We are a Pokemon Go Gym!

In game play with the red marker being a GYM stop for the library

I was pretty excited to walk into work today to find out that the library is a Pokemon Go gym. What's Pokemon Go? Well my Facebook feed has been flooded with it this week as libraries and my friends in their 30s discover it's magic. This free app, with in app purchases, debuted on Tuesday for both iOS and Android devices. Pokemon Go is everything you loved about the original Pokemon games only better because this is like a real live scavenger hunt. You turn the app on, you physically walk around wherever you are (and walk, and walk and walk..seriously I did 4 miles just yesterday looking for Jigglypuff) and Pokemon pop up to catch. As long as you have a Pokeball, you can capture it and then once you reach level 5 you can bring them to a GYM stop to train and battle.  You can leave Pokemon at a gym to "protect and claim" it. Right now we have someone guarding our library gym spot with a level 157 Pidgeyoto so I'm not going there just yet.  I only started Saturday and I'm level 6 with a level 144 Oddish. You can level up just by walking but capturing Pokemon is faster.

 A quick 5 minute walk outside the library brought up 3 Poke stops where you can spin a virtual picture of the spot for free items like more Pokeballs or potions. These stops are usually near historic sites around town. One stop I have never noticed in 3 years yet I walk by it all the time. If your library isn't a stop or gym just yet there's nothing you can do about it. At this point they are pre-generated.  You need to download the app (or ask someone) to figure out what you are.

I caught a Pidgey at the library

Different Pokemon pop up at different locations. Near water you are more likely to get water Pokemon or you can wait till night time when some nocturnal Pokemon will only come out. There is a rustling of leaves on screen to hint where Pokemon might be on with a map of leaves (1,2,3) to signify how close you are to a creature. Your phone will buzz to alert you if anything pops up so you don't have to walk with it in front of your face the entire time. Once you tap on the Pokemon that has appeared, your phone's camera opens and you see the creature "in real life".  You swipe across the screen with your Pokeball to capture. Keep capturing the same Pokemon repeatedly so you can keep the highest leveled one and trade back in the rest to the professor for candy to evolve them. Mostly I keep finding Pidgeys, Rattatats, and Weedles but certain areas have special Pokemon.

Of course the news is already filled with people causing car accidents because they were trying to catch stuff on Pokemon Go so use caution and be aware of your surroundings at all times. You don't have to physically go into a buildings, as a cheeky police station has already posted, as long as you are "near" it you can tap on it. So people can use your library if it is a gym even during closing hours. I found a few inside my house, a Psyduck even popped up in the bathroom this morning.

So what can the library do? Well this is IMHO virtual making. The Pokemon you collect can be trained here to get stronger and evolve if your library is a gym. Maybe a contest to highlight who claims the gym on different days? Maybe a scheduled meet-up where Pokemon Go players can talk, team up and share what they collected. For example: WHERE DO YOU FIND JIGGLYPUFF? I STILL NEED TO KNOW! I found a Drowzee nearby so my next post will be highlighting that you can find this special Pokemon near the library. I made the top graphic in Photoshop to put on our library doors and plastered it all over our Facebook and Instagram with the #pokemongo hashtag. I'm already looking forward to all the conversations I have with kids that come into the library and connect with them as we compare what different kinds of Pokemon we caught.

As I became an adult with much more responsibilities, it became harder to find time to sit and play really involved video games but this one is great.  I can just turn my phone on when I'm walking around already, Keep in mind when you have the app open your data plan is being used. The competition between my friends has gotten fierce to see who is the highest level and it is only day 3. It encourages players to be physically active and aware of their local historical sites. It brings the community together of all ages (Pokemon has been around since the 90s!) and the library can easily be a part of this pop culture phenomenon in the latest step in the evolution of the Pokemon legacy. So download the app and buy as many Pokemon books and DVDs as you can!



from LIBRARY AS MAKERSPACE http://ift.tt/29Gc45n
via IFTTThttp://ift.tt/29EzVVT