WebJunction

Here's another reading suggestion for those interested in learning more about the impact the Internet-Gamer Generation will have on library service-- "Got Game-- How the Gamer Generation Is Re-Shaping Business Forever" by John C. Beck and Mitchell Wade. I saw a lot of the info presented in the Scan echoed in this book. I also saw a lot of myself (and our younger generations of library patrons) in this book.

I'm a product of the internet generation-- I admit that my first inclination when I need info is to look online. As a library director and an MLIS student, I feel a sort of professional shame in that admission but sometimes the truth hurts. At the age of 35, I am just a tad bit older than the age group defined as the "gamer generation" but I embrace technology in every way.

I've been thinking lately about traditional library policies that will be challenged in the near future. Feel free to add to this list:

This is probably the biggest one I've identified and it may be the hardest to fall. How many libraries do you know that still prohibit chatting and/ or gaming on public internet computers? And yet, there is a huge part of the population (patrons from 12-30) that we should be attracting to our libraries that enjoy these activities.

Another thought-- how many libraries do you know that accept credit cards for payment of fines, fees or service charges? When even McDonald's takes a credit card, can libraries be far behind?

This is interesting: Clive Thompson on the New Literacy

The upshot is that we're entering an age of increasing literacy as not seen since the ancient Greeks. Why? Because the Internet is very much a writer's medium.

Kids and younger adults are on all the time. They can't help but get better at expressing what they wish to say.