I'd like to extend a big, hearty welcome to all the Idaho Commission for Libraries Read-to-Me 2007 participants! It was great to be able to join you all on Friday, February 23rd to share ideas about using the Internet with your summer reading programs.

I've embedded my presentation below, so you can check out the images and links at your leisure. You can also scope out the samples for the Get a Clue theme and the You Never Know theme, if that strikes your fancy.

Have any questions about anything covered in my presentation? Leave a comment here or fire off an email (dbaker@adalib.org), and I'll do what I can to help solve your mystery!

"What are you, an arcade?" kicks off Chip's blog post that defends one library's decision to disallow access to "gaming" websites on their public computers. It's all too easy to picture the situation that precipitated this decision -- gamers dominating all the public computers, playing online games for hours at a time. What public library hasn't had to deal with that one before, many times over?

The original post in whole is worth reading, but here's how Chip concludes:

At some point, it becomes a question about what the library is there to accomplish. We can shake our heads at the grouchy old man who complains that libraries shouldn’t be run like an arcade, and try to explain our recreational function. In the end, though, I think the grouchy old man shouldn’t be dismissed so readily. He has a point. What are libraries for?

There's always an element of tension on the cutting edge.. Clearly, inviting (or even merely allowing) gaming in to libraries creates a whole new set of challenges for us. Isn't it easier to just ban it from our buildings and focus our efforts on what we've always done?

Unfortunately, at this point in the game (pun intended), we really don't have that luxury. Video games have gone as mainstream (ask your patrons of any age) as the CDs or DVDs most public libraries provide. Nobody's asking whether libraries should be Blockbuster anymore. In some senses, we just are and we've accepted it.

What are libraries for? I've told you what I think, but we're all in this together. Please share YOUR thoughts in the comments. Do games belong in libraries? How do we strike a balance that ensures the library is a place for everyone, gamers included?

My first three sessions of Robot Creations are over and I've got a couple more weeks before I launch into four more sessions. I thought I'd take advantage of this opportunity to share a little bit of what I've picked up from the process.

• Expensive Toys = Instant "Cool" Factor
  Any time a kid heard we were offering a program with the $250-a-pop LEGO Mindstorms NXT kits, they were bowled over. Most of them had LEGOs at home, but only one or two of them had ever owned even the first Mindstorms kit. (This is exactly why a new Wii is the perfect draw for your library.)
• I Just Wanna Build and Hang Out with Friends
  Forget the instructions that came with the set; most kids just wanted to build their own wacky contraptions out of the LEGOs. Because of this, I decided to post posters up asking patrons to donate their extra LEGOs to the library.
• It's Not Just Robot-Building, It's Team-Building
  Although it was usually touch-and-go the first week of any session, kids who didn't know each other before Robot Creations became cohesive teams by the third and fourth weeks. By letting the kids work out problems on their own (for the most part), they built their social skills as much as their robot skills.
• Flagship Programs are Win-Win for Everyone
  A lot of the kids were not frequent library users before taking part in Robot Creations. However, once they'd came in for four weeks straight, they were suddenly interested in all the other programs and materials we offer. After you give them a single reason to come in for the first time, you can keep them coming back with everything else you offer.
• You Don't Need a PhD in Robotics
  The LEGO Mindstorms NXT set is surprisingly simple to get started with -- no technical expertise (LEGO or otherwise) is required. Also, the older kids tend to help the younger ones, so not much is required of you, except perhaps a little direction and supervision.

Offering this LEGO Mindstorms NXT program was an incredibly positive experience. The biggest problem we had was that the program was too popular (and that's always a good problem to have).

If you're thinking of offering a similar program at your library, give a shout-out in the comments. I'd be happy to help you tackle any questions or concerns you might have.

The 2006 recipient of TIME Magazine's coveted Person of the Year is none other than YOU. Yes, you, your staff, your patrons and everyone else. All thanks to our good friend, the World Wide Web.

What are you doing at your library to leverage this power-to-the-people democratizing force? Have you offered classes on Flickr? Started a library blog where patrons can leave comments? Uploaded library videos to YouTube? Showed teens online safety and how to Pimp Their MySpace?

If you haven't done anything yet, make it your New Year's Resolution for 2007! Because one thing is certain: this whole Internet thing isn't a fad anymore. If you're not surfing the wave, you're being left behind.

This is an opportunity to build a new kind of international understanding, not politician to politician, great man to great man, but citizen to citizen, person to person. It's a chance for people to look at a computer screen and really, genuinely wonder who's out there looking back at them. Go on. Tell us you're not just a little bit curious.

If you missed either of Stephen Abram's rockin' presentations at ILA, you can snag a copy of 'em from his blog, Stephen's Lighthouse. There's some killer content in these PDFs (including some provocative images), so you'll definitely want to check 'em out.

Here's the word from the Vice President of Innovation himself:

The Idaho Library Association Conference in Pullman was winderful. I even bought stuff at the fun auction. I did two talks: the keynote on Find the Future: Library in 2010 which is posted here and a session on Library 2.0 which is posted here.