Games in Libraries

Games in Libraries Information from 2007-2011

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 13:58:43 +0000

Welcome to the information page for Scott Nicholson’s work on Games in Libraries. This page is an archive of the work that was done from 2007-2011 on the topic of Games in Libraries through the Library Game Lab of Syracuse. This game lab has now transformed into Because Play Matters, and you can find up-to-date information on that site. The goal of Because Play Matters is to create transformative games and play for informal learning spaces, so while this does include libraries, it is a broader focus than that of the Library Game Lab.

Gaming in Libraries Course

In 2009, Scott Nicholson taught a one-month Gaming in Libraries course for Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies. This course consisted of 30 videos that were released via YouTube. It created a space where library students, librarians, and gamers came together to discuss and learn more about how games can be used in libraries. Thousands have viewed the videos from this course over the years, but the original YouTube videos were deleted from Syracuse’s account. The course, and a paper that Dr. Nicholson wrote about the course called “Inviting the world into the online classroom: Teaching a gaming in libraries course via YouTube. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 51(4)”, resulted in an innovation award for 2011 by ALISE and a best conference paper award.

Scott has reloaded the videos so that those interested in gaming in libraries can continue to learn from the course content. The easiest way to watch the course is through the YouTube Gaming in Libraries Course Playlist where you can view all of the videos or just one at time, or you can watch them right here:

Everyone Plays at the Library: Creating Great Gaming Experiences for All Ages

This book, published by Information Today, contains guides, frameworks, reviews, and tools for any sort of library wanting to use a variety of games in their programs. Gaming in libraries can be more than video games and teenagers, and this book guides libraries to creating the best gaming program for their needs. It helps librarians start with the goals of their library and move into creating engaging experiences that can be assessed back to those goals. A sample chapter is available and the book can be ordered through Information Today in print and e-book formats.

Articles about Gaming in Libraries

During the years, Scott wrote a number of articles about gaming in libraries. He was a regular columnist for Digitale Bibliotheek on the topic. Most of these writings are available online:

Nicholson, S. (2011). Crossed Paths. (A free interactive storytelling game for libraries or schools). Originally created for the talk, Engagement through Games: Reaching Library Users through Playful Ways. Keynote for 2011 Minnesota Library Association annual conference. Duluth, Minnesota.

Nicholson, S. (2011). Making the Gameplay Matter: Designing Modern Educational Tabletop Games. Knowledge Quest 40(1). 60-65.

Nicholson, S. (2010, Nov. 11). Board Game Starter Kit: Intergenerational Gaming Collection for Under $200. Booklist Online Feature Article.

Nicholson, S. (2010). Join the U.S. National Gaming Day @ Your Library. Digitale Bibliotheek 2(6).

Nicholson, S. (2010). Gaming and literacy: Exploring the Connections. Digitale Bibliotheek 2(4), 42.

Nicholson, S. (2010). Scratch the gaming itch. Digitale Bibliotheek 2(2), 42.

Nicholson, S. (2009). Library Gaming Experiences on a tight budget. Digitale Bibliotheek 1(7), 23.

Nicholson, S. (2009). Creating a Gaming experience in Libraries. Digitale Bibliotheek 1(5), 11.

Nicholson, S. (2009). Why gaming? Digitale Bibliotheek 1(1), 17.

Nicholson, S. (2009). Library Gaming Census Report. American Libraries 40(1-2), 44. (note that the preprint version is edited significantly from the version as published).

Nicholson, S. (2009). Go Back to Start: Gathering Baseline Data about Gaming in Libraries. Library Review. 58(3), 203214.

Nicholson, S. (2008). Games in Libraries: Myths and Realities. NYLA Bulletin 56(4), 3.

Nicholson, S. (2008, August). Reframing gaming. American Libraries. 50-51.

Nicholson, S. (2008). Modern board games: Its not a Monopoly any more. Library Technology Reports 44(3). 8-10, 38-39.

Nicholson, Scott. (2008). Finish your games so you can start your schoolwork: A look at gaming in school libraries. Library Media Connection 26(5), 52-55.

Nicholson, S. (2007). The Role of Gaming in Libraries: Taking the Pulse. White paper.

Games in Libraries Podcast

The Games in Libraries podcast ran from 2008-2010. The archives of the Games in Libraries podcast can still be found in iTunes and individual entries for each podcast entry are in the Games in Libraries Podcast Blog below.

