The Kids' Tech Solution

This useful handbook proves that creating a technology-enhanced library for children is both affordable and possible-and that the payoff can be significant.

A library can and should provide free public access to technology-for all ages. The Kids' Tech Solution: Creating a Tech-Friendly, Kid-Friendly Library will guide librarians in making that happen by integrating new media into the library and its programs. Now, even the technologically challenged can create community learning centers that speak to the interests, curiosities, and needs of today's kids-without turning traditional library structures inside out.



Chapters in this comprehensive book cover game consoles, handheld devices, ebooks and readers, iPads, and electronic toys. The book also looks at circulating video games (which can become one of the most popular categories in the library), mobile technology, Wi-Fi-enabled devices, podcasts and audio books, digital cameras, and computer/browser-based experiences. There are solutions to potential problems, including germs, noise, filtering, and theft, and there is discussion of ways in which technology can be used to bring the community together, through activities such as game nights, Skype-based storytelling, and group simulations.


* Provides a rationale for integrating new media into the library and its programs

* Covers the entire process, from getting approval and getting started to planning to maintenance

* Helps technology novices choose and set up gaming hardware and select software

* Shows how to build a collection from donations, create MARC records, use reviews, and integrate ESRB ratings and descriptors

* Tips on policies, maintenance, security, and preventing theft

* 50 examples of games

* Photos of solutions for providing access to game consoles

* Screen shots and photographs of storage and circulation techniques

* A glossary that will help a novice better understand video game/technology vocabulary