LibraryTrax

The South Carolina State Library has created a Slideshare account to share presentations on all kinds of topics: strategic planning, building Friends groups, staff development, and much more. Here’s an example of what we will offer:

This was one of the presentations we made at the 2007 South Carolina Library Association Conference.

See more at: http://www.slideshare.net/scstatelibrary

From WebJunction’s Rural Update:
The Association for Rural & Small Libraries is now partnering with WebJunction and continues moving resources to its new home here at webjunction.org/ARSL. You can now find articles from the Rural Libraries Journal, back issues of the Rural Library Services Newsletter, ARSL Organization and Conference Information right here on WebJunction. ARSL members can now join the vibrant discussions surrounding rural issues and provide suggestions and comments on the future of their organization.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) announced today that the Georgetown County Library, Georgetown, SC, is one of five libraries and five museums in the country to receive the 2007 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the nation’s highest honor for “extraordinary public service” by those institutions.

Georgetown County Library has received national attention for its gaming and literacy program at their Carvers Bay Branch, but this award recognizes all the great programs provided for Georgetown citizens, including its oral histories project and digital library project.

Congratulations to Georgetown County Library!  It’s well deserved!

 Read the full press release.

The South Carolina State Library has recently purchased a selection of educational game technology that may be loaned to South Carolina public libraries. This is a great opportunity to get your “feet wet” before purchasing gaming equipment for your library. Below is a list of the games and the consoles (updated 11/6/07):

Equipment & Software:

PlayStation 2 with controller with two guitars for PS2 Guitar Hero with Guitar Hero game. (Suitable for tournaments) Guitar Hero Kit

• PlayStation 2 with controller Two Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) Pads with DDR Supervnova game (Suitable for tournaments).DDR Kit
• Tony Hawk’s Underground Game (Suitable for tournaments with additional controllers for larger group, 1 controller for smaller group.) Request PlayStation 2 separately. Tony Hawk Game
• One Nintendo Wii comes with Wii Sports Game with Call of Duty 3 (suitable for tournaments) and Big Brain Academy (suitable for tournaments or individuals). Wii Kit
• Three Nintendo DS Lite (bundled together for loan) with MarioKart DS, yoshi’s Island DS and Big Brain Academy DS games (individual play only). Nintendo DS Lite KitEach bullet indicates a kit that may be borrowed. We are suggesting that that items go out for no longer than two weeks, but that is dependent on demand.

To borrow these items, contact Deborah Hotchkiss, Library Development Consultant at dhotchkiss@statelibrary.sc.gov or 803-734-8646.

Searching for Program Ideas?

The Gaming Zone is designed for people who want to come to gaming programs at the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg Counties. In addition to highlighting programs at ImaginOn, there are a number of gaming nights hosted by branch libraries in the system.

List of libraries providing gaming programs around the US with contact names comes from Library Success – A Best Practices Wiki.

Go also to Game On: Games in Libraries! Game On strives to keep librarians up to date on gaming with convenient one-stop shopping for all your gaming news and information.

Outagamie Waupaca Library System has a list of additional sites on education game programming and collection development for teens.

Best Book on Educational Gaming Programs in Public Libraries. Even if you are just thinking about teen programming for your library and believe that gaming will be part of your future, you need this book!!

Gamers … in the Library?! The Why, What, and How of Videogame Tournaments for All Ages. Eli Neiburger. American Library Association, 2007. Cost $42 / ALA members $37 and available at SC State Library for loan.

Need Research on Gaming Technology & Education go here! and here!