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Gamification is undoubtedly a major trend: it was the topic of sessions at both of the previous ALA Annual conferences, has an interest group under LITA, and was mentioned in the last three NMC Horizon reports for higher education. While there is interest in creating games that are both engaging and educational, doing so is challenging and requires great investment. In this column, Kyle Felker relates the experiences of the Grand Valley State University library. His writing not only discusses how libraries can effectively utilize games but also the theory behind them as well.-Editor
Libraries are currently grappling with an engagement challenge. Users have more choices than ever before as to where and how they obtain information, and the library is no longer the only game in town (if, indeed, it ever actually was) when it comes to doing research. Information provision services such as Google are often easier to use and access than library resources, and users often prize convenience over quality. The availability of electronic resources that students can access from home, combined with the ready availability of reference resources and free information on the open web, are resulting in fewer students actually coming to the library and using physical resources.
The question of how to drive physical and virtual traffic into buildings, webpages, and library electronic resources in the face of such competition has become very pressing, and libraries have responded to it in a variety of ways. With regard to the web presence, user centered design has gained ground as a method for making library information more accessible. Discovery layers have been developed to provide a more "google-like" centralized search interface to library resources. Libraries have experimented with making physical spaces more attractive by installing cafés and art exhibits and offering more computers and study space. Many libraries are engaging in outreach programs, establishing service points outside the physical building in the hope of making it more convenient for users to take advantage of such services.
A convergent trend is the interest in libraries as places for discovery, learning, civic engagement, and community. Libraries have always been places where people could discover new knowledge in books, but in the last ten years, libraries have been reinventing themselves as places for communal...