Many folks still see libraries as dusty archives of magazines and books from a bygone age. Heck, even CDs and DVDs qualify as “old media” now. Many libraries are staying current with technological and cultural trends in a variety of different ways. One such way of keeping pace is an event celebrating interactive entertainment, International Games Day at Your Library, which this year is November 21, 2015.
Organized in conjunction with Nordic Game Day, the Australian Library and Information Association and the L’Associazione Italiana Biblioteche, the American Library Association is working with more than 1,900 libraries worldwide and a swarm of volunteers dedicated to showcasing games in a variety of ways.
Although librarians at each location customize the experience for each set of patrons — so no one experience is bound to be alike — there are a couple of international events with several libraries and gamers expected to participate. These events include the following:
The Global Gossip Game, which involves the passing of a phrase from person to person (and library to library), shows the evolution of the phrase in this game. In the end, it will be published to show how the phrasings evolved via “gossip.”
AÂ Minecraft Hunger Games tournament, open for a week to libraries of all types around the world, where each library is a “district,” whose players may be chosen as representatives in a series of PvP survival matches inside a “Minecraft” world. Districts who earn the highest points will live to fight another day at an international tournament.
The list of participating libraries in International Games Day is huge, so check the official map, and contact your local participating library for details.
