Every community, no matter the size, has the opportunity to serve children with special needs. Libraries have unique opportunities to raise awareness and strengthen services for children with disabilities and their families. In the recent webinar Ser...

This has been quite an adventure! Let's recap a bit. We started this journey exploring modern board games in the context of our favorite childhood games. Then we examined the different types of modern board games and what makes them so unique from ot...

Marshmallow engineering? Robotics? Punk knitting? These creative activities are all examples of recent makerspace events happening at libraries all over the country. Programs like these are all about building community and mixing traditional crafts w...

Libraries know digital literacy; they’ve been the go-to resource for their communities for years. Yet the need continues to grow as the demand for basic skills intensifies and new skills emerge. Whether supporting job hunters, students, older adults,...

All games can facilitate social interaction. Even when games are meant to be played in a solitary fashion, they still have the potential for players to interact with each other. This interaction can be subtle, (explaining or teaching the rules of a g...

Let's talk about thematic and strategic games: what they are, what defines each, and how some overlap exists. You need to understand where and how these types of games interact; that interaction will help you determine what type of players your patro...

Fandom, enthusiasts surrounding a particular work or interest, is becoming increasingly popular. Members of fandom, as well as those researching this phenomenon, agree that it has a positive impact on individuals including improved social and technic...

The scope of board games has exploded in the past 10 years. This can be a major hurdle for new gamers as well as for those stalwart librarians attempting to create a gaming environment in their library. In this article, John Pappas provides a list of...

In a world of apps, massively multiplayer online role playing games/MMORPGs, game consoles, and connected mobile devices, the physicality and social aspect of gaming begins to wane. All this despite much online gaming being touted as, well, social. P...

In July 2013, the Chattanooga Public Library hosted fifty teens ages 12-18 for DEV DEV: Summer of Code. Made possible through a partnership between the library, Engage 3D, AIGA Chattanooga, and by funding from the Benwood Foundation, the DEV DEV prog...