December 12, 2010
I thought that it would be nice to include some of my Reflection paper here, especially to show appreciation to those whose blogs and comments and Proposals have helped me so much!
Since I have started graduate school a little over a year ago I have tried a few things that I never have before. This year I conducted reference interviews on Second Life, created a website, started my first blog and read manga! This class has helped me to try new things, like blogging, that I have never done and I have been surprised that real-world research is even something that I would enjoy! Blogging is now something that I would consider doing in the future without any qualms, which is a big step for someone who owns a typewriter and does letterpress!
In terms of the final product of the Research Proposal, I surprised myself with the topic I chose. I am not the biggest video game player, but I noticed that something was lacking in the environment that I work. Since starting the SLIS program I have discovered a lot about myself and whose needs I am finding I care most about – young adults. This project reaffirms for me that I want to be part of a community of librarians who believe that teens may need help in advocating for their needs. I loved the line that I included in Proposal, “Young adults become lifelong library users and supporters when they are enthusiastically engaged in planning and decision-making. They play a key role in attracting their peers to the library” (Massachusetts Library Association, 2005). This proposal revealed to me that it is not impossible and it is worthwhile to find out more about one’s community and look to fill in the gaps in services.
I also found that going to my first library conference (NELA) was essential in making my Proposal what it is. If I did not go to the conference I would never have met Beth Gallaway, an unbelievable resource on the topic of libraries and gaming. She would never have given me the recommendation to check out Scott Nicholson’s Library Game Lab nor would I have found out about the Library Gaming Toolkit, which were vital to my understanding of the current atmosphere in libraries surrounding videogames. This experience verifies that involvement in one’s professional community is essential to growth as well as change. I can only see from my limited perspective when I look only to myself for answers.
Along those same lines, I learned a lot from the experience of others in this class and especially from reading their processes on the Research Diary blogs and by reading Proposal drafts. Seeing how others were working out their ideas helped to guide me to look at the way I was approaching my project in a different way. I read someone’s blog who was working on getting young adults into the library and this helped me make the connection in my own research that adding video games to the library helps to address this issue of serving the sometimes disadvantaged YA population.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Saturday, December 11, 2010
November 20, 2011
Question ideas for my survey:
- What video games do you play?
- Do you read video game manuals?
- Check which you read:
__ Fiction
__ Non-fiction
__ Video game manuals
__ Graphic Novels/Comics
__ Manga
__ Video game magazines
- Would you be more likely to come to the library if the library lent video games?
- Which console do you use: PlayStation, Nintendo, XBox
Question ideas for my survey:
- What video games do you play?
- Do you read video game manuals?
- Check which you read:
__ Fiction
__ Non-fiction
__ Video game manuals
__ Graphic Novels/Comics
__ Manga
__ Video game magazines
- Would you be more likely to come to the library if the library lent video games?
- Which console do you use: PlayStation, Nintendo, XBox
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
October 19, 2010
Note to self:
Check out:
- gamelab.syr.edu
- library gaming toolkit
- Beth Gallaway’s: http://informationgoddess.info
- Gallaway’s Game on!
Met Beth Gallaway at NELA this week. She was a great resource for gaming in the library – she wrote a book called Game on! She gave me several suggestions of websites to check out.
October 24, 2010
This past week I attended the New England Library Association (NELA) Conference in Boxborough, MA. The reason that I am blogging about it on my Research Diary is because I learned a few things about video games and libraries as well as Young Adult programs.
One of the programs that I went to was an open discussion entitled, “Bringing them in (YA).” There were a few different ideas that were brought up during this program that enriched my understanding of the relationship between young adults and gaming. The presenters brought up the seven developmental needs of young adults: competence & achievement, self-exploration & definition, positive interactions, physical activity, meaningful participation in school & community, structure & clear limits, diversity.
Gaming feeds into some of the developmental needs of teens, working together, learning to play, positive interaction, participating in community, etc. Gaming also fits in with the Standards for Public Library Service to YA in Massachusetts.
