New Book Encourages Librarians to Create Great Gaming Experiences for Patrons of All Ages

For Immediate Release
Contact: Rob Colding
Information Today, Inc.
(609) 654-6266, ext. 330

June 25, 2010, Washington DC—Information Today, Inc. (ITI) announced the publication of Everyone Plays at the Library: Creating Great Gaming Experiences for All Ages, by Dr. Scott Nicholson. The publisher is launching the title with a book signing at the 2010 American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference, which takes place at the Washington Convention Center this June 24–29.

In Everyone Plays at the Library, Scott Nicholson—educator, librarian, game designer, host of the “Board Games with Scott” video series, and founder of the Library Game Lab of Syracuse—shows how gaming programs can be successfully implemented in school, academic, and public libraries, covering all types of games for all age groups.

“My hope is that Everyone Plays at the Library will help librarians develop gaming programs that come out of the mission of the library, as well as provide a positive gaming experience for their patrons,” says Nicholson. “Gaming allows libraries to provide a storytelling-like activity for many different groups of patrons, and when they select the game type appropriately, gaming can fully support the library’s mission as well.”

The content Nicholson presents in the book is geared to support gaming in libraries of all types. Readers will discover how to determine user needs, achieve library goals, gain stakeholder approval, reach out to users, build an affordable collection of great games, assess program effectiveness, bring all ages together, and create the type of memorable experience that gets users talking and keeps them coming back for more.

“Scott Nicholson’s SNAKS model, combined with the wealth of expertise and insider knowledge he provides, will help any library build a solid foundation for gaming services that align with the library’s mission and provide the best possible experience for patrons,” according to Jenny Levine of the Shifted Librarian. “Everyone Plays at the Library is the single most important starting point for any library that wants to start or expand a gaming program.”

Sari Feldman, Executive Director of the Cuyahoga County (OH) Public Library, described the book as “a roadmap for developing top-notch gaming programs,” while Paul Waelchli, Book Review Editor for the International Journal of Gaming & Computer Mediated Simulations, said “[Nicholson] takes library gaming from a fun event and transforms it into a thoughtful and sustainable experience.”

Gaming Panel and Book Signing at ALA
Author Scott Nicholson will be participating in the Open Gaming Night, where he will be running board games and other events on Friday, June 25 from 7:30 PM to 10:00 PM. To celebrate the publication of Everyone Plays at the Library, Scott will be signing books at the Information Today, Inc. booth [#4016] on Saturday, June 26 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM.

Dr. Scott Nicholson, MLIS, is an associate professor at the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University, where he runs the Library Game Lab of Syracuse. Before getting his PhD in Information Studies at the University of North Texas, he was a librarian at Texas Christian University. He started the Games and Gaming Members Initiative Group for the American Library Association in 2008, gives workshops around the world about gaming in libraries, and has written many articles on gaming in libraries, most of which can be found at the Library Game Lab’s blog (http://gamelab.syr.edu/publications).

Everyone Plays at the Library: Creating Great Gaming Experiences for All Ages (248 pp/softbound/$39.50/ISBN 978-1-57387-398-7) is published by Information Today, Inc. (ITI). It is available in bookstores and direct from the publisher by calling (800) 300-9868; faxing (609) 654-4309; emailing custserv@infotoday.com; or visiting the ITI website at www.infotoday.com. To request a review copy, contact Rob Colding at rcolding@infotoday.com.