Going for the Gold

Innovating and Collaborating thru Gaming and Digital Technologies

The Georgetown County Library’s

Challenges and Successes

Dwight McInvaill, DirectorGeorgetown County Library, SC

843-545-3304dmcinvaill@georgetowncountysc.org

Presentation to the Association for Rural and Small Libraries Conference

September 2009

Georgetown County’s Library in 1859

Prosperity on the Back of Enslaved Persons

Georgetown County Library 2009

But Enduring Problems Remain

We’ve Got Local Problems that

Need Creative Solutions!

And Also Some Scarier National Ones!

How Do We Continue to Succeed in a

Brave New World?

Let’s Do Something Exciting!

Presently, Libraries are Popular.

Recommendations for Libraries

(According to the Da Vinci Institute)

1. Evaluate the library experience (Survey the community; figure out how to get at the heart of what matters most to your community.)

2. Embrace new information technologies.

3. Preserve the memories of your own communities. (Don’t let yours disappear.)

4. Experiment with creative spaces so the future role of the library can define itself.

A Paradox?

If we would like things to remain the same –

with libraries at the center of their communities (universities, schools,

businesses, cities, towns, etc.)

– then, maybe, we have got to do some things differently?

Augmented Library Users?

Graz University of Technology, Austria

Augmented Libraries?

Graz Tech University, Austria

Brabant Library, Netherlands (proposed)

American Library Association Library in Second Life

Why Wait for the Future?

Delft Library, Netherlands

We Need to Cultivate All of Our Resources

Now!

Georgetown County Library, South Carolina

Our Library Faces Challenges. For example, we have

• Limited Resources– Staff (Only 24 FTEs to serve

60,000 citizens at 4 locations)– Money (Of 42 public library

systems in SC, we rank only 19th in total operating income)

• Lack of Expertise• Need to Garner Support for

Innovations from:– Library Board, Itself– County Government– Staff– General Public– Grant Givers

The Library Does All Sorts of Programs for

Youngsters

We’ve had Success in Innovating and Collaborating

When We Hosted a Ben Franklin Exhibit, We Even Had Dancing in the

Heart of the Exhibit!

To achieve success , we collaborated successfully with our national funders,

with the Humanities Council of SC, with the Studio of Dance, and with the Georgetown County School District.

The library system is a key member of the Georgetown County First Steps Partnership which aims to prepare preschoolers to be emotionally, intellectually, and

physically ready for first grade. As part of this aim, the library established book collections in 42 childcare

centers throughout the county. The library also obtained grant funds to develop a special educational curriculum

and to supply a storyteller to visit each of these preschool centers monthly to entertain the youngsters and

to serve as a model for the childcare providers. Additionally, the library continues to furnish monthly workshops where preschool instructors can earn continuing-education certification credits. For this

work, the library system won in 2003, the first “Counties Care for Kids Award” given by the National Association of

Counties.

So We’ve Always Known that Libraries can Benefit Young People, but First, You’ve Got

to Get THEM inside!

We’ve Used Innovative Technology Projects to Get Folks

to Visit Us

One of Our Projects Involves Interactive

Gaming

Here’s a View of our Interactive Gaming Center at

our Carvers Bay Branch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM7jAbvLUFc&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Egclibrary%2Eorg%2Fdefault%2Easp

Your Public Library: Keeping Your Community Connected

Success Takes Good Rules, People, Spaces, Equipment,

Games, and PR!

We Started with THE LIBRARY CARD.

Checking Out Library Materials Comes With Being in the

Library Gaming Club.

Graphic Novels, Videos, Music, Magazines, Gaming Rules, and Even Regular Books!

Great Staff is Key to Success!

Marilynn Robb, Carvers Bay Branch Manager

Donald Dennis, Overall Gaming Project Manager

(Bunnelle Youth Technology Experience Series –BYTEs)

Truman Winns, Carver Bay Branch Library,

Gaming Site Assistant

Good Spaces are Needed, too.

That takes additional planning, along with equipment.

Sub Left

Main Left Main Right

Center Channel (Low)

Center Channel (High)

Sub Right

Teleconference Camera

Power OutletA/V Input

DVD/VCR

Network HUB

USB HUB

Network Port

Audio Mixer

Headphones

Receiver

XBOX

Computer

LCD Flat Panel Display

SignalLimiter

Surround Sound Rear Speakers in ceiling

MeetingsGaming

ResearchTeachingMovies

ListeningLearning

Kool-Aid Jammers will Draw Some Folks in like Bees to

Flowers!

So will Good Publicity.

Wait! Is This Really Okay? Are You Sure?

Parents are often concerned.