YA program ideas gained from “Bringing them in”:
- Game Design programs (i.e. Scratch – a free program from MIT)
- One librarian said they received a grant for gaming. They don’t have the same level of problems
that they do with DVDs. When purchasing games he goes to Game Stop and talks to the people
there. Usually buys PlayStation, Nintendo, Sony, Wii
- Gaming works, but need to be clear on goals of the library – it doesn’t work for every library
I took the opportunity to also ask the group (the program was well attended) who there circulated video games. I think about three or four people raised their hands (not too many).
November 1, 2010
After going to the NELA Conference it made me look at some of the Standards that had been mentioned even more in depth. Some interesting points from the YA Standards formulated by the Massachusetts Library Association (MLA):
“Young adults become lifelong library users and supporters when they are enthusiastically engaged in planning and decision-making. They play a key role in attracting their peers to the library” (pp.3).
This idea alone will be helpful to remember when developing my research that
involving teens in the process can only help to bring in more teens to the library. Involving them in the process of gaming in the library may help to bring teens into the library. The Newton Teen Advisory Board may be a good resource when considering teen involvement.
“Since adolescents are not generally advocates on their own behalf, it is important that the library director, staff, and trustees understand their responsibility to give equal consideration to the needs of young adults in planning and implementing library and information services” (pp.3).
Another point of contention here – library staff need to make sure they are providing services to the YA community because they may not be demanding services in the way that other patrons are.
Note to self:
Check out:
- gamelab.syr.edu
- library gaming toolkit
- Beth Gallaway’s: http://informationgoddess.info
- Gallaway’s Game on!
Met Beth Gallaway at NELA this week. She was a great resource for gaming in the library – she wrote a book called Game on! She gave me several suggestions of websites to check out.
October 24, 2010
This past week I attended the New England Library Association (NELA) Conference in Boxborough, MA. The reason that I am blogging about it on my Research Diary is because I learned a few things about video games and libraries as well as Young Adult programs.
One of the programs that I went to was an open discussion entitled, “Bringing them in (YA).” There were a few different ideas that were brought up during this program that enriched my understanding of the relationship between young adults and gaming. The presenters brought up the seven developmental needs of young adults: competence & achievement, self-exploration & definition, positive interactions, physical activity, meaningful participation in school & community, structure & clear limits, diversity.
Gaming feeds into some of the developmental needs of teens, working together, learning to play, positive interaction, participating in community, etc. Gaming also fits in with the Standards for Public Library Service to YA in Massachusetts.
YA program ideas gained from “Bringing them in”:
- Game Design programs (i.e. Scratch – a free program from MIT)
- One librarian said they received a grant for gaming. They don’t have the same level of problems
that they do with DVDs. When purchasing games he goes to Game Stop and talks to the people
there. Usually buys PlayStation, Nintendo, Sony, Wii
- Gaming works, but need to be clear on goals of the library – it doesn’t work for every library
I took the opportunity to also ask the group (the program was well attended) who there circulated video games. I think about three or four people raised their hands (not too many).
November 1, 2010
After going to the NELA Conference it made me look at some of the Standards that had been mentioned even more in depth. Some interesting points from the YA Standards formulated by the Massachusetts Library Association (MLA):
“Young adults become lifelong library users and supporters when they are enthusiastically engaged in planning and decision-making. They play a key role in attracting their peers to the library” (pp.3).
This idea alone will be helpful to remember when developing my research that
involving teens in the process can only help to bring in more teens to the library. Involving them in the process of gaming in the library may help to bring teens into the library. The Newton Teen Advisory Board may be a good resource when considering teen involvement.
“Since adolescents are not generally advocates on their own behalf, it is important that the library director, staff, and trustees understand their responsibility to give equal consideration to the needs of young adults in planning and implementing library and information services” (pp.3).
Another point of contention here – library staff need to make sure they are providing services to the YA community because they may not be demanding services in the way that other patrons are.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
The Process Continues!
