Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Playing Games at the Library



Does the weather have you retreating inside to play some video games? What if you could turn that favorite hobby into a research topic? Read on!

Video games have a 50-year history, reaching back to the crazy computer scientists in MIT's Building 20 knocking out walls according to Supercade: a visual history of the video game age. And while we're no longer building bookcase-sized machines to play them, video games are even more popular today than ever before: some online games have 12 million subscribers (That's more people than the entire population of Greece)!

The average gamer will have spent 10,000 hours playing by the time they're 21 years old. According to Michael Gladwell in his book, Outliers, that's roughly the amount we need to become an expert in any field.

So what can all this game playing do? Dr. Jane McGonigal, a theorist and multiplayer game designer, thinks that games might save the world:

Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world | Video on TED.com

I really hope that we can come together to play games that matter, to survive on this planet for another century. And that's my hope that you will join me in making and playing games like this. When I look forward to the next decade,I know two things for sure, that we can make any future we can imagine, and we can play any games we want. So, I say let the world-changing games begin.


Sound good?

Want to get started on creating games right away?




These books and more are waiting for you at the library- game on!

Monday, November 15, 2010


It's that time of year when we ask YOU to let us know how you use the library and its services. We also invite you to rate how we're doing. We use the results for library planning. The survey only takes a few minutes. Maybe less.

Please grab a survey form from a library staff member or pick up a form at the front desk. Check off the boxes; write your comments. AND THEN, fill out the little coupon at the end of the survey and enter our drawing to win a bookstore gift certificate for $25. You could be one of TWENTY to win.

The library staff truly appreciates your help!