 3 in Meet the Gamers was a real eye opener. Forums and other resources for helping people through game and strategy issues are one thing, but this takes it to a whole new level. This kind of game is great for encouraging players to engage in extra "study" using library resources. Hard work, perseverance, and reward in a fun environment - a good way to teach some useful life skills.

I loved reading the Ann Arbor AADL-GT blog - sometimes I wish I could teleport myself there (Second Life must be rubbing off on me) and check it out. They seem to be such an active group of both librarians and youths. It was fun trying out the games this week and they were, I am pleased to say, a piece of cake, but not that engaging. Still, I love playing games!