Games- What a novel idea!

I read this article yesterday in the American Libraries magazine. On one hand I'm like "Oh great games are getting recognition as part of literacy" on the other hand I say "DUH!" Why is this concept so new?

Sidenote: I really really want this game for the toy library :)

GAMING GOES MAINSTREAM

Gaming of all types continued to gain acceptance in libraries, and librarians are asking increasingly sophisticated questions about the ways they can use games. ALA TechSource’s second Gaming, Learning, and Libraries Symposium, held November 2– 4 in Oak Brook, Illinois, explored gaming as a tool to achieve myriad goals, including improving literacy, inspiring academic interest, building bridges across generations, and raising money. Statistics helped to back up gaming’s advocates, with research from the Pew Internet and American Life project indicating a link between gaming and civic engagement among teens. ALA, meanwhile, launched National Gaming Day @ your library November 15, with free copies of Hasbro’s board game Pictureka sent to every public library in the country, and ALA’s Annual Conference featured “California Dreaming,” a “big game” that participants played by interacting with their physical surroundings.

American Libraries(CB). American Libraries (Volume 39, Issue 11, December 2008).

Chicago, IL, USA: American Libraries, 2008. p 40.

http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ala/Doc?id=10255361&ppg=42