Ok, I am going to fess-up. I am not a gamer. Now, you know the awful truth. Video games bore me. I can’t even get excited about Wii. Web sites like Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, and YouTube do not interest me. I am really a dinosaur and learning to use a PDA/cell phone and an MP3 player are huge steps into the 21^st Century for me.

Having said this, I must come to the defense of the Nebraska Library Commission. This past week, the Nebraska State Auditor Mike Foley decided to make a fuss about the purchase of gaming equipment and the demonstration of said equipment on YouTube and Flickr by Commission employees. The Library Commission has a 27 page response to Mr. Foley’s criticisms on their website. I probably don’t need to respond in that detail, but I do have a few comments.

Mr. Foley is doing his job which is to make sure our tax dollars are well spent. I congratulate him on his attention to detail. The gaming equipment and games cost Nebraska taxpayers $447.17. The Library Commission does acknowledge that $29.26 was sales tax, which should not have been charged; however, the equipment was purchased online because local stores did not have the equipment in stock. The Library Commission admits the error in their ways in regards to the $29.26. If it wasn’t for the State Auditor’s acute conscientiousness about this issue, other departments in the State of Nebraska might spend money wastefully. (Just for the record, for several years Library Commission staff used their own equipment for these demonstrations.)

Furthermore, Mr. Foley states in his report, "none of the games purchased were so complicated or out of the ordinary as to require the Commission to demonstrate their use to library staff and others." Obviously, Mr. Foley has never met me—‘nuff said! Us folks out in "LibraryLand" want and need this training. Commission staff posted their video on Flickr and YouTube to reach more librarians and force us—the technology cave dwellers—to actually use the same technology that kids use.

Further in the report, Mr. Foley said, "I am well aware that public libraries offer computer games and software for loan to library patrons…But, do we really need state employees to use public funds to buy and play with toys and games during work hours to prove the games are popular with children?"

Well, the "toys and games" were not purchased to "prove the games are popular with children". They were purchased to help librarians like me "Boomers" understand and communicate with kids "Gen Y". Over the past few years staff from the Nebraska Library Commission have conducted numerous workshops and demonstrations on the impact of gaming with this extremely "tech savy" generation. Frankly folks, if we librarians don’t get with the program, libraries will be irrelevant to the next generation. It might be warm and cozy for me in my cave, but I need to get out there and become acquainted with the 21^st Century.

An April 21, 2008, Omaha World Herald article titled "Libraries Lure with Video Games" states that, "…teen book circulation at Chadron Public Library increased from 20 to 30 titles per month prior to the introduction of video games, to well over 300 titles per month after." When push comes to shove, the reason I support gaming in the public library is that it gets kids into the library and by simple osmosis, they are exposed to books.

Oh, by the way, THE BOOK is a much older technology. It is a rectangular object with a hard or soft cover and paper sheets in it with printing on them. The printing is in ink, which is a much older technology, and is on both sides of the paper sheets. The paper sheets are called pages. The pages can be flipped or turned. Technique is not important. You must know how to read in order to use THE BOOK. BOOKS can be used to entertain, inform or educate. For a demonstration of THE BOOK technology, please stop by your local public library. Librarians will be happy to assist you.

:: Go to Library Home ::

Scottsbluff Public Library :: 1809 Third Avenue :: Scottsbluff, NE 69361 :: 308-630-6250