Celebrating games at the Turner Memorial library
IN THE CITY
by Dianna Leighton
I hear it at barbecues. During dental cleanings. Waiting for my cup of coffee. When I’m most vulnerable, I receive the following questions, “What will you do when the books are gone? Won’t you miss … the smell? What will be left?”
Once I get back behind the children’s circulation desk, it’s a different story. Kids never ask me if I’ll miss the smell. Instead, they see that such a strong, profound sensory experience (like that waft of dust) is currently being replicated in new and creative ways at the library. The way that we explore information and promote life-long learning is continuously shifting through emerging technologies and a greater urgency to share and create with others.
While much of this information sharing occurs through computer-mediated communication such as chats, texts, and status updates that bridge considerable physical distances, we also see it in more immediate ways when our young patrons visit the library. We huddle around a laptop to listen to a Merriam-Webster audio pronunciation of ‘ocelot’ after discovering the distinctive feline in a copy of Wildlife of the World. We learn that the largest challenge of building a toothpick-marshmallow model of the Britannia Bridge during TweenBook Club is keeping oneself from eating all of the building supplies. We use Toddler Time to practice our deductive reasoning skills and determine that a fairy tale dragon might not technically need a tissue when he sneezes. Thus, we can begin to see how fun, humor, and play can shape the way we explore our world.
So, it wasn’t too surprising when games began to become incorporated into daily library activities. When one enters the children’s library, they will find shelves of puzzles, board, and card games. Youth computers feature Internet bookmarks to popular gaming sites, as well as Scratch (an educational computer programming interface that allows patrons the opportunity to create video games, animations, etc.). A Nintendo Wii gaming console is located in the children’s program room with a variety of popular games available.
These elements will all come together on National Gaming Day, being held at the library on Saturday Nov. 12th from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. The public is welcome to stop by the library to play and share their favorite board, role-playing, console, or computer game. The library will also host the ninth Presque Isle Open chess tournament and ongoing games of Minecraft and Magic: The Gathering. Finally, Kimberly Smith of the Presque Isle Historical Society will provide an interactive presentation on 19th-century games from noon-2 p.m.
By celebrating games at the library, we’re also recognizing that games play a considerable part in how our patrons socialize, learn, and challenge themselves. According to the 2008 Pew Research Center report “Adults and Video Games,” 53 percent of Americans age 18 or older play video games, with 81 percent of these reported game players being between the ages of 18 and 29. A separate 2008 Pew report entitled “Teens, Video Games and Civics” saw that 97 percent of teens between the ages of 12 and 17 play web, portable, console, and computer games.
In trying to understand why games are so prevalent (and included in reports on civic engagement), we observe a social quality once pointed out by game designer Jane McGonigal, “There is a lot of interesting research that shows that we like people better after we play a game with them, even if they’ve beaten us badly. And the reason is, it takes a lot of trust to play a game with someone. We trust that they will spend their time with us, that they will play by the same rules, value the same goal, they’ll stay with the game until it’s over.”
As children and teens face a world characterized by rapidly growing complexity, it becomes crucial for community members to discover new ways to promote self-motivated learning. Games work in conjunction with other library information sources to tackle this mission by taking the fear out of failure, promoting collaboration, and providing an accessible means to begin exploring complex systems (whether it’s chess, Little Big Planet, the English language, or Maine economic indicators). On the other side of that, we also see that many of our young patrons are drawn to popular book series that feature gaming and puzzle elements, such as The 39 Clues series, The Mysterious Benedict Society series by Trenton Lee Stewart, and The Search for Wondla by Tony DiTerlizzi. Finally, popular mobile applications, such as Layar, are utilizing augmented reality features commonly found in video games to merge digitized information into physical spaces and provide valuable learning opportunities.
But, most importantly, games are fun. And, somewhere in those joyful moments of collaborative play, we begin to form memories that mirror those stirred by the scent of a cherished book. Or observing a unique oil painting by a local artist. Or determining the area of a triangle for the first time with the support of an after-school tutor. Or biting into a freshly-picked SAD 1 School Farm apple. The experiences found in your local library are varied, unique, and often surprising.
Dianna Leighton is youth librarian at the Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library in Presque Isle. She can be reached at 764-2571 or via e-mail at diannaleighton@presqueislelibrary.org.
