iSchool professor receives first grant for gaming labFebruary 06, 2008Margaret Costello Spillettmcostell@syr.edu
Syracuse University School of Information Studies (iSchool) professor Scott Nicholson, director of the M.S. in library and information science program, recently received a Gaylord grant worth $5,000 to support his gaming lab, which focuses on the intersection of gaming and libraries. “We’re so excited and thrilled with Gaylord,” Nicholson says. “By giving us this first grant, the company recognizes that this is interesting and it deserves some attention.”
The Gaylord grant will go toward setting up an infrastructure for the gaming lab and purchasing such crucial equipment as televisions, projectors and gaming consoles. The lab will initially operate as a portable gaming lab that Nicholson will take to library conferences to shed light on different gaming types and how to go about setting up gaming programs.
This is one phase of what Nicholson hopes will grow into a place where he and a team of students show librarians how to play a variety of games and monitor the issues that arise with the games, as well as do research about what types of games are most appropriate for different groups of users. “The students will be my ears and eyes, helping me notice when there are problems,” says Nicholson, who recently started an American Library Association Members Initiative Group to explore gaming in libraries of all types. “It will help any of these students who want to go to a public, academic or school library and run gaming events, to have experience knowing how to pull this off.”
Through its gift, Gaylord, a Syracuse-based library supply company, marks a growing trend in libraries, educational institutions and companies investing in gaming as a popular and increasingly effective new learning method. While the Gaylord grant represents a significant start, Nicholson hopes to attract much more funding to further develop his studies. His immediate plan is to draw at least two other sponsors at the $5,000 level.
“The hope is that now other organizations will see that we’re getting funding, here’s what we’ve done with it, and will want to help out as well,” Nicholson says. “Our goal is to build up a funding base for future large-scale projects.”
Scott Landes, associate professor of sociology in the Maxwell School, was quoted in The Washington Post story “People with disabilities desperately need the vaccine. But states disagree on when they’ll get it.” Landes, an expert on the sociology of disability,…
Roy Gutterman, associate professor of magazine, news and digital journalism in the Newhouse School and director of the Tully Center for Free Speech, was interviewed for the WAER story “SU Professor says President’s Closed Social Media Accounts Fall Under Big…
Roy Gutterman, associate professor of magazine, news and digital journalism in the Newhouse School and director of the Tully Center for Free Speech, was quoted in the CNN story “First Amendment doesn’t guarantee you the rights you think it does.”…
Whitney Phillips, assistant professor of communication and rhetorical studies in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, was interviewed for the Time Magazine story “Big Tech’s Crackdown on Donald Trump and Parler Won’t Fix the Real Problem With Social Media.”…
Danielle Smith, professor of African American studies in the College of Arts and Sciences and Director of the Renée Crown University Honors Program, wrote an op-ed for History News Network titled “Images of the Capitol Riot Reflect a National Crisis.”…
If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.
