Implications of Gaming in Libraries

I am no expert on video games. Although I own a Nintendo Wii, I primarily use it for Netflix streaming. So, as a novice in video game benefits, reading "The Case for Video Games in Libraries" by Suellen Adams was very informative. I agree with Adams that video games help users, particularly children, create alternate realities and exercise their story-telling skills. The multiple levels of intelligence involved with game playing are more complex than most non-gamers realize. Yet I wonder if the repetitive nature of games (going through the same levels and process over and over) causes a game to lose benefits over time. The influence on reading habits associated with video game story lines is also interesting, and it is completely plausible that someone interested in sci-fi or warfare video games would be drawn to books to further explore the topics.

Yet I am wondering about how video games fit into collection development. My library currently does not acquire video games, although other libraries in our network do. If a library chooses to include video games in their collection, how do they evaluate them for selection? And do the educational/developmental benefits of gaming apply to all games, or only specific types of games? Should that be part of the criteria for acquisition? Not all literature is considered educational, but the act of reading generally is, regardless of content. If all video games provide some level of problem solving and skill building, than that would make them beneficial to users. The complexity involved in some video games requires a greater level of user involvement (evaluation, decision making, planning, audio, visual, and physical interaction) than say, reading the newspaper.

Privacy for Libraries on Facebook

I have to say, the articles this week were extremely helpful in framing Facebook's privacy issues in the library context. Traditionally, I only think of how one's own personal Facebook account can reveal private details, but hadn't considered how the implications were applied to libraries as an institution. With so much responsibility over patron privacy, pushing a Facebook page were library users are susceptible to privacy leeks can get you into sticky territory. Also, I hadn't considered how adding something like a search box to your library page could be corrupt and harmful to users (Fernandez, 2009).
I like the idea that Fernandez suggests in "Privacy and Generation Y": "Those libraries already participating within a SNS can do something as simple as mixing in announcements about privacy news alongside their other posts to SNSs" (2010, p. 16). This accomplishes several things. It shows the library is engaged in ethical practices, and intends on trying to safeguard users through the decimation of important privacy information. It also serves as outreach by providing information that not only affects users while on the library page, but in their personal interactions on Facebook as well. Librarians are always engaging in information literacy; responsible sharing and privacy information can be integrated into the instructional courses, as Fernandez suggests in the same article. I think it would be a great idea to incorporate into IL courses, and I believe students would likely respond well to information that could help protect them.

Facebook , MySpace, and Class Divisions

Danah Boyd's article, "Viewing American Class Divisions Through Facebook and MySpace" brings up observations I may have made around the time the article was published (2007). I wonder how the class divisions have played out over the past several years, where Facebook has broadened it's reach to a wider age range and demographic. I question Boyd's comments about the migration to Facebook by "hegemonic" teens while the "subalterns" prefer MySpace, creating a good / bad dichotomy. MySpace, as Boyd mentions is the Las Vegas style networking site, but I think it is/was actually preferred by the "subaltern" teens because it allows more creativity and personalization than Facebook ever has. Most of the people I knew that used MySpace liked it because they could personalize the site with their own artwork or their band's logo. I believe that because Facebook started out as an exclusively college site, that is what set the tone for class division and I think Boyd should have explored that fact more. People who did not have an .edu email at Facebook's introduction, those who did not attend a college or university, were immediately excluded and turned-off by the site. Eventually as Facebook became more accessible, people warmed, and I think a similar examination of the class divisions on social networking sites would produce different results today. According to OCLC's Perceptions of Libraries, 2010   MySpace has nearly flat-lined over the past several years, where Facebook took a sharp turn upward in 2008.

21st Century Catalogs

The assigned readings for this week, particularly the Mercun and Zumer study, were inspiring. I take for granted the OPACs I use, and don't think critically about how they are organized, the particular things I like / dislike about them, or what I would like to see added. The readings this week helped me think like an expert, analyzing the catalogs I use on a regular basis, and thinking about patron responses at my own library to our catalog.

"Toward a Twenty-First Century Library Catalog" by Antelman, Lynema, and Pace discussed browsing capabilities of online catalogs. One of the important components to the catalog is the visual representation of the book jacket, or the cover of the product. To improve the online browsing experience, I think including a visual of the product is important. I think the packaging and presentation of the products in a library (or a store) is a primary motivation in selection.

Often patrons ask for a record of all the books they have checked out, which currently we are unable to produce at my library. A feature that would keep track of title check-outs would be a terrific addition to the users' personal accounts, particularly for our voracious readers and older patrons. It would also increase the personalization that the Mercun and Zumer study showed were essential to user satisfaction. I also envisioned a roulette-like feature, where patrons can randomly call up a title that has high circulation stats, is a new publication, or has bestseller status. This would be an exploratory feature, not one based on the users previous choices or tastes. I think people would like to be introduced to something off their radar every once in a while.

Book Review

You can view my review video below. I apologize for the light text, it appeared much darker when I was creating the video. Malcolm Gladwell is one of my favorite writers, so this book was a natural choice for me. If you haven't read Blink or any of his other books, I highly recommend you do. His topics are very thought provoking and his writing style is captivating. I used Windows Movie Maker to create the video.

Exploring Sites

Over the past week I have been exploring some of the sites suggested by Suellen and sites classmates have mentioned. I have been using goodreads for about a month now. I actually noticed it on someone's blog for LSC597 and thought it looked like fun. I always have scraps of paper with book titles scribbled on them. Goodreads is a great place to organize all of the books I've read and would like to read. I also like the ability to join in on discussions. Seldom someone else is reading the same book I am in my day to day, and the discussion and comment features of the site let you get out all your excited/angry/sad/irritated/delighted comments.

I took the flickr tour, and while I haven't used the site myself, family members often post photos to share and my library has a photo stream for event photos. I didn't realize how many features that the site had available, like editing and annotating photos. I liked that the privacy levels on photos or albums are easy to adjust, based on who you want seeing what. Overall, the interaction between other social media sites like Twitter and Blogger appears to make sharing a quick and easy process.

CiteULike is clearly for serious research sharing and organizing, and outside of higher education, I can't see librarians necessarily recommending this site. As another classmate mentioned, for my own research purposes, I would rather just use the tools the databases provide. However, if you were working on a large, collaborative paper or project, the site would definitely be useful.

Tagging

I possibly have the worst memory of anyone I have ever met. I find myself immediately forgetting things. For example, the sunblock I meant to bring with me to the park on Sunday. As soon as I opened the bathroom door to retrieve it, I was immediately distracted by a stray towel or a speck of dust or a ray of light or...who knows. Let's just say my boyfriend and I are nursing some pretty uncomfortable sunburns (sorry Tyler!)

Although I haven't experimented with social tagging much, I can see how useful it could be for someone like me. It would help me to easily retrieve a site organized by my own specific language, or by reminders from others' tags. (I must confess that when I find a cool site, I often forget to bookmark it!) I see how helpful the bookmarking sites can be for librarians and educators too, who generally work with a variety of sites and sources and need help organizing them for easily access.

As the article posted on Sakai mentioned, social tagging has become popular for introducing people to new sites. When URI changed the HELIN catalog to Encore, the only thing I liked about the new site was the tags and tag clouds that could direct you to more sources that shared similar tags, helping to narrow your search without having to use the subject headings. I see the tags incorporated into the catalog as extremely helpful to students who are typically more familiar with keyword searching as opposed to controlled language.