See ALA’s Gaming Web Site for Some Good Points about the

Value of Gaming for Kids.• To Play, Kids will get Library Cards & Read Books• Games Sometimes Provide Stories in a New Format• Games Encourage Problem Solving and Critical

Thinking• Games Involve Experimenting and Evaluating• Games Meet Developmental Needs of Teens

Established by National Middle School Association• Games Encourage Social Interaction Between Peers

and Non Peers, Enforce Rules and Boundaries, Encourage Creative Expression, and Reward Competence

• Some Games Help to Release and Manage Anger and Frustration (See this Book: Grand Theft Childhood)

• Some Games are Physically Healthy: Dance Dance Revolution Gets Heart Rates Up to 140 Beats Per Minute

• Some Games Help Students with Special Needs (See this study from 2005: The Effects of a Consumer Oriented Multimedia Game on the Reading Disorders of Children)

• Games have Recreational Value• Many Games are Social• Some Games Require Reading Instructions, Menus,

and More• Some Games (D&D, Sports Games, etc) Require

Statistical Skills and an Understanding of Probability• Some Games Introduce Us to History, Music, etc.• THE LIST COULD GO ON AND ON!

Have a Good Event ScheduleCarvers Bay LibraryTournament Schedule (Detailed below)• OPEN 2nd or 4th weekend of every month (Detailed below)• GAME CLUB ONLY 3rd weekend of every month (Detailed below)Digital Arts Literacy Experience Through the end of the 2009-2010 school year.Additional programs will be created if their grant status does not continue. YDACS Game design program Weekday Afternoons June 9th – July -27th 2009. (Perhaps expanding to Georgetown.) Andrews LibraryTournament Schedule • OPEN 1st weekend of every month (Starting with completion of room)• GAME CLUB ONLY 3rd weekend of every month (Starting with completion of

room)Digital Arts Literacy Experience Through the end of the 2009-2010 school year.Additional programs will be created to fill the gap if their grant status does not continue. YDACS Game design program Weekday Afternoons June 9th – July -27th 2010. (If test run at Carvers Bay is successful.) WBL LibraryOPEN Gaming 1st weekend of every month (Starting March 2010)Digital Arts class Starts January 2010 if Andrews room completed.• Writing/Storytelling/Blogging January• Digital Photography February• Audio March• Film AprilRepeat in summer and FallGeorgetown BranchKids ActivitiesSmall Bytes June 9th – July -27th Kids programming in the Technology and computer lab • 10:00 am – Noon on Tuesdays• Afternoons on Thursdays Mid-Week Manga Talk about Manga, comic books, Anime, and related web sites• Afternoons on Wednesdays during the summer. June 9th – July -27th

• 2nd Wednesday evening of the month thereafter Family Game Night • Tuesdays starting in MayGame Tournaments • OPEN TOURNAMENT 2rd weekend of every month (Detailed below)• GAME CLUB ONLY 3nd weekend of every month (Detailed below)

Have Speakers at Game Club Meetings andTournaments:

May – Norman Lewis (Mentor – Local) June – Tronster Hartly (Sr. Programmer ~

Firaxis Games Web conference) July – Ron Brown (USC) August – Adam Cooksey of Perry

Cunningham (Game Stop - Local) September – NONE – Hurricane party October – DJ Hammonds (Artist - Local) November – Alan Webb (Game Tester, Level

Designer - Web conference) December Tim Collins & Donald Dennis January – Kathy Tempesta (Zenimax,

Producer, Test Lead) February – Steve Roff Service over Self

(Approached, not confirmed) March - Sean Torrens (Parks & Rec – Local) April – County IT guys. (We’ve talked to

several, and they are interested. Asked us to get in touch as we got closer to the time.

Here’s the URL for Libraries, Literacy and Gaming at ALA:

http://librarygamingtoolkit.org

ALA & Verizon Made It Possible

Try Educational Games

http://www.stopdisastersgame.org/en/home.html

Turn Little Devils

Into Little Angels!

Bank Jr.

Teaches grades 1-5 students about how to handle money through simulation and games.

This is a fun site.

http://www.bankjr.com/

Some Educational Games Can Be Found Online. Here’s a

Selection of Nine.

What2Learn

Prepare for exam success by playing over two thousand FREE interactive activities and revision games.

http://www.what2learn.com/

CBBC Roar

Run your own nature park.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/roar/

CBBC KS3 Bitesize

Here’s an online video game from the BBC where players have to answer questions related to English,

Science and Math. As you answer the questions correctly, a little “questionaut” in a balloon gets to

continue on his journey.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/games/questionaut/pop.shtml

Time Pirates

Here’s an extraordinarily ambitious interactive game-site designed to help students learn about the history

of London from 2,000 years ago to now.

http://timepirates.atticmedia.com/flash/

iCue

It’s a very interactive collaboration between NBC and MIT with much to the site. It deals basically with how to learn about the news, but that’s an understatement. It’s designed for students thirteen years-old and above. You

can play games, watch videos (with very easy simultaneous access to transcripts, save student work, and a ton of other activities. You have to register, but it’s

free and easy to do so.

http://www.icue.com/

Free Poverty

It’s an online geography game similar to the popular Free Rice vocabulary game that donates money to

purchase rice for distribution by the United Nations. In Free Poverty, though, money to distribute water is supposedly distributed to Third World countries for

every correct answer.

http://www.freepoverty.com/

Maps are a part of every great adventure. They help you find your way, share information, look at patterns, and

solve problems.What can YOU do with maps?

