Educational Games in the Library

         You probably have been  reading about gaming in the library. This is reaalivey new topic  that has been discussed on and off with the pros and cons of  using different games in the library.   Of course , there are many library games that librarians have been making and using for many years.
       When I first started doing games in the library, I was in a Middle school setting and I use the games to reinforce  skills that had been taught.  These were simple games that  did not take long to produce and the studnets enjoyed doing .
       Now gaming has taken a new slant, and librarians , both public , and school are having more formal games of many differnt kinds in the library.  The obvious are board games that the students do for fund . My local public library has a chess night  twice a month, and I hear it is quite successful.  
      Games in the library  pro0mote both fun in the library and also promote learning.  This leads us to the notion that libraries are not alway considered  quiet and boring. The key  with games and gaming will be to balance  study and reading with fun activites that inspire and stimulate.
       So hear is a good discussion for librarians everywhere: Do you have/ do games in your library?   What are they  ?  How do you monitor when the games are played?

      Future blogs will cover some more ideas on games and gaming in the library- perhaps latter in the week. Let me hear your thoughts on games and gaming.

Managing magazines in libraries- part One

         How do you manage your magazines?? Do you let them circulate? Do you hold them for reading in the  library?
      There are many questions and differences of attack in the circulation and storing of magazines.  Also now that the computer age is here, many have done away with many of the issues of magazines .
        But Patrons and students like the magazines , and they do get read.  Many students come in and just want to read the papers and look at the magazines.  More and more families do not receive magazines and newspapers at home .
        One way to go is to  not let them circulate and have them be read in the library during open hours. This may be the easiest to do. Check in the magazines when they arrive , put on a couple of  prpperty stamps., arrange them on the shelves, and straighten them at the end of the day.
         If you chose this route- you many find that some just happen to"walk" out the door.  Yes, the most popular ones will be not in good shape.  But that will be the case in either option of holding or circulating.
        Another plan for magazines is one that many schools and public libraries do with their magazines. They hold the current monthly issue and let the back issues  go out. This seems to work well for the most part.
         If you  decide to circulate your back issues the next problem is how to go about it?  There are several different ideas here. One is to simply write down on a card the title of the magazine, issue/month and year, and place the borrowers name on  the card. File by date due. When the item is returned - cross out or erase the name of the borrower.
        Save the Card for use if some on else wants the same issue-  These cards could be made up ahead of time so they would be  at the ready when a patron wants to borrow a magazine
         What do you do with your magazines?  What are your issues with magazines?

Technology Tools- Wired Wednesday

         Happy New Year to all!  Is everyone back in the swing of things yet?   I was really sick for almost the whole week of Christmas so I am slowly getting around and getting back to library world.  ( I knew I was sick when I could not even sit in front of the computer!!
        I have found some great  slide shows to use in my classes on Slideshare.net.   Check out this resource and share with your staff.   There are many many slide shows on here that can be used by anyone who has registered.    Comments can also be posted about the slide shows.
        If you have a presentation you want to share you can also place it on here  and the slide show can be seen  and used my many.  Anyone who need the topic you have completed can  use your  presentation  for their students.


SlideShare

Happy Holidays From the Organized Librarian

      I would like to wish you and your families  the best of Holidays as we wind down 2012!  Enjoy each other and renew yourselves for another round of education  and books in our buildings and libraries.
   
     I will return late next week after the bustle of the Holiday is over and hopefully will bring you ideas that you can use and share with  your co- workers.  I am almost done with the book and it will be an ebook. I am hoping to make it available soon., just seems I have been getting holiday things done and have not done all that I wanted this month.

Technology Tools- Wired Wednesday

        A new tool is  Tagxedo.  This is very similar to Wordle  , users produce word clouds on a specific subject.  However with  Tagxedo , word clouds are formed into a specific shape selected by the creator.  Words are sized according to the frequency of how often they are used.

     This tool is more fun and users can be more creative, but they also need to be more focused in their creation.  One can chose from standard fonts to use custom fonts. Also there is the capability to change fonts, themes, colors and shape.

     On  the site there are  many assists. One  is  101 ways to use Tagxedo which show many ways to use with with students.   Turning words into art work will appeal to many users.

     Look over the site and see how you might use it with  your students.  Although I have not used it yet I can see using  Tagxedo as a culminating project for research  and  a way to share author studies. another idea would be to have students pair up and do  Dewey clouds  for each of the categories,  and then display each one by each section of the library.


Tagxedo

Bulletin Boards November Tips/Sandy on Monday?

           We are expecting Sandy , I guess some time today with winds and rain. I am hoping that we do not loose electricity but it looks like we may. So if you do not hear from me the rest of the week , you will know  why. No school today in our county.

  
           November  Bulletin Board Ideas:

   Elect to read! 
   Children's Book Week,
   Don't be a turkey, Read!
   Be Thankful for great books.
   What are you Thankful for?
   Gobble up these  great books - turkey with book covers of book chosen by you or students
   Pick a winner- football theme