Here's a conference for librarians who want to learn more about the role of games in learning. The Games, Learning & Society Conference (GLS) will be held June 23-24, 2005 in Madison, Wisconsin, and "will explore issues of how videogames and digital media are impacting learning and society. Speakers, discussion groups, and interactive workshops and exhibits will focus on game design, game culture, and games' potential for learning and society more broadly." (from the conference web site)
It's going to be a small two-day conference (capped at 250, according to the conference FAQ) which often means a more meaningful experience for attendees. More exposure to speakers and other attendees, and less sessions to pick from.
The conference is sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Madison (home to Constance Steinkuehler and Kirt Squire*, panelists at the OCLC Gaming Symposium at ALA Midwinter 2004) and the Academic Advanced Distributed Learning Co-Lab.
* Kurt and Constance had just had a great article published in Library Journal, called "Meet the Gamers." "They research, teach, learn, and collaborate. So far, without libraries."
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I've always been on the fringe of the gaming industry thanks to my short stint as a reviewer. I read the gaming industry trades in addition to those for library community to whom I serve.
Yet whenever I read about libraries and gaming, I get very upset by the idea that in order for a library to carry a game, it has to have some kind of 'learning' aspect to it.
This reinforces the incorrect perception that many gamers have about the library. That it is irrelevant to their tastes and interests.
If your a public library, games are an art form as much as anything else in your AV collection. It should be collected just as you would collect DVD's and CD's.
Academic libraries should increase their game holdings as a way to help student learn about the history of gaming as they learn the skills to build the next generation of games. Much like musicians and filmmakers study the classics in their respective areas.
For more information about gaming in libraries check out libgaming.blogspot.com, and http://libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Gaming
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