Playing Games in Nebraska

March 6, 2009

People have been commenting about the ironic juxtaposition of the two top stories in this week's edition of American Libraries Direct: #1 Nebraska Auditor Cries Foul on Gaming: A 10-minute YouTube video posted by the Nebraska Library Commission to announce the purchase of Rock Band and Dance Dance Revolution resulted—roughly a year later—in an audit in which Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts Mike Foley concluded that “the purchase of gaming equipment is a questionable use of public funds,” and that “using social websites and gaming equipment on State time and with State computers . . . appears to be an inappropriate use of public funds.” #2 ALA Releases Gaming Tool Kit: In recognition of the increasing value of gaming to literacy improvement, ALA—with assistance from a $1 million grant from the Verizon Foundation—has developed the "Librarian’s Guide to Gaming: An Online Toolkit for Building Gaming @ your library." The toolkit includes a wide range of resources, contributed by expert gaming librarians across the country, to help librarians create, fund, and evaluate gaming experiences in the library. Coincidentally, these two stories were the two top stories of the week, but their appearance together was also a deliciously subtle slap at the rather shallow judgment of one Nebraska auditor and the unidentified taxpayer who initiated the audit, who both might better have turned their attention elsewhere to look for government waste. Libraries are notorious for their wise use of public funds and for squeezing more bang out of a buck than any other institution. While one reader told me she worried that the placement of the stories one after the other might offend the Verizon Foundation, which has been so instrumental in supporting library gaming initiatives, others have assured me that the second story reads like a rebuttal to the first and a great counterpoint to two barely informed people who haven't a clue about 1) the value of games as learning tools, and 2) the good stewardship that libraries in Nebraska and across the nation have shown for every support dollar they are able to obtain. Dale Lipschultz, literacy officer in the ALA Office for Literacy and Outreach Services, sent me an e-mail immediately after AL Direct mailed, saying, "I love the juxtaposition of these two news stories! This made my day." She agreed that the appearance of the two stories together was fortuitous, and gave the appearance that ALA was way ahead of the game, so to speak. It is unfortunate that library gaming got a bad rap in Nebraska, but the state's librarians know what to do. Good information and an afternoon with a group of young learners @ their library just might just turn Mr. Foley and the irritated taxpayer around.

Booklist sat down with author Ann Brashares to talk about her new book "3 Willows" and how it compares to her bestselling "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" series. Brashares opens up about the chances of the new book expanding into a series, how hard it is to let go of beloved characters, and how she likes to imagine her characters' lives at age 4, 14, 40, and beyond.

ALA Presidential Candidate Question Responses: Stevens on E-participation

ALA Presidential Candidate Roberta Stevens responds to Tom Peters's question on how ALA can enable participation without travel. More ALA videos at alfocus.ala.org.

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Playing Games in Nebraska

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Ann Brashares interview

ALA Presidential Candidate Question Responses: Stevens on E-participation

ALA Presidential Candidate Roberta Stevens responds to Tom Peters's question on how ALA can enable participation without travel. More ALA videos at alfocus.ala.org.