Oct. 3
“Boys are Reading, but their Choices are not Valued by Teachers and Librarians”
Evidence Based Library and Information Practice
This article had some interesting information about a study done that surveyed boys and their reading collections. The study found that boys often read video game manuals and other materials (computer magazines, comic books, graphic novels, etc.), but these are not valued in society or even by the boys themselves as “real” reading material. The conclusion of the study is that “By keeping what boys are actually reading in mind when it comes to collection development and library programming, children’s librarians can ‘play a central role in legitimizing the reading practices of boys’ (66)” (47-48).
Oct. 12
I am realizing after reading this previously mentioned study that one of the biggest questions or hypotheses I have is about how people understand the purpose of libraries. What should a library be? Should libraries have collections that include “entertainment” or “unreal” material like video game manuals or video games themselves? Should libraries, specifically public libraries hold materials that both entertain and educate? Ever since libraries began lending books that people deemed to be too entertainment based (fiction!), this question has arisen – what role should the library play in its community?
What is the best way for me to discover whether video games would be right for Newton Free Library?
First I think that it would be good to find out what the community thinks! A survey would be one way to find this out. And who would I survey? Should I simply survey young adults because it seems as though the specific reason for getting video games would be to encourage this demographic to use the library? Or should this be given to a wider/broader group of individuals. Perhaps giving a survey to the entire community on their opinion about the matter would be more fruitful, but then also conducting some interviews with young adults to discover how they think about the issue. One group specifically that I had in mind is the Newton Youth Board for the Library (NYBL). NYBL is quote, “an advisory group made up of teens interested in contributing ideas and having a voice about teen programs, teen book collections, and YA services. Basically it’s you telling us how best to serve you.” (http://newtonya.wordpress.com/join-nybl/)
Note: NYBL meets once a month from 5-6 in the Trustees’ Room. Next meeting is Oct. 21, 2010 (then Nov. 18, Dec. 16). Maybe I could attend or this could be a possible good forum for conducting a group interview.
Evidence based practice also seems like a really good angle for me. I think that articles like this one (about the boys’ thinking about their own reading) could really help to develop my own theory or hypotheses about our library collection. Looking at previous studies, theories, and hypotheses out there could really reinforce the hypothesis that I am arriving at that adding video games into the Newton YA collection would better serve the YA community. Though I am not sure whether this is the case, this is a presumption I am going off of and trying to be very open-minded about the way I approach finding out more about this idea. I realize that I am definitely conducting a flexible design and hope for my hypothesis to change/shift as I get further along into this.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Learning by Playing
September 23
After reading this article in the NY Times that was published Sept. 15, 2010, I have begun to form some hypotheses about video games and learning:
Corbett, S. "Learning by Playing: Video Games in the Classroom"
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/magazine/19video-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
The highlights in the article for me were the following two statements:
"One way to ['make school more relevant and engaging'] would be to stop looking so critically at the way children use media and to start exploring how that energy might best be harnessed to help drive them academically" (4).
"Salen and Torres are at the forefront of a small but increasingly influential group of education specialists who believe that going to school can and should be more like playing a game, which is to say it could be made more participatory, more immersive and also, well fun" (2).
Salen and Torres are the two people who have started a school for 6th and 7th graders (which they hope to expand to the high school years) which has incorporated games into its everyday learning environment. They have incorporated the 'radical' idea of having students creating, designing, and playing video games into the more traditional sense of an educational environment. This idea is an alternative one towards video games as opposed to the other notions I have encountered that have a negative opinion of games. This negative opinion seems to separate learning and video games as two separate ideas all together. Video games, in the opposing viewpoint, are a distraction from learning, which is also a viable case, as the article brings up research "showing that the more time children spend playing video games, the less time they spend on homework" (4).
With these two viewpoints in mind, my question is whether or not public libraries should be providing video games to their users? In particular should the public library I work in be thinking about providing video games for users? Should games be offered? What about the consoles? What about events sponsored by the library involving video games? Who is the user/market?
