Videogames in libraries is a rather new phenomenon, starting a few years ago as libraries began to recognize it as a way to bring people together for "play, socialization and cultural enrichment," according to [URL=http://www.librarygamingtoolkit.org/]The Librarian's Guide to Gaming[/URL].

While gaming is slowly making it way into the hushed aisles of your neighborhood book depositories, are librarians really undrestanding the importance of the medium and how to best serve the people looking for them? It is a question indirectly posed in [URL=http://www.libraryjournal.com/blog/1130000713/post/800052080.html]a gaming column[/URL] written by game developer and paralibrarian [URL=http://www.libraryjournal.com/blogger/3814.html]Liz Danforth[/URL].

Danforth suggests five things that librarians should consider when planning a gaming program or holding gaming events. From #2 "We Don't Listen:"

[INDENT]Actually, that might have been phrased "We don't ask," something which has to come first. We read gaming articles in the professional magazines and the blogs like this one, and think "I will ask Admin to get us a Wii and a couple of games, and all will be copacetic." Do your patrons [I]want[/I] to play games on the Wii? What games are they interested in? Maybe your demographic would be happier with chess or board games. Maybe some people would jump at the chance to participate in a role-playing game club with a steampunk theme. Or maybe, in fact, they do want to play on the Wii. If you don't ask, and if you don't pay attention to the answers, you don't actually know.[/INDENT]From #3 "We Think Plug And Play is Good Enough:"

[URL=http://www.gameculture.com/2010/01/19/five-mistakes-librarians-make-about-games]read more[/URL]

[url=http://www.gameculture.com/2010/01/19/five-mistakes-librarians-make-about-games]More...[/url]