Be the Game Changer: Embracing gaming of all

types in libraries

Jennifer DeJonghe, Amanda Lewis, Alec SonstebyLake Superior Library Symposium, 2018

Who We Are, What We Do

Game Time!

Modern Board G a me s i n F i v e

Mi n u t e s

Major Industry Continues to Grow

● Sales of hobby board games in North America grew from $75 million to $305 million between 2013 and 2016 (source: The Atlantic/ICv2).

● “...global sales increased to $9.6 billion in 2016 from $9.3 billion in 2013” (source: AdWeek/Euromonitor International).

● BoardGameGeek “recorded 9.5 million unique visitors in the 4th quarter of 2016, a 10.7% increase over the same period in 2015” (source: USA Today).

Choices, Not R a n d o mn e s s

Credit: Raiko Puust

Credit: Brett Christensen

And New and Different Themes

● Peace, not war○ ...and curing,

growing,eating, and putting out fires!

Engaging Mechanics (Methods o f P l a y )

● Cooperation● Variable player

powers● Simultaneous action

selection● Tile-laying● ...and more!

Some Modern Classics

Our Library’s Board G a me C o l l e c t i o n

Selection

● Winners or finalist of awards● Local game publishers ● Gateway games● Most games are for 1-8

players and take 15-90 minutes to play

● Variety of genres and mechanics

● Old classics, too

Processing

Storage

CirculationP o l i c i e s

Inventorying

● Student worker project● Self-reporting● Contacting game

publishers

Video Games

Video Game Industry - V i d e o G a me s o n t h e R i s e

● The video game industry’s revenue in 2017 was reported to have increased by 18% (source).

● The movie industry’s revenue in 2017 decreased by 16% (source).

● The book publishing industry in 2017 increased by 27.6% (source).

Video Game Myths Debunked

● The average age of video game players is 36.● 45% of US gamers are women.● Only 13% of video games published in 2017 were rated “M” according to the

ESRB guidelines (Source: Entertainment Software Association annual report).● 2013 open letter signed by over 230 media scholars, psychologists and

criminologists, citing the poorly executed and biased research done previously on the influence of violent media on real world violence (source).

● Games are not just either educational or recreational. ● Video games have been linked to improvements in perception and cognition

(source), brain plasticity (source), problem solving skills and academic grades (source), visual working memory (source), executive control (source) and can improve literacy skills like writing (source).

Why do some who defend books and videos censor video games?

Do we recognize video games as literacy? Do we frown on people playing games on our library computers?

More than Just for Fun

Games like Braid seem like a typical game, but is there something deeper?

More than Just for Fun

Quill from the Playstation 4 VR title: Moss (source)

Our Video Game Systems● PS4 (available every day)● PS2 (donated, for events)● Wii X2 (donated, for events) ● NES (borrowed, for events) ● SNES Classic (purchased, for events)● Atari 2600 (borrowed, for events)

Plus…..● TVs, extra controllers, ● Cases/mounting brackets,● Adapters, ● Dongles, doohickies, assorted

whatchimacallits and ● Someone who knows

how to set all of this up

Top 12 Board Games for Library C o l l e c t i o n s

( a c c o r d i n g t o u s , a n d b a s e d o n o u r u s e r s )

1. Jenga/Connect Four/Sorry! Sliders

2. Splendor

3. Happy Salmon

4. Bugs in the Kitchen

5. Scrabble

6. Carcassonne

7. Forbidden Island

8. Spot It!

9. Codenames

10. Wits and Wagers

11. Exploding Kittens

12. One Night Ultimate Werewolf

Top Ten Video Games for Library Collections ( a c c o r d i n g t o u s , a n d b a s e d o n o u r u s e r s )

1. Super Smash Brothers******* (Wii)

2. Just Dance (various)

3. Mario Kart (Wii, Nintendo)

4. Wii Sports

5. Super Mario Bros (Wii, Nintendo)

6. FIFA/Madden/WWE/NBA 2K (multiple)

7. Eagle Flight (VR)

8. Fruit Ninja (VR)

9. Moss (VR)

10. Minecraft (various)

Game Time!( Ga me = B r i n g y o u r o wn b o o k )

Our Game N i g h t

Game Night Objectives

● To provide a time and space for attendees to work together and develop problem solving skills in a social environment.

