Daily Archives: April 29, 2008

5 posts

ALA Gaming Ramps Up!

LJ Reports: http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6551184.html As with graphic novels, public libraries have been one of the greatest champions of putting gaming materials into the public’s awaiting hands. The American Library Association (ALA) is responding to requests from its constituents for more gaming suppliers on the show floor at its conferences by introducing a Gaming Pavilion at this summer’s Annual conference in Anaheim. ALA said the pavilion will include “electronic game publishers and platform companies, publishers of board games and card games, gaming table and furniture suppliers, and others.” The Gaming Pavilion will be the springboard of ALA’s “full-scale initiative to promote gaming in libraries.” […]

The Parallel Information Universe

But Web 2.0 is about much more than the technology—it’s about a change in focus to participation, user control, sharing, openness, and networking. Mike Eisenberg, Dean Emeritus and Professor, University of Washington, Seattle offers a balanced, thoughtful look at emerging technologies and libraries: http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6551184.html Consider this passage on social networking: Opportunities Social networks provide an important vehicle to reach important users—upper youths, teens, and twenty- and thirtysomethings. Libraries currently support various real-world groups by providing space, resources and information services, education, and organizing assistance, and many are already experimenting in these social networks. (See www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Social_Networking_Software for some examples and best practices.) But most […]

Sutton leading the way on unhelpfulness?

http://philbradley.typepad.com/phil_bradleys_weblog/2008/04/sutton-leading.html Phil Bradley explains that he’s doing his work at a public library in the UK for a while. Currently, the library is renovating the space where he used to sit, so he’s sitting in a different place for the day: (emphasis mine) About 13.00 a librarian comes up to me and says ‘You have to move. You’re not allowed to use your own laptop here.‘ I asked why and she said that it’s because they don’t have the room, and people were complaining about lack of space. Which would be fair enough except that there has clearly been enough […]