Help endangered animals Find sunken treasure

Explore a pyramid Collect rocks on Mars

Go on a family adventure Learn more!

http://www.mywonderfulworld.org/toolsforadventure/index.html

Stock News Game

In it, you’re given a very short piece of information about a company, and then have to predict if its stock goes down, stays the same, or goes up by the end of

the day that news came out. It’s accessible to high Intermediate or Advanced English Language Learners to get a little more of a sense of how the stock market

works.

http://www.stocknewsgame.com/play_game.php

And Have a Family Game Night at the Library

It was a full house Tuesday April 7th, 2009 when we had our first family game night at the Georgetown Technology and Game Lab. We had twelve participants that evening, mostly kids with some parents, a number we expect to grow in the months to come.

Webkinz are stuffed animals with a code for online play. Kids tend to their virtual pets in safe online activities. http://www.webkinz.com/us_en/

Ooga is a tabletop recognition game where kids hunt dinosaurs with rubber suction cup spears. http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/9506

In Blokus 3D, players get 3-D pieces to try to place by already-set pieces of their own color. http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6411

Bella Sara gives girls the chance to trade special beautiful horse cards. Online, girls can care for their horses in various ways. http://bellasara.com/

Bring a New Crowd and their Parents Into the

Library!

And Watch the Magic Happen!

Track Kids’ Progress in Literacy and Good

Behavior

Expect Good Results.Here’s Ours in “Year One”:

• Increase in library card holders from only 2% to 13%

• 42.7% of registered users are under 18 years old

• 56.8% of these juveniles are checking out library materials

• 15% of local high school students are members of the gaming club (81 of 550)

• 30% of gamers are checking out 4 items monthly

• 90% of gamers are African-American Males

• 20 teens monthly attend cultural programs at the library

Add an Exciting Video Game Design Endeavor.

http://scratch.mit.edu

Try Video Game Design and Review

CompetitionsVideo Game Concept Competition• Over the course of the summer, June 9th – July -25th

BYTES participants at any GCLS location will be able to present video game design concepts. These concepts will be presented to video game design professionals for review. Prizes will be awarded for the best idea, and best presented pitch. Awards will be given at the August open tournament. Each entry of sufficient length satisfies one literacy requirement.

Video Game Review Competition• Over the course of the summer, June 9th – July -25th

BYTES participants at any GCLS location will be able to submit video game reviews in one of three categories Written in word or other appropriate program, Oral recording, Video recording. Reviews will be judged by professional video game reviewers. Awards will be given for each category with at least five entries at the August open tournament. Each entry of sufficient length satisfies one literacy requirement.

• Competitions will be repeated during each school quarter, if participation justifies continuing the program.

We Also Use Digital Arts to Stimulate Literacy along

with Library Usage

It Takes Good Equipment

It Needs Good Instructors

Add Great Young People to that Mix

You’ve Got Success!

Again

And Again

And Again!

The Hurricane ProjectGeorgetown County, SCICMA Public Library Innovation Grant

Digital Library of Historic Hurricane Photographs

Digital Film Collection of Oral History Interviews

Digital Storytelling on Hurricanes using Photostory3

Digital Video PSAs on Hurricanes by Teens

Digital Game Simulations for Young People on Hurricanes

Web 2.0 Ways to Communicate Hurricane Dangers

Collaborators:Georgetown County Library

Georgetown County Emergency Management Georgetown County Service Over Self

Georgetown County SchoolsFrances P. Bunnelle Foundation

Contact: Dwight McInvaill, Director, Georgetown County Librarydmcinvaill@georgetowncountysc.org

843-545-3304

A 2009 ICMA “Library Innovation Grant” Let’s Us Bring it All Together!

Kids Star in PSAs on Hurricane Prevention

Local Artists Design the Props that Help the Kids

Become Stars!

Young People Go “Out on the Town” to Film Other PSAs

Themselves!

Using Technology Creatively Can Lead to a Good Community Spirit

Some Folks Have Considered our

Strategies to be Good Ones.

We Plan to Continue to Reach for the Gold thru

Gaming and Digital Technology!

For More Information, Contact:Dwight McInvaill, Director

Georgetown County Library, SC843-545-3304

dmcinvaill@georgetowncountysc.org

Here he is going after more gold at the White House!