● To provide access to a variety of board games from several different genres and to video game platforms spanning multiple generations to allow people to interact with games and gaming systems they may not be familiar with.

● To spur creative thought and provide a means for students in the game studies minor to gain hands-on experience with unfamiliar games and older consoles.

● To provide opportunities for Metropolitan State students to interact with people of all ages from the local community.

Marketing/Advertising

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Logistics

● Less messy snacks: Cheez-Its, pretzels, M&Ms, red licorice, soda

● Sign-in board● Staff mingling in, managing flow,

leading game play● Board games on tables, 4-5 TVs

with video games

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● Themed snacks● Crafts for little ones● Facebook group● Scheduling software● Welcome table ● Parent center

Other Events

● Tetris tournament● Peace event● Class visits● Asian American

conference

Game studies class

Student research symposium

Virtual Reality

Assessment?

[I playd a lote of game]

[Thank you. For liting me come]

Lessons Learned (but don’t get too hung up on t h e s e )

● Expect messes.● One soda per person.● Noise!!● “Bears killing babies? That’s terrible?”● Consider issues of racism and sexism

in games, including within board games, e.g. Puerto Rico.

Key Takeaways

● Don’t aim for perfection, be willing to try and fail.

● Love and knows games yourself.● Experimentation and play.● Start small, but don’t start with junk.● Worry less about collection and event

logistics and more about marketing and outreach.

● Nostalgia is important, but your own reference point is not others’.

Future Plans?Things WE would like to do if we had another day in the week:

● Develop browsable catalog of games for gamer advisory (example).

● Reach out to local game shops.● Split the game night into two

events: board games and video games.

● Do more playtest events and partnerships with local organizations.

Things other libraries do:

● Kits● Robots● Tournaments● 24-hour game nights● Partner with local game shops

and game designers● Support Kickstarters● Life-sized games● Themed game nights● Minecraft● LAN party gaming

Instil a Culture of G a mi n g

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Resources● YALSA grants for Teen Tech Week, etc.

Regional library system grants (e.g.,SAMMIE)● League of Librarian gamers Facebook Group● BoardGameGeek● Podcasts:

http://www.inversegenius.com/podcasts/● Board in the Library (John Pappas)● Genesse Valley Educational Partnership (games

aligned to Common Core)● Center for Games and Learning (games by

organized by skill) ● ALA Games Roundtable● ALA’s International Games Week● Video Game Librarian Blog● Building an Accessible Board Game Library

References (Video Game - r e l a t e d L i t e r a t u r e )

Adachi, P. J., & Willoughby, T. (2013). More than just fun and games: The longitudinal relationships between strategic video games, self-reported problem solving skills, and academic grades. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(7), 1041-1052.

Black, R. W. (2005). Access and affiliation: The literacy and composition practices of English‐language learners in an online fanfiction community. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 49(2), 118-128.

Blacker, K. J., Curby, K. M., Klobusicky, E., & Chein, J. M. (2014). Effects of action video game training on visual working memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 40(5), 1992.

Boot, W. R., Blakely, D. P., & Simons, D. J. (2011). Do action video games improve perception and cognition? Frontiers in Psychology, 2, 226. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00226/full

Kühn, S., Gleich, T., Lorenz, R. C., Lindenberger, U., & Gallinat, J. (2014). Playing Super Mario induces structural brain plasticity: Gray matter changes resulting from training with a commercial video game. Molecular Psychiatry, 19(2), 265.

Strobach, T., Frensch, P. A., & Schubert, T. (2012). Video game practice optimizes executive control skills in dual-task and task switching situations. Acta Psychologica, 140(1), 13-24.

Contact Us

Jennifer DeJonghe, Professor and Librarian, Metropolitan State University

Amanda Lewis, Library Technician, Metropolitan State University

Alec Sonsteby, Associate Professor and Librarian, Metropolitan State University