melissahoulroyd.info

Background

One early morning in mid-December 2007, Joe Osborn and I were inspired. I recently completed a course on human-computer interaction, and the gears in my mind were turning. How could we design a library game for children?

Our ideas quickly accumulated as we ate breakfast. The game would aim to:

• recommend media based on preferences (keywords, subjects, reading levels, previously borrowed materials, data-mining a la Amazon.com, etc.)
• easily guide the patrons to the physical locations of their desired materials
• present the library organization to children in their terms (through exciting technology)
• provide a means to take the library home, allowing access from remote locations

Privacy Concerns

During our conversation that morning, we discussed the potential threats to intellectual freedom. Especially in the time of the PATRIOT ACT, libraries should be, and are often, wary of collecting information about their patrons. However, there are ways in which the information can be stored via this game/service. The catalog should be online, in order to allow for more frequent updates and access to OCLC. As an online service, the site should be secure (https://) with encrypted data.

Goals

This service is still in the early planning stages, but it aims to provide support to a generation very different from the ones before it. Children today and tomorrow will be internet natives, used to, and expecting, flashy interfaces and ease-of-use. The library must work to prove itself valuable in the lives of these children, providing them with the easiest and most efficient access to all the appropriate materials available to them.

The catalog game must be:

• intuitive; easy to use
• highly interactive and fun!
• interesting through its dynamic elements
• useful in aiding children learn how to use the library
• in their terms, through the use of avatars and creative environment design