Games in Libraries Course and Book

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 12:21:43 +0000

The Games in Libraries podcast is no longer being produced.

If you are looking to learn more about Games in Libraries, here are several resources:

Scott Nicholson wrote “Everyone Plays at the Library” as a book version of his traveling workshop for librarians. It explores all types of games and all levels of patrons, and you can find the book at Information Today.

You can also find a video series that Scott created about gaming in libraries on YouTube at http://gamesinlibraries.org/course

Many full-text articles about games in libraries can be found at http://scottnicholson.com/pubs/index.html

Games in Libraries Podcast for May 2011

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Sun, 22 May 2011 17:21:59 +0000

Welcome to the May 2011 episode of the Games in Libraries podcast. In this episode, we talk about the NYPL’s Find the Future event, interview Major Nelson, review Shake-n-Take, talk about a national Smash Brothers tournament, and more!

Get this episode from the Internet Archive
(Right Click and Save)
– or visit its home at the to have it streamed to your computer.

The Games in Libraries podcast is also in iTunes at Games in Libraries

Show Notes:
- Don’s article in School Library Journal
- Scott was part of the Find the Future game at the NYPL
- National Smash announcement
- Out of the Box Company Profile
- Interview with Larry Hryb, XBOX Live’s Major Nelson
- Shake-N-Take Review

Want to talk about this episode? Visit ALA Connect!

We are seeking contributions! Contact Donald Dennis at donaldgdennis@gmail.com

Games in Libraries for September 2010

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 13:46:35 +0000

Welcome to the September episode of the Games in Libraries podcast. We’ve got a nice variety of topics for you to enjoy this month:

Get this episode here – gamesinlibraries0910.mp3
– or visit its home at the Internet Archive to have it streamed to your computer.

The Games in Libraries podcast is also in iTunes at Games in Libraries

On this episode:
1:15 Donald on purchasing games for schools and libraries from Fantasy Flight Games.
3.05 Eli Neiburger on a new way of doing Smash Bro’s Qualifiers for large groups, and National Gaming Day.
11:20 Scott Nicholson on dexterity games; specifically Sorry Sliders and the new Crokinole
17:05 Jamie Jayroe and Donald give tips for using and maintaining the XBOX 360 hard drive
25:10 Brian Mayer on how board games provide different types of experiences.
35:00 Thomas Edgar on Magic: the Gathering

Want to talk about episode? Visit ALA Connect!

We are seeking contributions! Contact Donald Dennis at donaldgdennis@gmail.com

Games in Libraries Podcast is Back!

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:24:58 +0000

We’re back on the air!

Donald Dennis is taking up the task of editing the Games in Libraries podcast, and has put together a new episode for all to enjoy! Tell your friends!

Download the Games in Libraries Podcast or listen to it streaming at the Internet Archive.

Scott Nicholson & Donald Dennis briefly discuss the future of the Games in Libraries podcast
Scott & Donald talk about the new book Everyone Plays at the Library
Heather Pelham and Donald talk about integrating games into the Georgetown County Library Hurricane project
Brian Mayer talks to us about game awards
Jamie Jayroe and Donald review Wits and Wagers Family
Scott makes a brief announcement about National Gaming Day at your Library 2010.

Talk about this episode at http://connect.ala.org/gaming

Feedback on the episode or ideas for a segment? Contact Donald Dennis at donaldgdennis@gmail.com

(edit to correct email address)

Events for ALA Annual 2010

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 11:10:01 +0000

I did a brief recording about the events for ALA Annual 2010.

ALA Open Gaming Night
Friday, June 25, 2010
7:30pm – 10:00pm
Renaissance Ballroom at the Renaissance Hotel
Play a variety of games and meet others interested in gaming
Hosted by the Games and Gaming Members Initiative Group and
Sponsored by Information Today and Neal-Schuman

Note: In the ALA program, there is a meeting listed for the GGMIG at
10:00 AM GRAND Constitution E. We won’t have that meeting, since our
program is at 10:30. Instead, we will have our GGMIG meeting after the conclusion of the 10:30am program.

Leveling up Library Gaming: A Partnership Perspective
Saturday, June 26 – 10:30am – 12:00pm
Washington Convention Center -145B
Hosted by the Games and Gaming Members Initiative Group

Book Signing with Scott Nicholson
“Everyone Plays at the Library: Creating Great Gaming Experiences for All Ages”
Information Today Booth
Saturday, June 26, 1:00-2:00 pm

PLA President’s Program
Featuring Will Shortz,
Enigmatologist-New York Times Puzzle Master
Sunday, June 27,
1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

Games in Libraries, December 2009

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:36:07 +0000

During this episode of the Games in Libraries podcast, we talk about what happened during National Gaming Day @ Your Library, 2009.

