The Games and Gaming Round Table (GameRT) of the American Library Association provides a venue for librarians interested in the use of games and gaming in libraries of all types a place to gather and share.

The Games & Gaming Round Table (GameRT) of the American Library Association (ALA) provides a venue for networking and collaboration for library workers interested in the use of games and gaming in libraries.

The Games & Gaming Round Table (GameRT) of the American Library Association (ALA) provides a venue for networking and collaboration for library workers interested in the use of games and gaming in libraries. GameRT was formed in 2011 and with members from all types of libraries, GameRT encompasses a wide variety of viewpoints, situations, and user types.

The mission of the GameRT is to:

- Provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and concerns surrounding games in libraries;
- Share resources to the library community that support building and maintaining library game collections;
- Advocate for initiating and supporting game programming in libraries;
- Create an awareness of, and need for, the support of the value of gaming and play in libraries, schools, and related learning communities;
- Create an awareness of the value of games and gaming in library outreach and community engagement plans.

Tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) – Dungeons & Dragons being the most popular example - can positively impact the multiple facets of students’ lives: academics, durable skills, social-emotional learning. In Part One of our two part series, let's quest together as we encounter how research supports using TTRPGs in education, explore stories of teachers using TTRPGs in their classrooms, and discover ideas and ways that librarians and the library can play a critical role in making such transformative game-based learning a success.

Before the webinar begins, please complete Slides 3-5 of the “Character Sheet Reflection Tool” (i.e. “Before the Quest”). We will complete the second half (“At the End of the Quest”) of the Reflection Tool at the end of the webinar.

Webinar Date & Time:
Wednesday May 8, 2024 at 3:30 PM EDT

Presenter:
Adam Watson
email: awatson@ovec.org
Kentucky Educators for Role Playing Games website: kyedrpg.com
social media: @watsonedtech and @kyedrpg (#kyedrpg)

Adam Watson has been a Kentucky educator since 2005, starting out as a high school English teacher and became National Board Certified in 2013. In 2014, he was hired at Shelby County Public Schools to be its district Digital Learning Coordinator, where he was a leader in several initiatives, including a 1:1 Chromebook implementation and the launch of Shelby's Profile of a Graduate. In his role at Shelby, Adam also was the lead liaison for the district’s librarians. In 2022, he joined the Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative (OVEC) as a Deeper Learning Design Specialist. Adam is a frequent presenter, PD facilitator, and published writer on innovative education, particularly on the topics of edtech and game-based learning. In 2019, KySTE (the state chapter of the International Society for Technology in Education) named him the Outstanding Leader of the Year. For more on Adam’s educational journey, please visit adamwatson.org.

The League of Librarian Gamers is a closed group affiliated with the ALA Games and Gaming Round Table (GameRT). GameRT facilitates this space as a positive, progressive, and inclusive venue for library workers and game designers/publishers interested in the use of games in libraries to gather, discuss, and share resources and expertise. There is no requirement to join ALA or GameRT to utilize and join this Facebook group (please note joining this group is not the same as being an ALA GameRT member).

We discuss board games, card games, RPGs, video games, tabletop games, Magic: the Gathering, miniatures, dice games, classic games, strategic games, educational games, and escape games/puzzles. We have a particular interest in how these games can be applied to the library space (academic, public, school, and special).

The League of Librarian Gamers Facebook group was established in January 2014 by Joshua J. Carlson.

An excellent series of continuously developing resources (links, documents, readings, webinars, presentations, and more) about 'video games in libraries' -- hosted, curated, and maintained by the American Library Association Games & Gaming Round Table. These resources are the perfect way to jump start a librarians journey into integrating video games in library programs and collections.