Do you have an interesting presentation idea about gaming in libraries for next year’s America Library Association Annual Conference? Then the Games and Gaming Roundtable wants to hear it!

The group is currently seeking proposals through the Games In Libraries blog for a presentation slot on June 22, 2019 at 2:00 PM:

The Games and Gaming Roundtable is accepting conference presentation proposals on games and gaming in libraries for the American Library Association Annual Conference, June 20-25, 2019 in Washington, D.C. This presentation will take place on Saturday, June 22nd from 2-3pm. Presenters will be required to provide either a twenty-minute presentation with Q & A or an hour-long hands on workshop.

The deadline to submit proposals is next Wednesday, November 28.

The organizers of the Games in Libraries Conference at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire have announced that the conference will be held on May 31, 2019. They’re also seeking speakers for the event, and you can propose a presentation through this online form.

The conference will focus on all types of gaming (board, card, video, etc.) within all types of libraries (public, academic, or special libraries), so they’re should be something for everyone.

Whether your library uses games currently or not, the Games in Libraries Conference is for you! Here are the top five reasons to attend the conference.

1. No registration fee
2. Practical information
3. Learn best practices
4. Create connections to others with an interest in games in libraries
5. Games = Fun!

Additional information about the Games in Libraries Conference at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire can be found on the conference’s official website.

Are you interested in sharing a story about your experiences with gaming in libraries? If so, then you should head over to the ALA’s Games In Libraries blog, because they’re on the lookout for new contributors:

Do you want to write about games in libraries? Help make the ALA GameRT blog awesome with a post or a series of posts!

These posts can be about board games, card games, video games, or any kind of game. It could also be something entirely different – like an escape room!

The Games In Libraries blog is managed by volunteers from the ALA’s Games & Gaming Round Table, and they added that any help would be appreciated.

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire will be hosting a one-day Games in Libraries Conference sometime in the Spring of 2019:

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s McIntyre Library is planning on holding a one-day conference on the use of games (video, board, card, etc.) in libraries. The conference will be open to all librarians – public, academic, special – and there will be no registration fee.

You can help the organizers shape this event by answering a few short questions now.

Games For Change, a non-profit organization dedicated to using games for social change, will host the 2018 Games For Change Festival in New York City later this month from June 28th through the 30th. The Festival includes tracks focusing on “Civics & Social Issues” and “Neurogaming & Health,” as well as several panels and talks about games for learning:

Beyond Gaming: How Assassin’s Creed Expanded for Learning — Keynote with Maxime Durand, Marc-Andre Ethier, David Lefrancois
Join Maxime Durand as he discusses his work as Franchise Historian of the Assassin’s Creed series at Ubisoft Montreal. Maxime will guide us through the development of Discovery Tour by Assassin’s Creed: Ancient Egypt, a new educational mode of Assassin’s Creed Origins which allows players to explore and learn about the historic landmarks featured in the game.

From Apps to Nordic Schools: How DragonBox created a full math curriculum with games, toys and storytelling
For the last 2 years, DragonBox worked with Norwegian, Finnish and French teachers to pilot a play-based solution that covers the full math curriculum and involved 1300 school students. This talk will describe the challenges that involved creating a research-based pedagogical design that took into account the needs of students, teachers and administrators (spoiler: it was not easy). DragonBox School is a hybrid solution: games are complemented with multiple printed textbooks and story books: we’ll also analyze why we reached that format rather than going all-digital. We recommend this talk for game creators interested in making real impact in schools.

Beyond Blocks: How Minecraft is Helping Transform STEM Learning
Meenoo Rami, Manager at Microsoft, will moderate a panel of school leaders who will share how Minecraft Education is empowering educators to engage their students in immersive STEM learning.

Tickets for the 2018 Games For Change Festival can be purchased from their official website. And all main stage events will be livestreamed on Facebook.

This year’s ALA Annual Conference is coming up fast, and June 21-26 will be here before you know it. This year’s conference will be held in New Orleans, and the Games and Gaming Roundtable (GameRT) has plenty of activities planned for the week. Here’s just a small taste of the gaming events happening at the 2018 ALA Conference:

On the Exhibit Floor
GameRT is back with a booth and Gaming Lounge on the exhibit floor. Come by booths 436 and 437 to learn about the benefits of membership in the Games and Gaming Roundtable (GameRT) and network with librarians interested in games and play in libraries.

ALA Play
ALA Play starts off the conference with an open gaming event on Friday, June 22, from 7:30 pm to 10:00 pm at the Hilton Riverside, Grand Salon A.

Saturday Session
On Saturday, June 23, from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm GameRT will be hosting the Chair’s Program: Safe-T Corp – An Information Literacy Escape Experience in the Morial Convention Center (Rm 284). This session gives participants a chance to go through an escape experience built around information literacy skills.

Sunday Session
GameRT Sharing Sessions are on Sunday, June 24, from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm. These sessions allow librarians to showcase what they are doing in their libraries.

A full rundown of activities is available at the Games In Libraries blog.