After reading this article in the NY Times that was published Sept. 15, 2010, I have begun to form some hypotheses about video games and learning:
Corbett, S. "Learning by Playing: Video Games in the Classroom"
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/magazine/19video-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
The highlights in the article for me were the following two statements:
"One way to ['make school more relevant and engaging'] would be to stop looking so critically at the way children use media and to start exploring how that energy might best be harnessed to help drive them academically" (4).
"Salen and Torres are at the forefront of a small but increasingly influential group of education specialists who believe that going to school can and should be more like playing a game, which is to say it could be made more participatory, more immersive and also, well fun" (2).
Salen and Torres are the two people who have started a school for 6th and 7th graders (which they hope to expand to the high school years) which has incorporated games into its everyday learning environment. They have incorporated the 'radical' idea of having students creating, designing, and playing video games into the more traditional sense of an educational environment. This idea is an alternative one towards video games as opposed to the other notions I have encountered that have a negative opinion of games. This negative opinion seems to separate learning and video games as two separate ideas all together. Video games, in the opposing viewpoint, are a distraction from learning, which is also a viable case, as the article brings up research "showing that the more time children spend playing video games, the less time they spend on homework" (4).
With these two viewpoints in mind, my question is whether or not public libraries should be providing video games to their users? In particular should the public library I work in be thinking about providing video games for users? Should games be offered? What about the consoles? What about events sponsored by the library involving video games? Who is the user/market?
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Beginning Thoughts
August 27
Ideas/Brainstorming:
YA Department
- How can we best serve this community of users?
- Are there sufficient displays?
- Is information easily found/displayed?
- What does the collection look like in comparison and in conjunction with others in the network?
- What is the connect ion to the HS like? Are there any programs with the HS?
- Are YA listening to playaways and using new technology?
- What materials are our users using most?
- Who reads YA books?
- How best approach these questions with the YA librarians?
Aug 30
I was at work, reading the minutes from the Reference and Administration meeting when I came across the description of what the YA Librarian’s are working on now and what they plan to work on in the future.
Notes from the Minutes:
“Laurie and Susan [the YA Librarian’s] plan to participate in creating bibliographies and instructional guides for the website, as well as in the podcast and YouTube departmental initiative. They will help with the creation of a podcast, narrated by teens, about conducting research (as for NNHS’s Junior thesis). They also plan to develop their YA blog further. Laurie talked about the YA Gaming program scheduled for next week, a program on which YA has received invaluable help from Ryan, Jeramy, and John” (Minutes NEED DATE).
I found this part of the meeting very interesting in coming up with possible ideas/knowing what current issues are out there in the YA world. I see that more technology-based initiatives are happening at the Newton Free Library. I find the idea of doing a research project on gaming in libraries also a possibility. Wondering how people feel about lending games out and about having gaming events sponsored by the library. We currently do not lend out games like Wii, but there are a few libraries in our systems that do or are “known” for buying videogames. There is one in particular that comes to mind (Franklin), which is a pretty small public library. Wondering if they do this to increase their circulation? Maybe they have a liberal director?
Sept 1
Was given the suggestion to talk with Brookline Public Library’s YA Librarian, Robin Brenner, who has a reputation for being a great YA Librarian. Plan to talk with her!
Checked out the Brookline Teen page, http://www.brooklinelibrary.org/teen-blog/ (their website links directly to this page from the main tab menu, which is a blog, which I find very interesting and is not something that we do on our website, even though we have a blog).
Sept 2
My supervisor gave me a few articles from the Public Libraries magazine today by an author that she has come to recognize/trust/find forward thinking, Michael Garrett Farrelly. Farrelly is a YA Librarian and graphic novelist (cool!). I copied the articles from the magazine and plan to read them ASAP. Hoping they will help me to become more solidified on a topic.
