Libraries Worldwide Invited to Celebrate International Games Week 2021 This November

CHICAGO, IL – The American Library Association’s Games and Gaming Round Table (GameRT) is proud to announce that International Games Week (IGW) will take place from November 7 to November 13, 2021.  Libraries of all stripes around the world are encouraged to sign up between now and October 24 and US registrants will be eligible for a drawing for one of three special GameRT Loot Boxes. While GameRT encourages participants to hold a gaming event at their Library during IGW, due to the pandemic, any event held during the month of November can be counted. This year, GameRT will be spotlighting freely available print-and-play games and listing resources available for libraries to use to set up gaming events online at games.ala.org. 

"While the world continues to struggle with COVID this year, GameRT is proud to be able to unite so many libraries in celebrating the ways gaming brings their communities together," said GameRT President Thomas Vose. "Finding positivity, connecting our communities, and promoting the mental health of our patrons is more important than ever, and gaming fills the bill nicely!"

“Libraries in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole region have been taking part in International Games Week since 2013. It has been a great opportunity for those libraries running regular games events to put on something special, such as the games designers showcase and networking event that we ran in 2019,” said GameRT member and IGW organizer Darren Edwards, Senior Library Assistant, BCP Council, UK .  “In our libraries that haven’t been running regular events it has been a chance to test the waters with something new. We love how games can be used to help bring together communities of all ages and make connections with our library users.”

International Games Week is an initiative of the American Library Association, in collaboration with the Australian Library and Information Association, L’Associazione Italiana Biblioteche, Nordic Game Week, and Finnish Games Week to reconnect communities through their libraries around the educational, recreational, and social value of all types of games. 

Register for International Games Week 2021 - https://bit.ly/IGWReg21

The first ALA GameRT event was in 2007, National Games Day (NGD). Five years later it became International Games Day (IGD), and five years after that it grew to International Games Week (IGW). This means that next year November 6 – 12, 2022 will be the 5th anniversary of IGW, the 10th anniversary of IGD, and the 15th anniversary of NGD. The IGW Committee is starting to plan for a BIG celebration, so if you would like to volunteer to help out please fill out the ALA Committee Volunteer Form. For more information about IGW visit https://games.ala.org/international-games-week/.

About the Games and Gaming Round Table

The Games and Gaming Round Table (GameRT) of the American Library Association provides a venue in which librarians interested in the use of games and gaming in libraries of all types can 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 a 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, backgrounds, 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.