A couple of months ago, Jared Newman interviewed me for a story about gaming in libraries that appears in the current issue of The Escapist. Eli and I come off pretty strongly, but then we're also very passionate on the subject.

Dewey Decimals and Dance Dance Revolution

"Three years ago, Eli Neiburger was just an IT guy at the Ann Arbor District Library in Michigan. It was no secret at work that Neiburger loves videogames - he has a Triforce tattooed on his arm - so when Erin Helmrich, a librarian who focuses on teens, wanted to bring gaming into the library, she turned to him for advice.

Less than a year and about $8,000 later, Neiburger and Helmrich had set up one of the first and largest gaming tournaments at any municipal library in the country. Kids came out of the woodwork to play Mario Kart: Double Dash and Super Smash Bros: Melee. Roughly a quarter of them had never been to a library before.

According to Neiburger, 'One kid told us videogames are gateway drugs for libraries.'... "

For the record, "overlord" is Jared's term, not mine, although the next time I order business cards.... :p

An essay I wrote called Gaming and Libraries: A Perfect Fit (PDF) just appeared in the June issue of the ILA Reporter, too.

And while you're at it, don't forget to watch If You're Not Gaming, You're Losing, the documentary our Dutch colleagues Erik and Jaap recorded when they visited the Chicago area in February. It's online in four parts. I hate watching myself, but that's my house, my Wii, and me beating Clare at Guitar Hero in the opening. :)

It's also very well done, and I'm looking forward to working with Erik and Jaap on another potential project!

Chicago's MySpace Popularity Contest

"There are eight terrific MySpace pages remaining in RedEye’s MySpace popularity contest. Time to get rid of four of them.

With a berth in the Final Four on the line, it’s time for the contestants to start scrounging for votes wherever they can. Sure, they sent their brother and sister an e-mail asking them to vote but what about Great Aunt Esther who just discovered the Internet? It’s go time.

The Elite Eight will end on Friday, June 1 at noon. Remember, the overall winner will be featured in RedEye's new Weekend Edition." [Red Eye]

Two Dominican library students in the GSLIS course Research Methods, Kelly Reiss and Lisa Schoblasky, made the Library MySpace Study page in order to study how public libraries use MySpace. You can help them win the contest by clicking here to vote for them!