Willing to Learn and Play: A Survey of Gaming in Academic Libraries

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Presenter: Scott Rice (Appalachian State University)

Description: As a co-editor of a forthcoming ACRL book about gaming in academic libraries (Gaming in Academic Libraries: Collections, Marketing, and Information Literacy), I thought it might be useful to share some case studies and information about the ways in which academic libraries are incorporating gaming into their institutions. There are roughly three ways in which this is being accomplished

  • developing gaming collections
  • using games as marketing/outreach
  • using games to teach information literacy

Developing gaming collections can include collecting games, games systems, gaming rooms and information about the gaming industry. Obstacles such as circulation, reserves, cataloging, and maintenance have already been tackled and solved by academic libraries.

Games have been used as marketing and outreach by holding more common events such as game nights, tournaments, and LAN parties, as well as unique events such as hosting a carnival at Fairmont State University and hiding a geocache at Pennsylvania State University.

Using games to teach information literacy has found a foothold in the academic library as well, with electronic games created by Carnegie Mellon, Arizona State University, and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The University of Dubuque is integrating gaming into library instruction and other institutions are creating Alternate Reality Games, which involve a blend of the virtual and the real world.

For each method of incorporating gaming into the academic library, I will offer a number of examples and talk about challenges, opportunities, and solutions that have been tried. I hope to synthesize this information into a roadmap of suggestions for librarians wishing to get games into their own libraries.

Link to presentation

Note: My apologies to the librarians at the University of Oregon. During the presentation I managed to get confused and attributed their excellent circulation collection of videogames and consoles with Simon Fraser University's game room.

Intended Audiences:

  • Pretty much any librarian

at

  • Academic libraries



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