Download the December 2009 Games in Libraries episode over at The Internet Archive.

Or listen here:

Show Notes:

National Gaming Day @ Your Library – Nov. 14, 2009
– Main Web site: http://ngd.ala.org
– Data from the event: http://ngd.ala.org/2009/11/24/double-the-fun-final-ngd2009-numbers/
– ALA Gaming Toolkit
– YouTube Course on Gaming in Libraries

Donald Dennis and Jamie Jayroe of the Georgetown County Library System SC BYTES Project talks about what their library did for National Gaming Day @ Your Library, and discusses lessons learned about what got people excited.

JJ Lanza, on his RPG101 segment, talks about how he worked with the Wood County Public Library in Bowling Green, Ohio to run a roleplaying game. He ran the Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying game starter set, and more information about that can be found at http://tinyurl.com/dndstarterset/

Beth Gallaway talks about how the Mashpee, Massachusetts Public Library used an interesting survey idea on National Gaming Day to get ideas from library patrons about board and video games for collection development.

Greg Carlson and others from the Jacaranda Library, Sarasota County Libraries in Sarasota, Florida present some of the innovative things they are doing to engage the community with chess. You can join in the game at http://sclibs.net/chess.aspx

Eli Neiburger presents the results from the video game tournaments for National Gaming Day 2009.

Talk about this episode over at ALA Connect!

Games in Libraries, October 2009

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:12:53 +0000

With National Gaming Day @ Your Library coming right up (Nov. 14), we wanted to put up an episode with advice for libraries thinking about joining in! Enjoy!

Download the October 2009 Games in Libraries episode over at The Internet Archive.

Or listen here:

Show Notes:

National Gaming Day @ Your Library – Nov. 14, 2009
– Main Web site: http://ngd.ala.org
- Form to register your library as a participant
– GT System (host for video game tournaments)
- Press Release about Hasbro donation
– North Star Games, home of Wits & Wagers and Say Anything! andAlphaBound, home of LetterJAM

Brian Mayer talks about how School Libraries can get involved with National Gaming Day (since it’s on a Saturday).

Kelly Czarnecky discusses a report called Game Changer: Investing in Digital Play to Advance Children’s Learning and Health (link currently unavailable)
– ALA Connect Games and Gaming Member Initiative Group

Julie Scordato talks about what they do at the Columbus Metropolitan Library and continuing to advocate gaming through tough budget times
– Columbus Metropolitan Library
– Systemwide Teen Gaming Initiative, Columbus Metropolitan Library
– LibGaming Google Group
– Games & Gaming Member Initiative Group
– Making the Case: Advocacy & FAQs

A new contributor, JJ Lanza, joins us to talk about roleplaying games with a new segment, RPG101.
– John Kim’s website, which you can reach by using tinyurl.com/whatisrpg
– Bill Walton’s excellent resource website, Terra Libris, at theescapist.com. (Rpg jargon site)
– JJ’s blog is at http://back2rpgbasics.blogspot.com.

Eli Neiburger presents the structures that libraries can be involved with for NGD. He’s hosting these three events:
– Rock Band High Score Contest. Any version, any song. Log score through http://wiki.gtsystem.org
– Super Smash Brothers Brawl Bracket. 3PM Eastern Four libraries per pool, players play off and get points. Top two libraries advance. Libraries must be able to play online. E-mail at gtsystem@aadl.org to sign up.
– Mario Kart Wii tournament. SUNDAY, Nov. 15 (day after NGD). E-mail at gtsystem@aadl.org to sign up.

Talk about this episode over at ALA Connect!

Games in Libraries, September 2009

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 01:08:20 +0000

Wow! My apologies – I wrote this up, saved it as a draft, and never released it! Someone should tell me about these things!

Download the September 2009 Games in Libraries episode over at The Internet Archive.

Or listen here:

Show Notes:

Donald Dennis, Georgetown County Library System, South Carolina, BYTES Project, and his graduate assistant, Thomas Maluck, about Web sites for video game reviews:
Metacritic
Gamerankings
Mobygames

Scott Nicholson reviews Wii Sports Resort and the Wii Motion Plus controller.

