GAMERT (Gaming) Round Table

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last person joined: 2 days ago 

The mission of the Games and Gaming Round Table is to provide the following:
  • A forum for the exchange of ideas and concerns surrounding games in libraries;
  • Resources to the library community to support the building and maintaining of library game collections;
  • A force for initiating and supporting game programming in libraries;
  • Create an awareness of, and need for, the support of the value of gaming and play in libraries, schools, and related learning communities.
  • Create an awareness of the value of games and gaming in library outreach and community engagement plans.
  • A professional and social forum for networking among librarians and non-librarians interested in games and gaming.

  • 1.  Closed Facebook Group

    Posted Jun 29, 2015 03:43 PM

    Is it possible to make a closed facebook group that copies everything from ALA GameRT connect forum and posts it there? There are 400+ people in the RT but the design of ALA connect is just text heavy and not intuitive. There are so many things I'm interested in and a few things I have been asked to do, but since I don't check in here every day, it can sit on here for weeks. 

    There is already a Gaming Librarians facebook page and it is active and a great exchange of information and ideas. 


    I think a having the RT group there can really keep people organized as to what is going on with the RT, especially for the in between times of the year when a conference isn't happening. 


    I'm also excited to hear all about ALAPlay!


     



  • 2.  RE: Closed Facebook Group

    Posted Jun 29, 2015 05:07 PM

    Mariella, with respect to the work of the RT, I believe that it has to remain here on Connect so that the work can be archived by ALA. other platforms can be (and certainly are) used for informal conversations. the subscription settings on here can help notify though I know this doesn't address the conversational aspects you bring up. I will bring this up with the board and confer with ALA staff for more information on options. 



  • 3.  RE: Closed Facebook Group

    Posted Jul 07, 2015 10:32 AM

    I just wanted to add that we're in the process of signing a contract to move ALA Connect from Drupal to an externally-hosted platform that's specifically designed for associations. It will offer more functionality and will be more user-friendly, so we hope to see more conversations happen with the GameRT group. You can track the progress of this project by following the ITTS News blog, but I'm happy to answer any questions folks have about the migration or the new software.



  • 4.  RE: Closed Facebook Group

    Posted Jul 08, 2015 05:11 PM

    Do people think a mailing list would be beneficial? Or is there one I'm unaware of/have forgotten about?



  • 5.  RE: Closed Facebook Group

    Posted Jul 08, 2015 05:45 PM
    A mailing list could be created perhaps as a subscription offering for members to discuss and share, many other groups use these. Connect (and the coming replacement) will still have to be the major sites for the business of the round table, but an email list might be more approachable for casual members/users. If we are going to set this up, I would like to get it done in the next week so we can publicize it in the newsletter coming out on the 17th. 
    chris

    Christopher Harris|about.me/cgharris
         Librarian, Writer, Speaker, Gamer
         Editorial Director, Play Play Learn
         ALA Fellow - Youth & Technology

    On Wed, Jul 8, 2015 at 7:25 PM, ALA Connect <connect@ala.org> wrote:
    (((


  • 6.  RE: Closed Facebook Group

    Posted Jul 08, 2015 06:45 PM

    JFYI, you can use Connect like a mailing list. You can email content into the GameRT Connect group by sending it to inbox+gamert@connect.ala.org. Then anyone who's turned on email from the group can just reply to the notification to comment. It will even post attachments included in the email.

    The Connect group automatically has all GameRT members on it and is always current, although members do have to turn on email notifications because there's no communication preference in member profiles to automatically turn on notifications. If we start a separate mailing list, it wouldn't be tied to GameRT's membership so people would have to manually join it, which could be good or bad, depending on your perspective.



  • 7.  RE: Closed Facebook Group

    Posted Jul 08, 2015 07:15 PM
    Grin. Thus the inclusion of my email signature in my last comment. I love the reply by email. I think the concern is that many members may not have subscriptions turned on for the RT within Connect. 
    Question: if we get people to turn on subscriptions in Connect via a newsletter call to action, will those settings transfer to the new system in any way? What is the timeframe for the new system? 

    My concern is maximizing a one-time call to action. If we get people to adopt connect subscriptions, will that carry forward? Or given the overall use of email lists in divisions and round tables would that be a more efficient call to action? What gives us the most communication potential for the next 6 months? The next 2 years?




    —
    Christopher Harris|about.me/cgharris
    Librarian, Writer, Speaker, Gamer
    Editorial Director, Play Play Learn
    ALA Fellow for Youth and Tech

    On July 8, 2015 at 8:55:26 PM EDT, ALA Connect <connect@ala.org> wrote:


  • 8.  RE: Closed Facebook Group

    Posted Jul 08, 2015 11:05 PM

    I just wanted to chime in and tell you that I follow this round table and its discussions using a RSS feed. It doesn't allow me to respond however. Just something to chew on.



  • 9.  RE: Closed Facebook Group

    Posted Jul 09, 2015 08:15 AM
    And Chris, more info on the timeline for moving from Drupal to the new system (I heard a vendor was chosen, just don’t remember the name) can be found on the ITTS Blog.  According to this post, http://itts.ala.org/news/2015/06/17/technology-infrastructure-plans/, it looks like the new system should be implemented around October 2015.
    Rachel

    From: ALA Connect <connect@ala.org>
    Reply-To: "ala.connect.reply@gmail.com" <ala.connect.reply@gmail.com>
    Date: Wednesday, July 8, 2015 at 8:25 PM
    To: Rachel Vacek <revacek@uh.edu>
    Subject: [ALA Connect] GameRT (Games and Gaming Round Table) - Closed Facebook Group (New comment)


  • 10.  RE: Closed Facebook Group

    Posted Jul 09, 2015 08:30 AM
    Pardon my not knowing much in this area, but isn’t there anyone welcoming new members when they join (whether a personal or automated email from the President of the Round Table or folks responsible for member experience), and could perhaps subscribe them to a listserve at that time?  
    Like Chris, I assume that the way that email and Connect works now will be different once we move to a new system.


    From: ALA Connect <connect@ala.org>
    Reply-To: "ala.connect.reply@gmail.com" <ala.connect.reply@gmail.com>
    Date: Wednesday, July 8, 2015 at 7:55 PM
    To: Rachel Vacek <revacek@uh.edu>
    Subject: [ALA Connect] GameRT (Games and Gaming Round Table) - Closed Facebook Group (New comment)