Number 15: Gaming

I am not a gamer. I have not played video games regularly since I was about 12, and then it was only an occassional afternoon spent on Mario Kart. I just never got into it beyond that. I'm still not into it. I've played Guitar Hero and Rock Band a couple of times (mostly at my public library!), and those are fun, but I can't imagine spending hundreds of dollars on purchasing a system.

The Norman Public Library has been offering gaming events for awhile, now. We have a gaming series for teens called Game On, where multiple consoles and games are offered (all age-appropriate). A few times, we've offered adult gaming nights, with some of the more mature games.

23 Things asks:

• If you chose Second Life, write a blog post about your findings and thoughts on Second Life. Is there a role for Second Life in libraries?

I had never explored Second Life before. I thought this was funny though. This is another thing that I really just don't get the point of. I can see why some people would enjoy it, and get sucked into it. I just don't have the time for something like that in my life. I suppose it could be good for libraries to have a presence in the game, because there is a whole community of users who might not otherwise know much about the library (because they spend too much time at home playing games!). We have a librarian at the public library who I know would love to do something like this, and she'd be good at it. So, I think if there is a librarian on staff who is immersed in gaming culture, then why not have a presence? It's just like any other demographic or group the library would try to attract.