This book aims to show how librarians in colleges and universities of varying sizes, populations, and locations have successfully incorporated gaming into their libraries.-Introduction. In an attempt to encompass the variety of ways games are being incorporated into libraries, this book has been divided into three sections: game collections and curricular support, gaming as marketing and gaming as an information literacy tool.

"Games of all kinds, from breakouts and escape rooms to traditional board game collections, are often featured in academic library instruction, programming, and outreach initiatives, where their natural ability to foster interaction and communication is especially valuable. Games and gamification can be used to help students engage with the thresholds of the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education; locate resources and identify misinformation and disinformation; and build connections with faculty and librarians, in one-shots and for-credit courses. In four sections--An Overview of Games and Gamification, Adding and Maintaining a Circulating Game Collection to your Library, Games and Gamification in Information Literacy Instruction, and Programming and Outreach through Games--Games and Gamification in Academic Libraries explores incorporating games into first-year experience programs, using games to help students engage with special collections, making games accessible, and ideas for game nights and events. Games and gamification function best not as something separate, but as one tool in an academic library's approach to their goals and initiatives. Games and Gamification offers encouragement, strategies, and proven practices for developing and using accessible, welcoming gamification as a flexible tool to meet their institutions' missions and their students' learning needs."--

Librarians are beginning to see the importance of game based learning and the incorporation of games into library services. This book is written for them--so they can use games to improve people's understanding and enjoyment of the library. Full of practical suggestions, the essays discuss not only innovative uses of games in libraries but also the game making process. The contributors are all well versed in games and game-based learning and a variety of different types of libraries are considered. The essays will inspire librarians and educators to get into this exciting new area of patron and student services.

In this issue of Library Technology Reports, Jenny Levine illustrates how librarians can reap positive gains by proactively, creatively, and affordably integrating gaming into the services and programs already offered at libraries. She uses numerous, detailed examples from public, school, and academic libraries. The case studies reveal that gaming programs often turn out to be among the most popular a library can offer. Youll learn how libraries, with creative planning and little money, have incorporated gaming services for a big return on investment. And the appendix section of the report includes materials (librarian-created press releases, real examples of promotional fliers, and staff checklists for game-day events) that librarians can build upon to create a successful gaming program at any type of librarywhich can engage your community's youth and adult gaming populations.

Helps librarians who are not themselves seasoned gamers to better understand the plethora of gaming products available and how they might appeal to library users. As games grow ever-more ubiquitous in our culture and communities, they have become popular staples in public library collections and are increasing in prominence in academic ones. Many librarians, especially those who are not themselves gamers or are only acquainted with a handful of games, are ill-prepared to successfully advise patrons who use games. This book provides the tools to help adult and youth services librarians to better understand the gaming landscape and better serve gamers in discovery of new games—whether they are new to gaming or seasoned players—through advisory services. This book maps all types of games—board, roleplaying, digital, and virtual reality—providing all the information needed to understand and appropriately recommend games to library users. Organized by game type, hundreds of descriptions offer not only bibliographic information (title, publication date, series, and format/platform), but genre classifications, target age ranges for players, notes on gameplay and user behavior type, and short descriptions of the game's basic premise and appeals.

Video games are now a ubiquitous form of media used by the majority of the American population. However, the academic research field surrounding this genre does not accurately reflect the pervasive influence of video games. The field of library and information sciences helps provide the necessary foundational support for this media. Integrating Video Game Research and Practice in Library and Information Science brings together video gaming culture and its unique forms of communication with information behavior research. By detailing the nuances of video games and their influence, this reference book reveals communication patterns within society and provides comprehensive background and analysis for libraries, librarians, and information professionals.

Gaming offers a great way to reach teens. This book gives library staff the tools to deliver game programming that goes beyond the basic video and board game format. Games aren't just for fun; they can also play a critical role in learning. Libraries have an opportunity to integrate a variety of games into the services and collections they provide to the community. This book shows library staff how to do exactly that through a diverse variety of popular games, some that have been around for many years and others that are new. The authors present a comprehensive overview of the topic, supplying good practice examples from successful libraries, providing necessary details on format and implementation within a library program for teens, and covering different game formats ranging from live action role-playing (LARP) and Dungeons & Dragons to Minecraft and traditional board games. Whether you're adding games and gaming to your collection and services for the first time, or looking for ways to expand your existing gaming program, this book offers solid guidance.