WLS Teens

Teens, Gaming, and Libraries

Last week we had a lively meeting on the topic of teens and gaming.  It included playing a variety of games - Karaoke Revolution, Guitar Hero II, Dance Dance Revolution Extreme, and Katamari Damacy - and talking about why teens like to play these games as well as what the educational benefits of gaming is for teens.  The handout  with a list of useful resources and ideas for gaming projects in the library is available.

On the topic of literacy skills supported by teen game play some of the things discussed include:

• Playing games like World of Warcraft includes reading about the game, the characters, and choices that need to be consider in order to succeed.  Reading and writing messages from/to other players about how to play the game successfully is also required in order to succeed.
• Playing Karaoke requires reading of lyrics, reading of on-screen directions.
• Playing a game like Madden football requires reading related to team selection, play-books, and such.
• Modding (modifying) games such as the SIMs requires that teens come up with the modification they want to make, consider what's already available, decide how they will make the modification, and read and/or write out their plans.  FanFiction is a form of modding that teens also participate in and there is FanFiction related to games.

There was also discussion about the whether or not librarians should promote or allow teen playing games online in which they might encounter people that they shouldn't be in touch with.  We talked about the need to give teens opportunities to participate in online activities in environments where they can learn to be smart and safe. Libraries have a great opportunity for with teens talking about how to play games and talking about how to be safe when playing games with those one has never met.

The discussion also focused on whether or not librarians should make pre-judgments about what games teens should be able to play in the library.  Before judging a game it's important that librarians try the games out for themselves. Librarians need to know what actually does and doesn't happen in the games teens play. It's also important to remember that game play in the library should, in most instances, focus on the appropriate behavior in the play and not the actual game. For example, if teens play games in the library and don't disturb other customers while doing so their behavior is just fine.

I mentioned that one of the libraries that I work with, the decision was made to only purchase games that are rated E for Everyone or T for teen. The librarians decided not to purchase M for Mature games and the teens understand that decision. The Entertainment Software Rating Board designates game ratings. They have information on their website that you can download or you can have brochures sent to your library.

We also talked about Second Life and Teen Second Life. These are not games, but they are virtual worlds in which teens and adults participate. There is a library in Second Life and a library is in the works for Teen Second Life. It's important for librarians to understand that along with playing games online and on computer teens are also participating in online worlds in which social interactions and learning take place.

Don't forget that there are things you can do in the library that helps teens expand their game play.  For example:

• Host a teens teach gaming to adults event.
• Sponsor modding/fanfiction workshops
• Have teens select games and equipment for the library
• Ask teens to setup gaming policies and guidelines
• Have the teens teach the librarians about gaming.

It's important to give teens a chance to talk to librarians about what they play and why they like to play specific games. Get a teen gaming group together and see what they come up with for game related programs and services at the library.

WLS purchased a Playstation II game console and a variety of games for the console. These will be available to member libraries for circulation.

Thoughts on Teens, Poverty, and Making Choices

I went to a terrific workshop on Friday, Bridges Out of Poverty, sponsored by Outreach Services. While focusing on issues surrounding intergenerational poverty, it was interesting to note similarities between those in intergenerational poverty and teens as a group. The importance of relationships to working with teens was echoed in its critical importance to working with those in poverty. The tribal nature of adolescents is all about relationships and it is partly through relationships with those who can see beyond tribal rules or group pressure that adolescents are empowered to grow as individuals.

While many teen services librarians intuitively know this and also understand the importance of teen participation in shaping library services, it was affirming to see it laid out so clearly and backed up by research (even though this research was not specific to either teens or to libraries—inferences could be made). While coming from a different perspective, this research dovetails nicely with and supports key aspects of the research on adolescent development from the Search Institute that is the basis of YALSA’s Everyone Serves Teens training.

Impulsivity and an underdeveloped sense of cause & effect and choice & consequence were pointed out as a group characteristic of those in intergenerational poverty. Sound familiar? Even for teens who are high achievers, these can still be developmental markers.

Nurturing “future stories” was suggested as a tool for helping individuals be better able to make deliberate choices. “Future stories” are narratives that help individuals think about choice and consequence—to move from emotion-driven to deliberative decision-making (rather than choice by default). The rubric was presented that “if individuals depend upon random episodic story structure for memory pattern…there is no ability to plan…or predict. If you can’t plan or predict, you can’t identify cause and effect. If you can’t identify cause and effect, you can’t identify consequences.”  Heightened emotion can also short circuit a teen's ability to think about the future, to plan, predict or think about consequences.

How is this for the intersection of story and behavior, literature & relationships? Stories and storytelling can be employed to empower teens in shaping their own narratives—the narratives of their lives. They don’t have to be long stories. It can be a simple story that says, “if you choose to behave in one way, this will happen—but if you choose to behave that way, something else will happen.” Stories like this help to clarify and make choices concrete. Learning to make choices is a primary task of adolescence and helping teens to make "informed" choices is a fundamental aspect of teen services.

Novels and films can help a teen step back from his/her own life and see it from a distance in the actions of a fictional character. It is easier to see the unspoken rules of a group or peer pressures or family expectations when you are watching (or reading) someone else’s story. Book discussion or the opportunity to talk about the book/film enhances a teen’s ability to articulate issues and grapple with them. 

Thinking about teens from the perspective of intergenerational poverty offers some new insights and approaches to working not only with teens at risk, but with all teens.  And, the power and importance of stories in the lives of teens becomes even more compelling.
Judith Rovenger, WLS

Keeping Up with Web2.0

This blog has been silent for about a month so I figured I'd try to get things started again with a post. There's a blog called Mashable that has become my new bible of social networking sites. It's updated regularly, often several times a day, and discusses the vast and ever-evolving world of social networking sites and add ons. I keep discovering new sites, changes to the big sites (like myspace, facebook, et al), and related news items. I feel so net-savvy since I started reading Mashable.

I've added a few links to our del.icio.us page over the past month and would like to encourage other librarians to remember we have it. (I think I'm the only person who's tagged sites since Linda handed the reins over to us.) My exciting discovery of the day was Pandora Internet Radio, which was mentioned on a YA librarian listserv. I don't have sound at work so I'll have to wait until I get home to fully explore the site, but it looks like a fun and interactive way to select the music you listen to. By entering the name of a song or artist you like, the program will find songs and artists that have similar qualities and program them into your custom station. It's a social music platform similar to LastFM. Perhaps we could get the kids to create a custom teen library station comprised of their favorite songs that each could tune in for on their internet time?

- Nancy Kunz, TUK