Online games and libraries. I think the fact that this is one of the 23 Things project at all dates this whole project. It's so 2007. The media blitz surrounding Second Life has died down considerably. Do libraries need to have a presence IN these online games? I'm on the fence. Do libraries need to have a strong web precense? Um, yes. Do they need to be providing reference help in a video game? Probably not. Have we completely mastered providing reference answers in person, by phone, by text, by chat, by email, via Skype, etc??? If any library can asnwer yes to those things, I'd say "Sure, jump into Second Life and man a reference desk!" If not, well, maybe those energies would be well spent elsewhere.
Do I think the concept that there's a library or two in Second Life? You bet. That's neat. But being involved in Second Life sure isn't at the top of my small library's to do list.
I think online gaming is a blast. For a brief window of time, I used to spend a significant chuck of my Computer II class in high school playing online, multiplayer, live College Jeopardy. I was playing against other real people. It was a blast. It went away and I nearly cried. I understand how addictive the online world can be. However, if we really want to serve the interest of our online gaming patrons, we might consider buying computers with better graphics, comfy computer chairs, mass quantities of Mountain Dew, and extending our Time Limit Manager to allow them to sit at the library and play games all night long.
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