Games & Gaming Round Table Celebrates the 2025 Game On! Grant recipients - Johnsburg Public Library District (IL) and University of Southern Mississippi Libraries - Cook Library (MS)

The Games & Gaming Round Table (GameRT) of the American Library Association is pleased to announce TWO recipients of the 2025 Game On! Grant. Introduced in 2020 with the intention of providing libraries with the opportunity to receive funds to develop gaming programs or collections for their community the GameRT Game On! Grants are awarded annually and provide either a single recipient a grant of $2000 or two grants of $1000 to two libraries. Through a generous donation from Cards Against Humanity (CAH) GameRT is able to provide an additional $1000 for Game On! Grant recipients annually starting this year. These matching funds are provided through 2029. Please read more about why CAH supports libraries in this blog interview.

Johnsburg Public Library District (IL) will use the $1,000 grant to create an afterschool video gaming club and circulating video game collection. Without a park district or recreation center, JPLD provides library services to a large afterschool community. They hope to provide access to a high-interest/high-cost activity that many families in their community cannot afford, as “27% of our students are enrolled in SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).” The creation of this gaming club and collection will fulfill the myriad of requests they receive from library patrons for video games, and it will establish a collection that their Friends of the Library can fundraise for, as well as provide resources for on-going library programs.

University of Southern Mississippi Libraries - Cook Library (MS) will also receive $1,000 in grant funds to build an international gaming collection that will also support multicultural programming across campus. International students make up 7% of USM’s enrollment in Hattiesburg, MS. The library will collaborate with USM’s Pakistani Student Organization, Latinx Student Association, The Nations, and International Student and Scholar Services on interdepartmental programs to support their international students and promote awareness of international games across campus. They have wide student interest in multicultural games, but have lacked the budget to build a more substantial collection.

Rebecca Strang, GameRT Mage Emeritus and Chair of the Game On! Grant Committee said, “The Game On! Grant committee is thrilled to have additional grant funds this year, thanks to a donation from Cards Against Humanity. Their support enables us to help make gaming happen in even more libraries! The hardest thing about being on the grant committee is having to narrow the applicants down to one or two recipients because there are so many great ideas out there and just as many deserving libraries. This year’s recipients had a very strong focus on their community and highlighted a specific demographic that really needs more support, yet are building programs that will end up supporting their communities at large.”

Visit the GameRT website for more information on the Game on! Grant and the application process.

About the Games and Gaming Round Table

The Games and Gaming Round Table (GameRT) of the American Library Association provides a venue for librarians interested in the use of games and gaming in libraries of all types a place to gather and share. GameRT was formed in 2011, replacing and extending the pre-existing gaming member interest group. As a round table, GameRT is built around our shared passion for games and the use of gaming within libraries. With members from all types of libraries, GameRT encompasses a wide variety of viewpoints, situations, and user types. Look for more information on the GameRT blog.

About ALA

Established in 1876, the American Library Association (ALA) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization created to provide leadership for the development, promotion, and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.