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- Description
- Table of Contents
- About the author
- Reviews
Gaming programs offer many benefits: they encourage interaction among patrons, strengthen community bonds with the library, and when done right they can be incredibly popular. Kroski, a bestselling author as well as an avid gamer herself, has gathered more than 50 creative programming ideas from public, school, and academic libraries nationwide. Most will hit your core gaming audience of teens, but you’ll also find plenty of options for adults, tweens, and younger children—the mix of tabletop, video, and live-action gaming programs includes something for everyone. Complete with step-by-step instructions for how to prepare and host programs, a materials and equipment list, estimated budget, and recommendations for age ranges, inside this book you’ll find fun ideas such as
- Instagram or zombie-tag scavenger games;
- a video game rec league;
- teaching cybersecurity with Minecraft;
- STEM with virtual reality and other programs for VR equipment;
- fostering science literacy with themed board games;
- a life-sized Game of Life;
- STEAM with an amazing race;
- hosting a Gaming Con at your library;
- video game study breaks for calming students’ nerves during Finals Week;
- leading enthusiasts in writing an original roleplay or designing a board game; and
- building your collection of games through donations and grants.
The engaging programs in this book will have people flocking to your library—it’s all in the game.
Preface
Acknowledgments
Part I Tabletop Game Programs
Chapter 1 Beyond Dungeons & Dragons: Building a Roleplaying Program
Robert Taylor and Danielle Costello
Chapter 2 How to Start Tabletop Gaming Programs at Your Library, for Absolute Beginners
Mark Halvorsen and James Tyner
Chapter 3 Brush & Shield: Paint & Take Miniature Day at the Public Library
Mark Halvorsen
Chapter 4 Recurring Game Events for Older Adults
Mark Halvorsen
Chapter 5 How to Develop Socioeconomic Literacies with the Landlord Game
Randal Sean Harrison
Chapter 6 Hero’s Handbook: Steps for Creating a Pathfinder RPG Beginner’s Program
Delaney Bullinger and Allison Rand
Chapter 7 Dewey and Dragons: Dungeons & Dragons at the Library
Jamey Rorie
Chapter 8 How to Build a Circulating Board Game Collection for a Commuter Campus
Tiffanie Ford-Baxter, Daniel Palodichuk, and Jennifer Selga
Chapter 9 Developing Science Literacy through Science-Themed Board Games
Bryce Van Ross and Tiffanie Ford-Baxter
Chapter 10 Call of Cthulhu: Hosting Roleplaying Events in the World of H. P. Lovecraft
Michael Furlong
Chapter 11 How to Host a Large-Scale Board Games Event for New Student Orientation
Annette M. Vadnais
Chapter 12 Not So Trivial Pursuit: Board Game Creation in Your Library
Kristen Cinar
Chapter 13 How to Organize a Tabletop Gaming Convention
Tiffany Polfer and James Tyner
Chapter 14 Play Your Cards Right: An Information Literacy Card Game for Undergrads
Martha Attridge Bufton, Colin Harkness, and Ryan Tucci
Chapter 15 Advanced D&G (Donations and Grants): Building Your Game Library without Breaking Your Budget
Matthew Morrison
Chapter 16 RPG Writing Workshop: Lead Patrons in Writing Their Own Games
Christopher Bussman and Shea’la Finch
Chapter 17 How to Highlight Locally Designed Board Games in Your Library
Maggie Block
Part II Video Game Programs
Chapter 18 Exam Cram: Providing Video Games for Final Exam Study Breaks
Kyle Neill and Brad Casselberry
Chapter 19 How to Start a Kerbal Space Program Club
Jacqueline Lockwood
Chapter 20 Game and Learn: How to Create a Library Augmented Reality Tour
Yingqi Tang and Charlcie Vann
Chapter 21 Level Up! Library Orientation with a Phone-Based Exploration Game
Beth Jane Toren
Chapter 22 Smash Your Programming Goals with a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Tournament
Sarah Prosser
Chapter 23 Get the Most out of VR
Haley T. Lee
Chapter 24 How to Create and Sustain a Gamer’s Club Even if You Are Not a Gamer
Maya Berry
Chapter 25 How to Create an Arcade Program in the Library
Nicholas Dease
Chapter 26 How to Create a Video Game Recreational League
Leah Canner
Chapter 27 Culper Spies: Choose Your Own Adventure Online Gamification
Kristen Cinar
Chapter 28 Hosting Pokémon GO PVP Tournaments in Your Library
Emily Burkot
Chapter 29 Building a Video Game Collection for Programming (And Keeping It Current!)
Emily Burkot
Chapter 30 It’s Locked: Combining Video Games with Real-Life STEM Challenges
Selenia Paz
Chapter 31 How to Explore STEM Programming through VR
Zachary Stier
Chapter 32 Teach Young Patrons Cybersecurity Using Minecraft
Chris Markman
Part III Live Action Game Programs
Chapter 33 How to Run a Vampire LARP in the Library
Errol Logan
Chapter 34 How to Run an Instagram Scavenger Hunt for New Student Orientation
Susan M. Hansen
Chapter 35 How to Create a Life-Sized Game of Life
Lindsey Tomsu
Chapter 36 How to Organize an Escape Room for Faculty
Maya Berry and Melissa Wright
Chapter 37 Live Video Games: Library Battle Royale
Sarah Amazing
Chapter 38 Hunger Games Survival Challenge
Sarah Amazing
Chapter 39 How to Create a Live Clue Game
Jonathan Dolce
Chapter 40 Scavenger Hunt: Zombie Tag
Karlene Tura Clark
Chapter 41 How to Create a Mini-Golf Mini-Tour
Kaitlyn May, Mary Atwell, and Emily Hampton Haynes
Chapter 42 Spy Hunt: A Library Research Scavenger Hunt
Kristen Cinar
Chapter 43 How to Run a Fandom LARP
Elizabeth R. Strauss
Chapter 44 Anything Bingo
Elizabeth R. Strauss
Chapter 45 Stop the Mad Librarian: A Library Orientation Escape Room
Susan M. Hansen
Chapter 46 How to Run a Library Research Gamification Program
Lisa Njoku
Chapter 47 Laser Tag in the Stacks
Steven Wade, Julie Hornick, Randall MacDonald, and Marina Morgan
Chapter 48 Save Lewis the Librarian! An Information Literacy Escape Room
Ruth Cho
Chapter 49 How to Run a History Mystery Program for Teens
Ruth Covington
Chapter 50 How to Create Life-Sized Board Games
Lindsey Tomsu
Chapter 51 Just Try to Escape Your Training! Using Escape Rooms to Develop a Cohesive Student Worker Team
Melanie Bopp
Chapter 52 The Amazing Race: STEAM to the Finish Line
Sandra Calemme McCarthy and Maureen Perault
Index
"The programs are written in an accessible, practical, and thorough style which makes them a one-stop-shop for your early planning stages ... This title is recommended as one to return to again and again in the course of developing library programs, both to take the ready-to-use ideas as they are written and as a source of inspiration to adapt ideas and create your own unique ideas."
— Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association