Julie Scordato talks about the Systemwide Teen Gaming Initiative at the Columbus Ohio Metropolitan Library

Game On! Gaming at the Library (Neal Schuman, 2009) by Beth Gallaway
Systemwide Gaming Initiative, Columbus Metropolitan Library
Search Institute
Entertainment Software Association

Beth Gallaway presents a online course called “Reaching Teens with Gaming” that she is teaching through YALSA.

Scott Nicholson explains how to play 1000 Blank White Cards, the Game of the Month for the Games and Gaming Members Initiative Group. Come and talk about it at http://connect.ala.org/node/81900

Talk about this episode over at ALA Connect!

Games in Libraries – August 2009

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 15:10:56 +0000

Download the August 2009 Games in Libraries episode over at The Internet Archive.

Or listen here:

Welcome to the Games in Libraries podcast! (I realize now that I screwed up in my introduction and called it the “Gaming in Libraries” podcast – that was the name of my free Gaming in Libraries course, so now the two are all mixed up in my head!)

Show Notes:

Donald Dennis of the Georgetown County Library System SC BYTES Project talks with Ron Brown from the University of South Carolina and his graduate assistant, Thomas Maluck, about how video games have an impact on real-life situations.
Beth Gallaway reviews the book, Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks
Scott Nicholson does a review of Tales of the Arabian Nights, which you can get at your local game store or Funagain Games (who will take a purchase order and who also gives monthly game grants for libraries)
M. Brandon Robbins talks about Passage and Beth Gallaway talks about “Play Along with Us,” the game of the month club for the Games and Gaming Members Initiative Group.
Eli Neiburger talks about the concept of a Game Jam and how a library could host one and encourages libraries to host game creation programs.
- Global Game Jam
- Scratch Day
- Scratch
- ALISE Project
- P4Games.org
- Gamestar Mechanic (Currently not available)
Talk about this episode over at ALA Connect!

Games in Libraries – July 2009

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:07:27 +0000

Download the July 2009 Games in Libraries episode over at The Internet Archive.

Or listen here:

Show Notes:

Jason Puckett talks about how gaming has brought about new requests for instruction in his academic library.
–Adventures in Library Instruction podcast at http://adlibinstruction.blogspot.com/
–Exhibit photo at http://jasonpuckett.net/2009/06/25/library-exhibit-on-virtual-worlds-and-gaming/
–Books and images used at http://homer.gsu.edu/blogs/library/2009/06/24/summer-exhibit-virtual-worlds-and-gaming/
Brian Mayer covers 5 games that can teach ELA (English Language Arts) in 5 minutes.
–Once Upon a Time: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1234
–Word on the Street: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/40990
–Quiddler: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/339
–Syllable-Rally: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/35897
–Werewolf: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/925
Scott Nicholson interviews David Meyer and Blake Ratcliffe from TMC Furniture about
a cool Wii and Wiimote Holder
Beth Gallaway talks about how you can easily contribute to the Games in Libraries Podcast
Using gabcast to record a podcast
1. Call 1.888.887.3127 and listen to the voice prompts. 2. Enter the Channel number 28128 and press #. 3. Enter the Password and press # (to get the password, email libgamecast@googlegroups.com). 4. Press 1 to record a new session. 5. Talk for up to 10 minutes. 6. Press # to stop recording, then: • Press 1 to Review • Press 2 to Publish • Press 7 to Delete • Press 9 to return to the main menu and Re-Record. 7. When you are satisfied, press 2 to Publish. 8. Then, disconnect by hanging up the phone. 9. Don’t forget to email your shownotes (i.e., links to URLs mentioned) to libgamecast@googlegroups.com.
Eli Neiburger presents how to use Mario Kart Wii and online connections for a library event and National Gaming Day plans – http://wiki.gtsystem.org/ngd
Scott Nicholson, Liz Danforth, Beth Gallaway, and M. Brandon Robbins talk about some of their favorite picks for games in libraries and come up with a new idea
–Games discussed: Tsuro,
–Ben 10 Alien Force Game Creator,
–Passage & Gravitaton
Scott continues to talk about “Play Along with Us”, a new Game-of-the-month club, which you can join at http://connect.ala.org/forum/11567

Talk about this episode over at ALA Connect!

Games in Libraries – June 2009

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:58:05 +0000

Download the June 2009 Games in Libraries episode over at The Internet Archive.

Or listen here:

Join us at the course on Gaming in Libraries at http://www.gamesinlibraries.org/course/!

