Currently browsing 'personal observations'
PLACE CUBED
One of the leading mantras of the library modernization movement is the oft-referenced notion of providing the “third space” a community needs, if the first and second spaces are home and work/school. In my own life, the local library has served that role: when my daughter was an infant, we were regulars at the mid-morning lapsit at the branch down the street. It was about more than instilling an interest in literacy and language in a small child; it was a place to go to escape the monotony of home and socializing. It also served as a way to meet and share experiences with other neighborhood parents. After going for a few weeks, we’d start to see parents and kids we knew from the library around the neighborhood, and started organizing playgroups and get-togethers. The library had served as the jumping off point for community organization and involvement. Suddenly a big city neighborhood felt like a tight-knit community that we were a part of.
While reading Chapter Thirteen, Gaming, in Meredith Farkas’s book, Social Software in Libraries, I was pleasantly surprised by the coincidence of finding the same branch librarian who organized those lapsits — a friend of mine for nearly two and a half years now — quoted for her expertise in library gaming. Catherine Delneo’s 2005 article, taken from Young Adult Library Services, lays out a number of the key facts behind promoting library gaming: the sheer numbers of game players, the increasing percentage of female players, and the social aspects of videogame play. Delneo also described an interesting program in which the Austin Public Library introduced youths to game design through an easy-to-program software scheme that allowed the participants to collaborate on their own new games (Delneo, pg. 34-35).
Farkas goes into further detail on gaming and it’s history, from its roots in the 60s and 70s, the popularity of consoles, game genres (fighting vs. first person shooter, for example) that a non-gamer wouldn’t be familiar with, and some of the ways libraries have implemented game playing. These included “LAN Parties” featuring networked computers, tournaments on console games, creating gaming-dedicated areas, and attempts at providing “reader advisory” services that might, for example, steer a role-playing gamer towards epic fantasy reading.
All of these suggestions serve the Third Place concept. Teens — and an ever-increasing segment of adults — play videogames. It is a compelling interest for them. By circulating secondary materials they might not be able to afford to purchase (spin-off novels and DVDs, strategy guides, related comics), the library can create value for these users. By providing a physical space for them to play, they can try LAN-based games or games they do not own at home. A gathering point is created, and those teens and young adults have the opportunity to create a community of their peers — just as I became part of a community of my peers by bringing my young child to the branch for lapsits.
Academic Libraries
The academic library environment is commonly held fairly far apart from the public sector; collections are to serve the institution’s research needs, not the pleasure of the patrons. Academic libraries are not as caught up in the high-culture/low-culture debate that has persisted in public libraries. However, some academic libraries are starting to look at gaming as a potential vehicle for library relevance. Jim Morris of Lake City Community College in Northern Florida writes that adopting gaming in the library — particularly in after-hours, when the din of a tournament won’t detract from the study-hall environment — goes hand-in-hand with other loosened regulations (allowing food and drink, bringing in comfortable furniture, circulating reference materials) to create a more appealing library. One night might be LAN gaming; the next might feature a poetry slam. Morris believes these disparate activities both serve the same purpose: saying “yes” to his patrons. And therefore, Morris is creating a new twist on the Third Space: dorm and lecture hall as first and second, library, again, as the third.
References:
Delneo, C. (2005). Gaming for tech-savvy teens. Young Adult Library Services 3 (3), pg. 34-38.
Farkas, M.G. (2007). Social software in libraries. Medford: Information Today, Inc.
Morris, J. (2007). The new academic library and student services. Journal of Access Services 5 (1/2), pg 31-36.
THE PINAKES PRESENTS: ARTStor
Today, your bibliophylax is going to take a look at ARTStor, the beautifully designed repository of art images available through many academic institutions. This screencast can also be viewed at YouTube. Feedback is appreciated!
I thought I would add a few of my personal thoughts on creating this screencast. I used a free trial of Camtasia Studio, a professional application for screencasting. I found the bulk of features to be user friendly, but I encountered substantial roadblocks when it would not allow me to record or re-record separate audio. The features for adding audio were simply grayed out and unavailable for selection. This required me to perform “live narration” while “recording” my screen for the screencast; this led to a less professional narration than I would have preferred (a few stops and stutters; uh, um, etc.). The other catch was the lack of a Flash option; I had to produce the file as an MP4. Fortunately, that was compatible with the PodPress plug-in I use for media files here on The Pinakes.
I liked the automatic zoom-and-pan features, though I had to edit them in a number of places as it zoomed in on the wrong part of the screen. More practice with the software would eliminate that step as I would learn how to manipulate the automatic system with my mouse moves. Overall, I found Camtasia to be a very simple program to use, my only quibbles probably down to deficiencies in my hardware.
THE ART OF LISTENING
The Listener Remixed by Kim Dohrman
My first foray into being a podcast consumer started when I bought a larger, hipper iPod to replace my old dying model about two years ago. With so much space to fill, I looked to podcasts as a way to always have new content. Subscribing was easy enough; I was already using iTunes as my portal, so I searched the iTunes store for appealing podcasts. Established radio networks are a reliable source of quality material, so I went straight to NPR: Terry Gross’s Fresh Air and the occasional music series, All Songs Considered, appealed to me the most.
My problem turned out to be time. Fresh Air is a daily program, an hour apiece. For a while I picked and chose which broadcasts I wanted to listen to based on the guestlist, but after a while iTunes stopped downloading the new episodes automatically since I had failed to keep listening to the older ones. I managed a little better with All Songs Considered; it appears less often, not quite once a week, and is only 30-45 minutes. Eventually I fell too far behind it as well. Perhaps if I were a regular train commuter I’d be a better podcast consumer, but I’ve mostly been a bicycle commuter in my professional life and weaving through downtown traffic is trouble enough without the latest political debate on Fresh Air to distract me.
I’m more interested in the possibility of listening to music and news podcasts via my computer. I spend a dire number of hours per day in front of this monitor and podcasts of interviews or new music sound more compelling than my usual rehash of old music I’ve heard a thousand times. I’ve subscribed to two podcasts via RSS feeds on my browser from SFGate: Tim Goodman on television and Mick LaSalle on film. I’ve also subscribed to the San Francisco Public Library’s Word and Performance series. Via iTunes, I’ve re-subscribed to All Songs Considered and added Cool Tools for Library 2.0. Overall, I prefer the iTunes interface for subscribing to podcasts: iTunes is already my go-to program for listening to music, and it interfaces with my iPod and iPhone if I want to sync the podcast in multiple places.
Listening to Greg Schwartz’s presentation for the SirsiDynix Institute was fairly compelling and I was impressed by the range of library uses he described. Some seem obvious: storytime, for instance, or broadcasting planned presentations and lectures. I really liked his example of the Primary Sources Theater “performed” by an Academic Library on Long Island — that sounded inventive and interesting.
I’ve never been patient enough to listen, but with so many diverse offerings, perhaps it is time for me to develop my skills in the art of listening.
