Gaming the LibraryWillie Miller & Bill Orme

IUPUI University Library, Indianapolis, Indiana, USAInternet Librarian International

October 15, 2013London, United Kingdom

Game-based learning is useful to libraries for creating new opportunities for user engagement.

Focus learning outcomes more on interactions than specific resources.

Time is a valuable and exhaustible resource.

User-testing is worth the additional time.

Key Messages

Presentation Outline• Game Learning Review

• What is The Missing Project?

• “Missing” Origins

• Project Goals

• Planning || Marketing|| Launch || Reception

• Lessons Learned

Gamification: “the process of game-thinking and game mechanicsto engage users and solve problems”(Zichermann & Cunningham, 2011)

Game-Based Learning Research

• Games and digital natives (Prensky, 2001)• Students designing games (Gershenfeld, 2011) • Adoption in Higher Ed (2012 Horizon Report)• Tips for designing digital library games (Kim, 2012)• Libraries designing information literacy games (Smale, 2012)

What is the Missing Project?

“Missing” Originshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAL9zI27P9I

Project Goals

Library’s Value-Added

• Subject Pages• Mobile Site• Study rooms• Room Reservation System• Reference Services• Text-a-Librarian• Rich Media Cluster • International News Room• Pop Shop (Popular Browsing Area)• Access Services

(Circulation/Course Reserves/Media)

• 2120 Learning Lab• Subject Librarians• Soft Seating (Sleeping!)• Lilly Auditorium• Quiet Floor - 3rd Floor• Academic Commons

(Reference)• Writing Center• Movable Sections in Gov. Docs• Meebo

Planning

Marketing

Launch

Reception

Lessons Learned

• Add tech experts early• Take other units into consideration• Avoid using vendor names• Centralize planning documents • Test full product before launch• Build assessment into the process early

Lessons Learned

• Remember, students are students• Remember, volunteers are volunteers• Align your vision with your capabilities • Understand, time is a critical resource• Consider offering academic credit• Keep in mind, your viewers may not be as in love with your project as

you.

Gaming the LibraryWillie Miller: wmmiller@iupui.edu, @LibraryWillie

Bill Orme: orme@iupui.edu

References

• Gershenfeld, Alan. (2011). Leveling up from player to designer. Knowledge Quest, 40(1), 54-59. • Johnson, L., Adams, S., & Cummins, M. (2012). The NMC horizon report: 2012

higher education edition. Austin, TX: New Media Consortium.• Prensky, Marc. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants, Part II: Do they really

think differently? On the Horizon, 9(6), 1-9. • Rieber, L. P., Smith, L., & Noah, D. (1998). The value of serious play. Educational

Technology, 38(6), 29-37.• Smale, Maura A. (2012). Get in the game: Developing an information literacy

classroom game. Journal of Library Innovation, 3(1), 126-147. • Zichermann, Gabe, & Cunningham, Christopher. (2011). Gamification by design:

Implementing game mechanics in web and mobile apps: O'Reilly Media.