International Games Day 2012 Wrap-up: So. Much. Awesomeness.

This year's verdict: gaming in libraries remains a powerful service.

Despite lower numbers due to the election (many library meeting rooms were booked for early voting) and a SuperStorm that devastated communities in the northeast, the stories from the libraries that participated illustrate why we do this.

First the numbers:

As in past years, though, it's really the stories that define the day. This year the impact of gaming in libraries was brought home in a particularly strong way by those northeastern libraries that still tried to provide games for their patrons. Five libraries reported what happened at their pared-down IGD12 events. Here are two of them:

  • "While many adults shared stories about their hardships following Hurricane Sandy, the children were entertained with three hours of playing time.  Families all expressed gratitude for diversion from the tough week and commented how the library always seems to come through for the community! One Mom asked if there were any games that would improve her son's math facts in addition and subtraction.  I was able to show here two games at our event that focused on this skill, but I also mentioned that games that use two dice work on this skill constantly since you have to add the two dice together.  She was surprised to hear that and was very glad she came to the library to play games with her children." - Pawling Free Library, Pawling, NY
  • "Our community was affected by Tropical Storm Sandy. Many were without power all week and the schools were closed all week. I was not sure anyone would come because of the circumstances, but since there was no reason to cancel, I continued on with the event and was happy to see so many people attend. The parents said they were happy to get the kids out of the house and interacting with other kids again." - East Rutherford Memorial Library, East Rutherford, NJ

So many of the libraries reported these types of stories of positive interactions between kids who previously didn't know each other, families playing together, games solidifying relationships between staff and patrons, and more. A small sample of this year's comments:

  • "An elderly man in a wheelchair volunteered and played games with tiny tots and teens all day long.  He had a great time and the kids did too." - Highlands Ranch Library, Highlands Ranch, CO
  • "Our Youth Services Department had a "Play Your Way Around the World" event that included a storyteller kicking things off with tales from around the world. The children then each received a world map and proceeded to ten different stations, each of which had a game from a different country to play. Games included Afghanistan kite making, Mayan ancient basket ball, Japanese card match game, etc. The children had such fun--there was much laughter in our Youth Department!" - Patrick Heath Public Library, Boerne, TX
  • "A couple of the tweens sat down with some kids who showed interest in the Monopoly Junior game, but had no idea how to get started.  One couldn't even role dice before--they played for a solid hour before it was off to something else.    Another group who normally wouldn't be all together on the Wii shared a game, and still another got all geeked about and taught the Labyrinth game to a much younger kid and the family. The library had also recently installed games on some iPads that were received with a grant and this was a great way to premiere them!" - Chippewa Falls PL, Chippewa Falls, WI
  • "The children that attended were constantly moving from one competitive game to another.  One teen said, 'Thank you for doing this for us, if you didn't have this program I wouldn't have anything to do today but sit and watch tv.'" - Allen Parish Libraries, Oberlin, LA
  • "One amazing guy who seemed very shy and withdrawn all day picked up the mic for Rock Band and became this explosion of vocal energy.  Everyone was floored by the transformation." - Bellevue Public Library, Bellevue, NE
  • "Two of my favorite anecdotes on international games day was watching younger teens get to know older teens while they were playing Yu-gi-oh! and seeing them help each other learn and understand the game rules. And watching older teens share the Wii game controls with younger elementary school players who then began to beat them at their own game." - Woodburn Public Library, Woodburn, OR
  • "The teens enjoyed playing the donated Bookworm games from PopCap and one even said, "By playing the Bookworm game, it increased my skills of building words and made me use my brain instead of just using the computer to play shooting or racing games which don't require too much brain knowledge." - Plainview Carnegie Library, Plainview, NE
  • "Our digital arts and gaming club has planned this event for the last four years.  We increase numbers each year by 20-30 guests.   The students do all the planning and implementation and they look forward to this event each year.  Many of our students have improved social connections that they would not otherwise have at school.  The relationship building and development of leadership and planning and organizational skills are the most important reasons why we continue to hold this event each year at our high school.  The students enjoy this niche of friends and skill development through this school program and it definitely improves their overall success at FCHS. " - Franklin Community High School
  • "I had several new teens attend the program and many of them did not know anyone else [there], but by the end of 4 loud and hilarious rounds of Apples to Apples, I had gained a new member of our Teen Advisory Board and a couple new additions to our book club.  This is definitely an event I will be doing again and since I got my first year underway with no hassle or problems, I hope to expand next year's IGD." - Briggs Lawrence County Public Library, Grand Prairie, TX
  • "One three-year-old girl played Wii bowling and Twister for the first time, and some of our regular drop-in kids who frequent the library found some new value in the IGD offerings when they happened in (they wanted to know if we could do the games every Saturday, in fact!). One of the best results of the program was that we had a lot of community and relationship building happen both because staff got to spend one-on-one time with families and because children who previously didn't know each other got to interact together to play new games." - Crooked Lake Branch Library, Coon Rapids, MN
  • "One of the teens with whom I had not interacted before gave me a hug of excitement when I set up the Xbox Rock band equipment.    I am always surprised at how nicely the teens interact during gaming days.  They help us set up the equipment, teach each other how to play, and police themselves so that everyone gets a turn.  There is never fighting or hogging of the game consoles. It is a positive experience for everyone." - New Orleans Public Library, New Orleans, LA
  • "The teens look forward to International Gaming Day every year. It tends to be one of our most popular programs." - The Emmett O'Neal Library, Mountain Brook, AL

Many libraries again reported that they couldn't have offered Games Day activities without the generous donations from this year's sponsors, Ravensburger (Labyrinth), PopCap  (Bookworm), and GameTable Online. We thank all of our sponsors, and we know libraries will use the donations for many years to come to provide fun and learning for their patrons.