Sept 8
Today at lunch I had a very interesting conversation with a coworker. First I decided to ask around, just to get an idea of how my fellow colleagues felt on the matter and to get myself talking about possible topics. I remember Robson mentioning this - the process of talking it out and how it can be helpful in working out ones ideas. I asked some of my coworkers about whether or not they felt that we be circulating video games or not in our library. Roxanne said ‘no.’ She thinks that we need to uphold what a library was originally meant for. Walter on the other hand said, ‘yes,’ he thinks that from a marketing perspective we should be keeping up with the times and what is available out there. I then asked him whether he thought that having video games would get young adults who wouldn’t normally come into the library, come in to rent games and then also possibly take out some books while they were there? He thought that this wouldn’t be the case; that they wouldn’t come in to get books along with games, that games wouldn’t act as a “gateway” to reading. We then started to wonder if there were any statistical information out there about young adults in our community and what they had checked out on their card. I know that at least two libraries in our network circulate games and it made me wonder what other, if any types of materials were checked out on their cards. Do the non-print materials increase with time? Is it even a remote possibility of finding out? Would there be a way to survey YAs about their view on having videogames in the library/parental voice? Would this information be helpful for a library deciding whether or not to add these items to their collection? What type of information would be helpful to a library still deciding on whether to add this item to their collection? ---These are some of the questions I am beginning to ask myself!
Sept 10
Today I had a mother come into the public library that I work with her son (age about 8). She had come to pick up a Wii game on reserve (come from another library in our network). When I told her that her reserve wasn’t at the desk, but was being held on the third floor at the Audiovisual Desk, she responded, “We shouldn’t even be getting this at the library anyway,” referring to the video game.
I thought this interaction was pretty weird, seeing as I have been asking myself lots of questions about the perception of video games in public libraries. This mother, though she seemed to feel bad about getting this item out of the library, was still doing it. There does seem to be this perception that libraries should only circulate certain items that is still hanging around. Should or shouldn’t the library “get with it”?
Sept 13
Here is the link to the YA article I read in Public Libraries. The article entitled “Why Young Adults Matter” by Michael Garrett Farrelly added some interesting points on the current teen generation that is caught up in the technological world of Wi-Fi. Farrelly writes:
All the shiny wonders of the world: that is why we lose young adults. I, and many young adult librarians like me, refuse to accept this. We dig our heels in, stare into the unblinking green eye of the XBOX 360 and say ‘This means war.’ Computer and multimedia classes and events that turn kids from consumers of media into creators is one way. Making the library space one that welcomes young adults, celebrates their excitement for life, and their eclectic, dare I say, liminal nature, is another (27).
The point that Farrelly is making here is that young adults matter because they are the ones that, if they are instilled with a love of their library, will continue to come as adults and bring their children and the cycle will continue.
http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/jumpstart.jhtml?recid=0bc05f7a67b1790ef2dd763d541a6564b8ee7308859933fae90e6280d8234b6e9d7fa2cb35406f61&fmt=P
Farrelly, M. G. Why Young Adults Matter. Public Libraries v. 49 no. 3 (May/June 2010) p. 26-7
Sept 14
Found this article on ERIC:
http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/mar09/index.shtml
Myers, Brian. “Imagine, Invent, Program, Share: A Library-Hosted Computer Club Promotes 21st Century Skills.” Computers in Libraries, v29 n3 p6-9, 38-40 Mar 2009.
Abstract:
During at least one afternoon each month, Wilmette (Illinois) Public Library (WPL) hosts a local group of computer programmers, designers, and artists, who meet to discuss digital projects and resources, technical challenges, and successful design or programming strategies. WPL's Game Design Club, now in its third year, owes its existence to a combination of elements: the library's commitment to supporting 21st-century literacy skills, a motivated population of teens for whom no comparable peer community exists, and the recent development of a variety of free and open source programming environments and content editing tools designed specifically to facilitate learning in a media development context. Like many public libraries seeking to enhance its services to teens, the Wilmette Public Library began offering open video game play and competition events in 2005. In this article, the author describes how the WPL's Game Design Club promotes 21st century literacy skills among its participants.
This article opened me up to this magazine, Computers in Libraries, which I’m sure will be extremely helpful. Just browsing it I see a bunch of other articles that I want to look at.
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