Gamers and libraries
“While it may be true gamers play a role in creating knowledge and adding value to their games, I think it’s of very limited usefulness when compared with other groups known to frequent the realm of the microprocessor and TCP/IP: open source hackers, bloggers, and the wiki people.” - Blake Carver in LISNews–commenting on a games-related article in LibraryJournal.
The TeleRead take: Blake’s sensible advice for libraries: “Meet the Gamers, Embrace the Others.”
Additional thoughts: If there are ways to turn gamers into readers (”here, read the myth that inspired this game”) or savvy games-designers (”learn this computer language and study this kind of art and you can do X, Y, Z”)–now that has possibilities.
A gamer’s side: Below:
“It may be possible that focusing on gamers misplaces our engergies on people who’ll probably never see any value in libraries.”
As both a librarian and a gamer, I take particular exception to this statement. I work with serials, act in plays, read, watch movies and play an online game. Among other things.
While I don’t deny that there are likely many gamers who don’t see the immediate value in libraries, I’m also firmly of the opinion that this can be remedied, and resent your implied dismissal of a group of potential users that makes up a considerable portion of the population. Some pretty hard-core gamers also fall into the categories of the bloggers, developers, etc. that you lionize.
Perhaps you should take a closer look at the life and habits of those who aren’t exactly like you before brushing them off with a few vague generalizations.
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