Thing 15 - In need of a 1st life, let alone a 2nd

If Miss Shelved wanted to spend time being ignored by people much cooler (not to mention younger) than herself, and with a deeper appreciation of the ambience and available activities, she could frequent a local singles bar. At least there, she might get a drink. . . 

We have tried MMORPM's before.  In teaching a research unit (oh, the typical elementary animal report!) we introduced students to the WolfQuest game co-sponsored by the Minnesota Zoo. In that game, too, Miss Shelved wandered for hours, desperately looking for something to do, and never caught a rabbit (and you ain't no friend of mine)!

Young people of our acquaintance tell us that they log on with friends to play such games, which might make it much more fun.  High school chums now scattered across the country at various colleges reunite to kick necromancer butt (or whatever).  We spent a dull hour riding the rides at the Prim Heart Amusement Park, poked around Info Island, and never felt comfortable in our avatar. Moving around felt much like being in an Imax movie:  faintly seasick-making. 

Again, we would suggest that all these online activities are more enjoyable as part of a group. Probably the most fun so far has been co-editing the Declaration of Independence because everyone was involved (even if it was at different times).  If all the 23 Things participants were able to meet at a site on Info Island and interact, that would be more useful. Logging in blind at 9:30 am was a lonely experience.

As to library usage, we did note that there were scheduled activities like book clubs and author appearances that sounded much more like it. (We may try crash the party sometime in the future to see if scheduled activities make the scene is any more exciting.)  An institutional (premium, that is $$) membership with a resident geek to create activities would be a delightful interface for a teen library. Were Miss Shelved a YA author she would want a presence -- and doubtless her publisher would spend big bucks to create a sensational interface in her name.