International Games Day 10

 

Bloomingdale (IL) Public Library

 

Did your local library participate? Check the map below to find out!

View International Games Day 2012 in a full screen map

 

In the 21st century, libraries are about more than just books. The goal of International Games Day is to reconnect communities through their libraries around the educational, recreational, and social value of all types of games.

International Games Day @ your library is an annual initiative supported by the American Library Association and our 2012 sponsors PopCap, Ravensburger, and GameTable Online.

     

Some comments from past International Gaming Day events:
  • “There were boys waiting outside for the library to open! …We had more boys in the library at one time… than I have seen in my eleven years working here.”
  • “Some of the things I overheard this year: 'I didn't know the library was this cool!', 'Can we do this every month?', 'Do we have to leave?', 'I love my life!' "
  • “Where else would you find such a mix of ages interacting and having a fun time? In a family, of course, but none of these people were related...it was just a cross section of the community.”
  • “"We had an 80 year old senior who comes to play Wii bowling with other seniors on Friday mornings.  Some teens challenged her to a game of Wii bowling…and she WON!”
  • “This was definitely a thumbs-up day!”
  • “It was awesome to see the teenagers playing games with the younger children.”
  • “Great idea to get people involved with the library!”
  •  “My favorite part of the day had to be hearing the teens cheer for each other during the Brawl contests and clap at the end of the battles. They all got along so well, even though we had quite a range of ‘teenagers’ – 8 to 18!”
  • “The program helped to give parents ideas on ways to become more involved with their children.”
  • “It was wonderful to see adults and children playing together.”
  • "When I peeked into the room, I was surprised to see that all of the teens were--at one point in time at least--playing the board games rather than video games."
  • “This is the coolest day! The library is awesome.”
  • “You guys rock this is fun. When can we do it again?”
International Games Day @ your library is an initiative of the American Library Association to connect communities around the educational, recreational, and social value of all types of games.

Why is the American Library Association promoting gaming in libraries?

1. Aren’t libraries about books and reading?

In the 21st century, libraries are about much more than books! In fact, libraries work very hard to provide people of all ages with a rich and current menu of CDs and DVDs, as well as electronic and online resources. Video game resources and programs at the library complement these existing services. Featuring this new gaming media helps the library expand its reach while meeting community expectations.

2. Aren’t video games just a passing fad?

Actually, video games have been popular for more than 30 years. In fact, three generations have grown up with video games - Generation X, Generation Y, and Millennials. It’s not only today’s kids who are playing video games. The average age of today’s gamer is 35-years old, and Baby Boomers and Seniors are playing them more than ever before. Libraries across the country are offering family gaming nights that bring generations together for a gaming experience they can’t share anywhere else.

3. Why should kids play video games at the library?

Lots of kids play video games at home – alone, with siblings, or with friends. The library is a safe and non-commercialized space. At the library, kids socialize with their friends and play video games while surrounded by books, librarians, and knowledge. Video gaming at the library encourages young patrons to interact with diverse peers, share their expertise with others (including adults), and develop new strategies for gaming and learning.

4. How do librarians choose video games that are appropriate for our kids?

The Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) has established criteria for rating video games. In 2008, 85% of the video games sold were rated “EC” (Early Childhood), “E” (Everyone), “E10+” (Everyone 10 and older), or “T” (Teens ages 13 and older).

These games are available to libraries and are considered “family friendly.” In addition to using the ESRB to guide game selection, librarians do extensive research about the recommended games and play them before they are introduced to kids. Games recommended for use in libraries often have a more social component that brings people together around the content, making the whole experience more fun when played with others.

5. What do kids learn when they play games at the library?

Video games give kids a chance to practice reading, writing, and computing in the library’s safe environment. Popular video games, the ones that kids really like to play, are immediately engaging and make them work hard to succeed and ‘level up’. While playing these games, kids are constantly developing new strategies, predicting possible outcomes, managing multiple resources, reading and deciphering maps, tracking complex statistics, and adapting to increasingly difficult levels within the game. They learn a range of media literacies beyond basic reading that give them models for navigating our information-rich world.

Additional Resources:

- Libraries Got Game (PDF)

Have more questions about International Gaming Day @ your library? Fill out the Contact Us form, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can!

For Board Game Groups:

Go to your local library with this information and find out if they’re participating in International Gaming Day @ your library. If the library’s staff isn’t aware of it, offer to host a board game event or provide staff support to help.  Your participation in this one-day activity can lead to future board game events at the library as well.

Board Game groups with questions should contact Scott Nicholson at scott@scottnicholson.com.

Librarians – want to get your library involved?  Learn more at http://ngd.ala.org

From AL Focus, watch a teen gaming tournament at Oak Park (Ill.) Public Library, with an interview with Young Adult Librarian Monica Harris, who explains why and how the library got into gaming and the benefits it offers the library and the community.

 

Also from AL Focus, see scenes from the ALA TechSource Gaming, Learning, and Libraries Symposium in Oak Brook, Illinois, November 2-4. Of particular interest is Eli Neiburger's story, beginning at 2:58.