-Beth Gallaway reviews Sims 3 (http://www.thesims3.com/)
-Brian Mayer covers 5 games that can teach scientific concepts in 5 minutes.
Bolide – http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/20865
Suitcase Detectives – http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/35481
Power Grid – http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2651
Polarity – http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/17699
In the Country – http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/29122
-Beth Gallaway talks about events at ALA and points you to the calendar at http://connect.ala.org/node/66247
-Brian Mayer joins Mrs. Twit to talk about Board Games.

Talk about this episode over at ALA Connect!

Games in Libraries – May 2009

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Tue, 05 May 2009 22:16:07 +0000

Download the May 2009 Games in Libraries episode over at The Internet Archive.

Do you use iTunes? You can subscribe to the podcast there through http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=278763209

You can also listen to it here:

Show notes:

-Beth Gallaway presents the 10 winners of the $5000 gaming, literacy, and libraries grants funded by the Verizon Foundation and Thinkfinity.org

Press release: http://gaming.ala.org/news/
Liz’s blog post about the grant process: http://www.libraryjournal.com/blog/1130000713/post/850043685.html
Best Buy Community Relations Grant: http://209.68.13.147/community_relations/local_donations_rfp.htm
FunAgain Games Grants: http://www.funagain.com/control/rc?p=grants

-Brian Mayer reviews the board game Oregon and presents how it can teach mathematics in an unusual way
-Scott Nicholson talks about ALA Connect and gaming
Donald Dennis starts a new segment where he presents three podcasts with board game reviews

The Dice Tower: http://www.thedicetower.com/thedicetower/index.php
The Spiel: http://www.thespiel.net/
The Game Kennel: http://www.pulpgamer.com/gamekennel
On Board Games: http://onboardgames.net/
Board Game Podcasts: http://boardgamepodcasts.com/

- Eli Neiberger talks about the Wii, Wiimotes, the new WiiMotion Plus, and Nintendo’s incremental upgrade strategy
- Brian Mayer talks about four criteria school librarians can use to select games
- Scott Nicholson presents information about the free upcoming Gaming in Libraries course on You Tube – http://www.gamesinlibraries.org/course/

Talk about this episode over at ALA Connect!

Games in Libraries – April 2009

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 19:53:51 +0000

Happy Birthday to Us! The Games in Libraries podcast is 1 year old!

Download the April 2009 Games in Libraries episode over at The Internet Archive.

You can also listen to it here:

Show notes:

– Beth Gallaway presents an update on the ALA’s Verizon grant to fund libraries.

- Christen Higgins interviews Rafael Chandler, author of the “The Game Writing Handbook.”

- Brian Mayer does a review of Dancing Eggs from Haba.

- Beth Gallaway talks about different ways to fund a library gaming program.

Money, Money, Money: Budgeting & Purchasing Equipment: http://librarygamingtoolkit.org/budget.html
Wizards of the Coast Library page: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/library
Gaming on a ~$500 Budget: http://librarygamingtoolkit.org/budget500.html
YALSA BWI Collection Development Grant: http://ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/awardsandgrants/bwi.cfm
Government Grant Alerts: http://grants.gov/applicants/email_subscription.jsp
all other resources are on the Paying for it All: Grant Resources page at http://librarygamingtoolkit.org/grants.html

– Scott Nicholson starts a series about Library Gaming Experiences.

- Eli Neiberger talks about GT System, a service for libraries to use to manage gaming events. In addition, he announces 2009 multi-library tournaments in DDR, Guitar Hero, Super Smash Brothers, Mario Kart, and Pokemon. More information at http://wiki.gtsystem.org .

Talk about this episode over at the News about Games and Gaming blog!

Games in Libraries – March 2009 Episode

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 03:12:18 +0000

Happy March!

Download the March 2009 Games in Libraries episode over at The Internet Archive.

You can also listen to it here:

Show notes:

We’ve got a great episode for you this month! There’s some big news – the ALA has presented a call for proposals for libraries to do gaming programs and released the gaming toolkit!

– Beth Gallaway talks about the new ALA Toolkit for Gaming. You can explore the toolkit at http://librarygamingtoolkit.org .

– Jennifer Nelson talks about Scratch, a game creation tool. You can download Scratch at
http://scratch.mit.edu and learn about Scratch day at
http://day.scratch.mit.edu/. Email Jennifer Nelson to be added to the email discussion group for Scratch Day resources at jrnelson@hclb.org

– Scott Nicholson reviews Duck! Duck! Go! from APE Games.

