<![CDATA[Kotaku: Libraries]]> http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/kotaku.com.png <![CDATA[Kotaku: Libraries]]> http://kotaku.com/tag/libraries http://kotaku.com/tag/libraries <![CDATA[Library Seeks $300K in Funding for Video Game Collection]]> With the goal of one day offering 150 titles for checkout across its 38 locations, Toronto's public library has taken steps toward building a video game collection - but figures it needs $300,000 to make it happen. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5502390&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Utah Library Now Even Less Cool as a Hangout]]> This is a story about a library issuing a partial ban on the playing of video games, but really, it makes sense. Actually, it's good news, because it means that kids still choose to hang out at libraries. Of course, this is in Utah, so such wholesomeness is unsurprising. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5088593&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[National Gaming Day at Your Local Library]]> November 15th is National Gaming Day at your local library (apparently); they're billing it as " the largest, simultaneous national video game tournament ever held! Kids will be able to compete against players at other libraries and see their scores in real-time online while playing at their local library." What's pretty cute is the justification for holding such an event — the FAQ is a thing of beauty, including questions like "aren't video games just a passing fad?": More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5068971&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Can Guitar Hero Make Children Smarter?]]> Can video games make children smarter? This is the question the American Library Association is looking into, conducting tests in various library systems throughout the country to see if getting children into the library helps promote literacy or just results in having a bunch of kids in the library playing video games. Tucson's News-4 posted a special report today on how the project is going at the Pima County Quincy Douglas branch, where children can come and somehow gain literacy by playing Guitar Hero and "Karaoke". More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5034295&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Bizarre Timewaster of the Day: I'll Get It!]]> Ever wondered what it's like to be a librarian at an institution where your patrons are incapable of finding the most basic of materials on their own? No? Me neither. But just in case you're dying to find out, the Carnegie Mellon University Libraries have put together the 'Library Arcade' (no, really), where you can test your shelving skills following the Library of Congress call number system or try your hand at a Diner Dash-esque fetch it game, where you have to keep hapless patrons happy and find appropriate materials for their "research." What sort of researcher can't use an online library catalog, I don't know. I can tell you I'd be horsewhipped by my advisors for wasting the valuable time of our librarians by asking them to find me the answer to 'Does daylight savings time really save time?'. [via Water Cooler Games] More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=310654&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Library Offers Halo 2 Competition, People Freak]]> To attract a teenage readership, an Illinois library has planned a Halo 2 competition for this weekend. Minors can come and participate as long as they've had a permission slip signed by an adult. But to the National Institute on Media and the Family, that's just not enough. President David Walsh claims:
...it borders on irresponsibility for a public library to sponsor an activity for kids as young as 12 that the industry itself has said is for adults.
And while the permission slip doesn't specify the game is rated M, how many books in that library—perfectly accessible to children—hold the same level of violence, maturity or societal subversion without any designation? Ah, nevermind. Books like that are better off banned, anyway. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=281757&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Should Libraries Offer Gaming?]]> Over at The Shifted Librarian blog, Jenny Levine poses this stumper: More »
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