Mission Viejo Library
Newsletter
 To
the tintinnabulation that so musically wells
From the bells, bells, bells, bells
by Jeff Price,
Reference Librarian
 Cell
phones are everywhere. You can see people all over talking on a
phone. As pervasive as cell phones are, there are still many places
where they are still not used. One would certainly not have their
cell phone on when they are in church or when attending the opera.
Also, there are announcements before movies about silencing your
cellular device. But should the library be included as a place where
cell phones are not allowed?
Our official rule states “cell phones and pagers must be turned off
or turned to vibrating mode before entering the Library.” And of
course, rule breakers will suffer the penalties, which are:
Pursuant to Education Code Section 18960, a Library employee may
eject from the Library and the Library Grounds any person who
engages in conduct prohibited by this Resolution. The City Librarian
may rescind the library privileges of any person who repeatedly
engages in conduct prohibited by this Resolution.
But, as you know, the library is a pretty large building and with so
much area to cover library staff can’t be everywhere to catch
all the
cell phone users. By the time a staff member gets over to where the
noise is, the caller is usually ending their conversation or already
heading for the door to talk outside.
Perhaps, society is adjusting to the technology. It seems to me that
within the last couple years the number of obnoxious cell phone
talkers in the library has been diminishing. I still see people
using their phones to send text message. And there are people who
appear to be quietly talking to themselves, but actually have a
bluetooth ear deal. People also are checking their email on their
phones. But these are usually quiet processes and seem not to bother
surrounding people too much. But there are still times when
the library staff needs to play “cell phone police”.
Get
Down with Video Games at the Library
by Jeff Price,
Reference Librarian
Teen Game Day at the Library - July 19th 2:30
PM
Reservations are recommended. To reserve a spot, call 830-7100
ext 5105
or send email
libreference@cityofmissionviejo.org
with your name and age.
 I'll admit it, I'm a gamer. Back in the day, I used to hop on
my bike and ride over to the local video game arcade off
Via Fabricante and pump quarters
into the machines. My brother and I saved our allowances to
buy a CalicoVision because the Atari 2600 was too lame (except for
Pitfall). Later on, we
would play
Zork,
Wizardry and
Ultima
on our Apple II for hundreds of
hours until we memorized all the
different maps, spells and quests.
And 30 years later, I still play computer games. But now the
experience is far more immersive. With the engaging plots,
deep character development, and realistic graphics, it's not unusual
for people to spend dozens of hours playing the same game on their
Xbox, Playstation or PC. And amazingly with the Nintendo Wii, a new
generation (older than me) is discovering that video games can be
fun to play.
But one thing seems lacking from the earliest days of video games to
today, which is the communal nature of game playing. Before
electronic games, you needed people to play with or against.
If your playing canasta or backgammon, Yahtzee or Sorry, you
couldn't even setup the game without someone else to play with.
 With
this thought in mind about video games being a mostly solitary
activity, the library will be holding a game day for teen in July.
We'll have 3 game stations setup with different interactive games
that can be played communally. We'll have Guitar Hero II
on a PlayStation2, Dance Dance Revolution on an
Xbox 360, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl on a Wii.
Also, teens can bring their handheld videogames and hopefully find a
friend they can connect up with. We'll even have some "old
school" board games like Monopoly and Clue for people to play.
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