– Jason Puckett reviews Wii Fit and how libraries might use it.

– Kieran Hixon talks about how he supports gaming in several rural Colorado libraries.

– Eli Neiberger talks more about about Little Big Planet. He originally introduced it in December 2008, and continues the discussion here.

– Beth Gallaway provides a reminder about the March 20 deadline for the ALA Verizon Thinkfinity grants for gaming. The Libraries Literacy & Gaming Grant Application is at http://librarygamingtoolkit.org/rfp . Email Dale Lipschultz with grant application questions: dlipschultz@ala.org

Games in Libraries – February 2009

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:23:21 +0000

This episode of the Games in Libraries podcast is an edited version of the Games and Gaming Members Initiative Group meeting from the Midwinter 2009 conference in Denver, Colorado. The sound quality isn’t as good as our regular episodes due to the setting.

You can download the episode at http://www.archive.org/download/GamesInLibrariesFebruary2009/gamesinlibrariesfeb09.mp3
or in other formats from the Internet Archive.

You can also listen to it right here:

Anyone interested in talking about their library can send a mp3 file of no longer than 10 minutes to scott@scottnicholson.com .

Games in Libraries, January 2009

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:13:35 +0000

Welcome to the January 2009 episode of the Games in Libraries podcast.

You can get this show at The Internet Archive

or listen to it here (if the player from the Archive is working):

Scott Nicholson interviews UK game and education researcher and independent information professional John Kirriemuir, whose blogs is at http://www.silversprite.com
Beth Gallaway talks about different types of game awards
Board Games with Scott episode on Agricola
Christopher Harris presents a radical idea about using board games in the classroom/library.
Scott Nicholson interviews Liz Danforth with has both game industry and library experience.
Beth Gallaway interviews John Scalzo, host of the Video Game Librarian Blog at http://www.videogamelibrarian.com
- 2008 Video Game Librarian Bookmark Awards

- The Video Game Librarian articles on Gaming Target
Paul Waelchli talks about some of the literacies gained from recent video games.

Games in Libraries – Dec. 2008

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:39 +0000

You can download the Games in Libraries episode for December 2008 from the Internet Archive

Or, listen to it right here:

Scott Nicholson talks to Julie Scordato from the Columbus Metropolitan Library
Beth Gallaway talks about the Dec. 19th ALA Presidents’ Salon on Gaming in Libraries.
Chris Harris talks about the importance of remembering that board games are a form of gaming.
Scott Nicholson interviews Jack Martin from the New York Public Library
Eli Neiberger provides a review of his Game of 2008, Little Big Planet
Beth Gallaway talks about games to look for in Holiday Sales

Going to Midwinter?
The YALSA social mixer & technology playground is Friday night, January 23rd from 8-10pm.

The Games and Gaming Members Initiative Group meeting is Saturday, January 24th from 10-12am in the Grand Hyatt Denver, Mt. Columbia room .

Episode 8 – November 2008

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 18:10:01 +0000

National Gaming Day at your Library is on November 15th! In this episode, Scott Nicholson reminds you of this event and talks with representatives from Nintendo, Wizards of the Coast, and Highsmith. In addition, there is a round table discussion recorded at the Gaming, Learning, and Libraries 2008 Symposium.

Download the episode in MP3 form.

Download it in many different forms at Games in Libraries November 2008 episode at the Internet Archive

Listen to it here:

To learn more about National Gaming Day, visit the ALA Gaming Wiki at http://gaming.ala.org/resources

Talk about this episode at the ALA Gaming Blog.

Episode 7 – October 2008

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 03:00:33 +0000

This episode of the Games in Libraries podcast is “Gaming Programs 101″. With the upcoming National Gaming Day @ Your Library, we wanted to help those of you wanting to run a gaming program.

You can listen to this episode at

the Internet Archive

or in other formats at
http://www.archive.org/details/GamesInLibrariesPodcastOctober2008

General information about the Nov. 15th event can be found at
http://www.ilovelibraries.org/gaming/

and more detailed information is at

http://gaming.ala.org/resources/index.php?title=Ngd2008

Want to run a video game tournament? Visit

http://wiki.gtsystem.org/ngdinfo

There’s a BoardGameGeek List of games to consider for your boardgame needs at

http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/35330

Here are resources for Game Creation programs:

Sims Carnival(www.simscarnival.com)
Spore Creature Creator (www.spore.com)
Ben 10 Alien Force(www.cartoonnetwork.com/tv_shows/ben10af/)
Scratch(http://scratch.mit.edu)
Alice(www.alice.org)
GameMaker(www.yoyogames.com)
Adrift(www.adrift.org.uk)
Drawn to Life(www.drawntolife.com.au)
Adventure Maker(www.adventuremaker.com)
RPG Maker(http://tkool.jp/products/rpgxp/eng/)

Check back as NGD approaches for links to instructional videos and assessment tools!

