Librarian's Guide to Games and Gamers: From Collection Development to Advisory Services

by Michelle Goodridge, Matthew J. Rohweder

Overview

Helps librarians who are not themselves seasoned gamers to better understand the plethora of gaming products available and how they might appeal to library users.

As games grow ever-more ubiquitous in our culture and communities, they have become popular staples in public library collections and are increasing in prominence in academic ones. Many librarians, especially those who are not themselves gamers or are only acquainted with a handful of games, are ill-prepared to successfully advise patrons who use games. This book provides the tools to help adult and youth services librarians to better understand the gaming landscape and better serve gamers in discovery of new games-whether they are new to gaming or seasoned players-through advisory services.

This book maps all types of games-board, roleplaying, digital, and virtual reality-providing all the information needed to understand and appropriately recommend games to library users. Organized by game type, hundreds of descriptions offer not only bibliographic information (title, publication date, series, and format/platform), but genre classifications, target age ranges for players, notes on gameplay and user behavior type, and short descriptions of the game's basic premise and appeals.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440867316
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	11/15/2021
Pages:	262
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.55(d)

About the Author

Michelle Goodridge, MA, MLIS, is Liaison Librarian at Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario.

Matthew J. Rohweder, MA, MLIS, is Liaison Librarian at Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction: "Roll for Initiative" xi

Part I Gaming Collections and Gamers 1

1 Gaming Collections in Libraries: A Primer 3

2 Collection Development 9

3 Collection Maintenance 17

4 Programming 25

5 User Behavior in Gaming 41

6 Gamers' Advisory 49

Part II Gamers' Advisory 55

7 Board Games 57

8 Video Games 105

9 Online Video Game Platforms 175

10 Collectable Card Games, Role-Play Games, and Miniature Role-Play (Mining) Games 191

11 Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality 205

Conclusion: "Press Start to Play" 215

Appendix: Speed Run: A Quick Reference Guide 217

Resources 225

Index 231

What People are Saying About This

Scott Nicholson

This book will help librarians not only build a game collection, but also develop innovative programming and services around that collection.

Phil Salvador

For libraries getting started with their gaming collection, Librarian’s Guide to Games and Gamers is a one-stop text for understanding how to make room for the dynamic field of gaming in your institution.

Editorial Reviews

A superb book for early-career librarians, librarians who are new to games and gaming, academic librarians hoping to install games into the collection, and anyone looking for a fresh perspective on gaming.” —Library Jourbanal

From the Publisher

★ 02/01/2022

Games and gaming have been a part of library collections and services for a long time now, but there are still many librarians just learning about this viable media. Goodridge and Rohweder (liaison librarians, Wilfrid Laurier Univ., Ont.) have created an excellent source for librarians seeking more information on board games, card games, role-playing games, video games, and more. The authors offer a thorough understanding of the basics and tried-and-true wisdom—for instance, in their section on programming—but they also build beyond that and explain how librarians can apply their readers' advisory skills when recommending games to patrons. Goodridge and Rohweder cover collection development and programming and also spend a fair amount of time addressing different types of gaming personalities. They close with an extensive guide to gaming hardware, genres of game play, content ratings, and even suggested titles, which are exhaustively annotated. The book's accessible writing and strong organization offer entry points even to librarians who might be overwhelmed by this potentially daunting topic. VERDICT A superb book for early-career librarians, librarians who are new to games and gaming, academic librarians hoping to install games into the collection, and anyone looking for a fresh perspective on gaming.—M. Brandon Robbins

Library Journal