First we learn that comic books aren’t all that bad for kids. Now, boosted by the rich historical detail in video games like Assassin’s Creed II (out next week for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360) and the popularity of World War II as a setting for combat games, the American Library Association has declared this Saturday to be National Gaming Day at U.S. libraries.
While we’re certainly in a video game renaissance of respectability, old-school is represented as well. Corporate sponsor Hasbro has donated 16,700 sets of games including “Monopoly Deal,” “Pictureka!” the card game and “Scrabble Slam” for the event.
In fact, despite a Reuters news story focusing on the electronic medium, most of the ALA’s own materials center on traditional board games and how they build social interaction and literacy skills. Video games are embraced when they promote these values, and it’s great to see an acknowledgment of this role.
You can view a map of participating libraries online, so go find out what your local booklender has in store for National Gaming Day.
(Isn’t that poster fantastic? You can get a larger version here.)
What’s a library?
What’s a library?
Don’t hate on libraries! Most of them have pretty decent graphic novel collections nowadays.It’s a cheap way of checking out (no pun intended) some comics without having to hang around the book store all day.
Don’t hate on libraries! Most of them have pretty decent graphic novel collections nowadays.It’s a cheap way of checking out (no pun intended) some comics without having to hang around the book store all day.