Games are drawing attention in libraries as successful outreach tools for tweens, teens and seniors. They are also gaining ground in schools as valuable resources that introduce and reinforce a variety of curricular, social and life skills.
The inclusion of gaming in a library collection is not unexpected if you take some perspective. Libraries hit a turning point when they made the decision to start including popular media in their collections. By doing so, they shifted their collection development practices to be more inclusive of what their patrons want, embracing the desires of the community. They also opened the door to more non-traditional resources. And by continuing to develop a more inclusionary collection development policy, libraries are laying the foundation for building a collection of ideas.
Now, as librarians who grew up playing games are coming into the profession, they are bringing with them a respect and understanding of gaming. And the games themselves are drawing attention with a depth of storyline, once available mainly in RPG’s, which can now be found in nearly every genre of electronic gaming. The story quality in video games has drawn in such Hollywood talent as Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Stewart and Michael Ironside.
Add to this, the maturation of board games over the last twenty years and you can start to see the value that games hold as community resources. They have grown into another avenue of creative expression that, like a good book or song, can capture and share ideas with those who invest the time.
August 12, 2008 at 3:18 am
[…] also has a great post explaining Why Games Belong in Libraries. “The inclusion of gaming in a library collection is not unexpected if you take some […]
August 12, 2008 at 11:22 am
[…] also has a great post explaining Why Games Belong in Libraries. “The inclusion of gaming in a library collection is not unexpected if you take some […]
August 15, 2008 at 9:13 pm
[…] Librarian het bericht Libraries Got Games met een verwijzing naar een bericht van Brian Mayer (Why Games belong in the Libraries). Een citaat uit dat bericht: Libraries hit a turning point when they made the decision to start […]
August 27, 2008 at 12:25 pm
[…] also has a great post explaining Why Games Belong in Libraries. “The inclusion of gaming in a library collection is not unexpected if you take some […]
September 3, 2008 at 7:52 pm
[…] check out this post on Why Games Belong in Libraries from Brian Mayer’s The Library Gamer blog. Brian is with the Genesee Valley BOCES SLS, where […]
September 17, 2008 at 3:00 pm
[…] https://librarygamer.wordpress.com/2008/08/08/why-games-belong-in-libraries/ […]
October 24, 2008 at 11:05 am
[…] For more info, read this post by Librarygamer. […]
November 10, 2008 at 3:05 pm
[…] be found in nearly every genre of electronic gaming,” Mayer wrote in an August post titled Why Games Belong in Libraries. The story quality in video games has drawn in such Hollywood talent as Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick […]
March 17, 2009 at 11:33 am
Nice post.
June 21, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Great games blog, cheers
September 20, 2009 at 1:37 am
[…] This is a prime age to get teens into the library, especially in a time when kids think they may not need such an important place. Get them in young and they’ll be devoted for life. […]
June 17, 2017 at 3:04 pm
[…] Brian Mayer posted a short and succinct entry at LibraryGamer on Why Games Belong in Libraries. […]