Ready-to-use gaming programs for libraries

CHICAGO — Gaming programs offer many benefits: they encourage patron participation, strengthen community bonds with the library, and when done right they can be incredibly popular. Elyssa Kroski, a bestselling author as well as an avid gamer herself, gathers programming ideas from public, school, and academic libraries nationwide in her new book “52 Ready-to-Use Gaming Programs for Libraries,” published by ALA Editions. 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.

Kroski is the Director of Information Technology and Marketing at the New York Law Institute as well as an award-winning editor and author of 60 books, including “Law Librarianship in the Age of AI,” for which she received AALL's 2020 Joseph L. Andrews Legal Literature Award. She is a librarian, an adjunct faculty member at Drexel and San Jose State Universities, and an international conference speaker. She received the 2017 Library Hi Tech Award from the ALA/LITA for her long-term contributions in the area of Library and Information Science technology and its application. She can be found at: http://www.amazon.com/author/ellyssa.

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