Episode 6 – September 2008

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:48:19 +0000

Get this episode at The Internet Archive

On this episode of the Games in Libraries podcast, you can hear:

- Scott Nicholson talks about the Libraries and Librarians Guild on World of Wa rcraft

- Scott Nicholson interview Mary Couzin about:

Chicago Toy and Game Group fair
The Games for Educators site
The Games for Fundraising site (not quite up yet, but will be at http://gamesforfundraising.com)

- Eli Neiburger talks about Pixel Junk games, which are dowloadable content for the PlayStation 3

- Scott Nicholson talks with Mark Blecher from Hasbro about Pictureka and the upcoming National Gaming Day @ Your Library Note – Public Libraries will be getting copies of the game directly from Hasbro in October through the ALA partnership; they don’t need to register.

- Kelly Czarnecki, Jesse Vieau and Joseph Wilk talk about a Wii battle between libraries

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – http://www.clpteens.blogspot.com/ and http://clpteensburgh.wordpress.com/
GT System
LibGaming listserv
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Episode 5 – August 2008

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:17:42 +0000

Download it from the Internet Archive: Games in Libraries, Episode 5

This month, we have a wide variety of segments for you:

- Kelly Czarnecki reviews “The Ecology of Games: Connecting Youth, Games, and Learning”

- Scott Nicholson interviews Demco at their booth at the Gaming Pavillion at ALA Annual 2008

- Paul Waelchli talks about Fantasy Football

- Scott Nicholson interviews Alice Cahn from the Cartoon Network at ALA Annual 2008

- Beth Gallaway interviews Richard Glady about Family Gaming programs at Scottsdale (AZ) Public Library (part 1)

Here are some resources for libraries interested in Fantasy Football:

Fantasy Football for Librarians 101 - This resource provides a quick overview of fantasy football, additional online resources that cover how to get started, and a number of quality online resources covering fantasy football news and analysis.

Fantasy Football as Information Literacy - Fantasy football can be a bridge to information literacy. This resource maps fantasy sport activities to ACRL Information Literacy Standards.

Sample Lesson Plan - The lesson plan includes ACRL Information Literacy Standards mapped to potential activities within a class / workshop setting.

Do you like this show? Please tell others about it! You can find e-mail reminders, Itunes links, and an RSS feed at http://gamesinlibraries.org

Episode 4 – July 2008

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 23:03:44 +0000

The July 2008 episode of Games in Libraries has been posted. The main portion of this episode is a round table that we recorded at the American Library Association Annual 2008 conference. In addition, the President’s Citations for Games in Libraries are announced.

You can listen to this episode at
http://www.archive.org/download/gamesinlibrariespodcast_july2008/gamesinlibraries_july2008_64kb.mp3

Looking for other audio formats? Visit the Internet Archive for more.

Games and Gaming MIG recording

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:53:21 +0000

At ALA Annual 2008, I recorded the Games and Gaming MIG. I’ve edited out the business meeting and announcements about what was happening at that ALA. As it was a microphone in the middle of the room, the sound quality varies on how far away the participants were sitting.

You can listen to the meeting through the Internet Archive at

http://www.archive.org/download/alaannual2008gamesgamingmig/alaggmig2008.mp3

(Or listen in the Embedded Player at the Internet Archive)

Here are URLs for all of the projects mentioned in the Blatant Plug portion of the meeting:

