IN DEPTH
Why play games in libraries?
Darren Edwards describes how libraries across the UK have benefi ted from getting involved in International Games Week, showing that games in libraries can strengthen community ties, encourage reluctant readers, support digital skills, and much more.
BETWEEN 4 and 11 November 2018, 101 UK libraries joined nearly 1,500 libraries worldwide in celebrat- ing International Games Week, an initiative from the American Library Association (ALA) Games and Gaming Round Table (GameRT) to reconnect communities through their libraries around the educational, recreational, and social value of all types of games. This idea of using games to connect communities and bring users into libraries is not new, it has been part of the library landscape for well over a century. British libraries in the mid 19th century included billiard rooms and the Mechanics Institute Library in San Francisco housed what is now the oldest chess club still operating in the USA.1
Humble beginnings
International Games Week itself began life in the US in 2007 as National Games Day @ Your Library, and was the idea of Jenny Levine and Prof. Scott Nicholson. In 2012, National Games Day became International Games Day, and fi nally, in 2017, it was extended to become International Games Week. Today International Games Week is run by a small team of volunteers from the ALA GameRT, Australian Library and Infor- mation Association, L’Associazione Italiana Biblioteche and Nordic Games Week. Since its inception, well over 10,000 libraries
34 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL
Darren Edwards (@DarrenLEdwards Darren.Edwards@
bournemouthlibraries.org.uk) is Senior Library Assistant, Poole Central Library and is UK coordinator for ALA GameRT International Games Week.
across the world have taken part, covering all seven continents including Antarctica. The fi rst UK libraries to take part were Perton and Smethwick libraries in 2011 and from these humble beginnings, UK participation has steadily increased. In 2018, the UK had the fourth highest number of registered libraries, behind the USA, Italy and Australia.
Across sectors
International Games Week is open to any library running a games-focused event, and as such encompasses a wide range of libraries across a variety of sectors. Public libraries form the majority of participants, globally forming 80-90 per cent of libraries registered each year. In addition to public libraries,
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