Packed with real-world ideas drawn from an assortment of different libraries, alongside best practices for hygiene, implementation, and marketing, this resource will assist libraries in offering these exciting forms of programming to their patrons.
As useful for those just entering the "what if" stage as it is for those with makerspaces already up and running, this book will help libraries engage the community in their makerspaces.
Digital and analog games have long served modern public libraries as educational tools and as drawcards for new patrons – from dedicated gaming zones and children’s spaces to Minecraft gaming days, makerspaces, and virtual reality collections. Much has been written about the role of games and play in libraries’ programming and collections. But their wider role in transforming libraries as public institutions remains unexplored. In this book, the authors draw on ethnographic research to provide a rich portrait of the intersection between games, play, and public libraries. They look at how games and play are increasingly spilling out of designated zones within libraries and beyond their walls, as part of a broader reconfiguration and “reimagining” of libraries in the digital era. The library’s association with play has historically been understood through its classification as a “third place”: somewhere to relax, socialise and experiment outside of the utilitarian demands of work and home. But far from just offering patrons an opportunity for detached leisure, this book illustrates how libraries are connecting games and play to policies agendas around their municipality’s economic and cultural development. Attending to the institutionalisation of play, the book sheds new light both on the contradictions at the heart of play as a theoretical concept, and what libraries are in contemporary public life.
Librarians are beginning to see the importance of game based learning and the incorporation of games into library services. This book is written for them--so they can use games to improve people's understanding and enjoyment of the library. Full of practical suggestions, the essays discuss not only innovative uses of games in libraries but also the game making process. The contributors are all well versed in games and game-based learning and a variety of different types of libraries are considered. The essays will inspire librarians and educators to get into this exciting new area of patron and student services.
Now TECH SET series editor Ellyssa Kroski brings you the field’s hottest tech gurus as they provide practical instructions and advice on everything from planning and development to marketing and metrics. Each title in the series is a one-stop passport to an emerging technology. If you’re ready to start creating, collaborating, connecting, and communicating through cutting-edge tools and techniques, you’ll want to get primed by the next ten books in the TECH SET. New tech skills for you spell new services for your users: - Use the latest, cutting-edge technologies- Plan new library services for these popular applications- Navigate the social mechanics involved with gaining buy-in for these forward-thinking initiatives- Utilise the social marketing techniques used by information professionals- Assess the benefits of these new technologies to maintain your success- Follow best practices already established by innovators and libraries using these technologies.
User experience is everywhere. From your library's website to the signage by the elevators, everything contributes to the overall user experience of our patrons. Just one simple idea can transform your library: put the user first. But as you likely already know, just because something's simple doesn't mean it's easy. How best to identify, implement, and evaluate user-driven changes in order to improve physical and virtual services? The good news is that even small changes can make big headway. Putting the User First: 30 Strategies for Transforming Library Services will give you 30 hands-on strategies and practical suggestions to enable you to begin transforming your library, library services, and even your personal practice to be more responsive, effective and user-centered today.
ALA's popular and respected Whole Library Handbook series continues with a volume specifically geared towards those who serve young adults, gathering stellar articles and commentary from some of the country's most innovative and successful teen services librarians.
Social software lets libraries show a human face online, helping them communicate, educate, and interact with their communities. This nuts-and-bolts guide provides librarians with the information and skills necessary to implement the most popular and effective social software technologies: blogs, RSS, wikis, social networking software, screencasting, photo-sharing, podcasting, instant messaging, gaming, and more. Success stories and interviews highlight these tools ease-of-use and tremendous impact.