There is The Librarian guild on World of Warcraft, Kirin-Tor server. More information at http://thelibrarian.wowstead.com/
The WhyGames wiki at http://whygames.pbwiki.com/ is the home to a research study being conducted by Liz Danforth about what people experience in a virtual world game.
The Games, Learning and Society conference is being held July 10-11 in Madison, Wisconsin.
The Gaming, Learning, and Libraries symposium, sponsored by ALA and the Verizon Foundation, will be Nov. 2-4 in Chicago, Illinois.
Gencon Indy 2008 has an Education and Trade day on August 13th.
Chris Harris is leading a project to map board games to New York state learning standards.
Chris Harris is also giving a talk at Gencon about Games in Libraries. Anyone with information they would like Chris to share can e-mail him at infomancy@gmail.com
The Serious Games Initiative has a Games for Health focus for those wanting to learn more about games designed to improve health.
The International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations journal has a call for submissions.
On the Cartoon Network website, there is a Game Creator tool that is very popular with kids.
A conference was held in World of Warcraft, and a post-conference report is on Science’s site.
November 15th is National Gaming @ Your Library Day. There will be a national videogame tournmament, and Hasbro will be donating 16,000 copies of Pictureka for libraries to use.
The ALA Gaming blog is at http://gaming.ala.org/news/ and the ALA Gaming Wiki is at http://gaming.ala.org/resources/index.php
The Library Game Lab of Syracuse has the results from last year’s surveys in the Publication section on http://gamelab.syr.edu. It is also hosting the Games in Libraries podcast, which can be found at http://gamesinlibraries.org.

Discuss this meeting over at the ALA Gaming Blog entry.

Episode 3 – June 2008

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 23:52:58 +0000

Episode 3 of the Games in Libraries podcast is now available!

http://www.archive.org/download/GamesinLibrariesPodcastEpisode3

You can also get it in other formats or listen to it streaming at the Internet Archive

Don’t forget to join us for the Games and Gaming Member Initiative Group meeting on Saturday, June 28th of ALA from 10:00-12:00 in the Sheraton Park Hotel in Plaza A/B!

Kelly Czarnecki – Serious Games

Games for Change: http://www.gamesforchange.org
ACRL post by Michelle Boule: http://acrlog.org/2007/06/06/serious-games
Serious Games:http://www.seriousgamessource.com
Immune Attack:http://fas.org/immuneattack/

Jason Puckett – Review of Lego Star Wars

Beth Gallaway – Game Ratings by the ESRB

Entertainment Software Ratings Board: http://www.esrb.org

Chris Harris – Aligning educational standards with games

AASL standards and gaming: http://sls.gvboces.org/gaming/

Eli Neiburger – WiiWare Roundup

Scott Nicholson – Public Performance of Games in Libraries

ALLEN v. ACADEMIC GAMES LEAGUE OF AMERICA 89 F.3d 614 (9th Cir.
1996): http://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F3/89/89.F3d.614.html

Jenny Levine – ALA Update

ALA Gaming Blog: http://gaming.ala.org/news/
ALA Gaming Resources Wiki: http://gaming.ala.org/resources
I Love Libraries: http://www.ilovelibraries.org/gaming/

Episode 2 – May 2008

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Thu, 15 May 2008 11:28:45 +0000

You can get this episode from the Internet Archive at
http://www.archive.org/download/GamesInLibrariesPodcastEpisode2

Want to discuss this episode? Head over to the gaming.ala.org blog

Show Notes:
- Beth’s review is about Kutner, Lawrence and Cheryl K. Olson. Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008. http://www.grandtheftchildhood.com

- Gaming, Learning, and Libraries Symposium information: http://gaming.techsource.ala.org/index.php/Main_Page

- Submit presentation proposal by June 15 at the GLLS site

Episode 1 – April 2008

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:51:02 +0000

You can get this episode from the Internet Archive at
http://www.archive.org/download/GamesInLibrariesPodcastEpisode1

Want to discuss this episode? Head over to the gaming.ala.org blog

Show Notes:
- ALA’s blog on Gaming is at http://gaming.ala.org/news
- Press Release on Presidential Citation:
http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2008/february2008/gaming08.cfm
- Citation Application:
http://creator.zoho.com/olos/2008-presidential-gaming-citations/form/1/
- Pandemic information:
http://boardgamegeek.com/game/30549
- Original Orc Holocaust article:
http://www.slate.com/id/2186203
- Gaming @ your library day:
http://ilovelibraries.org/gaming/
- Flickr Group for submitting Gaming pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/gamingatyourlibrary
- Board Games with Scott on Ticket To Ride: http://www.boardgameswithscott.com/?p=19

Episode 0 – Introductions

scott@scottnicholson.com (Scott Nicholson) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:26:15 +0000

Welcome to the introductory episode of the Games in Libraries podcast. This episode is a chance for you to get to know the regular contributors to the show. As the show evolves, this episode will be replaced to reflect the new voices on the show.

You can get the episode from the Internet Archive at http://www.archive.org/download/GamesInLibrariesPodcastEpisode0.