Digital and analog games have long served modern public libraries as educational tools and as drawcards for new patrons – from dedicated gaming zones and children’s spaces to Minecraft gaming days, makerspaces, and virtual reality collections. Much has been written about the role of games and play in libraries’ programming and collections. But their wider role in transforming libraries as public institutions remains unexplored. In this book, the authors draw on ethnographic research to provide a rich portrait of the intersection between games, play, and public libraries. They look at how games and play are increasingly spilling out of designated zones within libraries and beyond their walls, as part of a broader reconfiguration and “reimagining” of libraries in the digital era. The library’s association with play has historically been understood through its classification as a “third place”: somewhere to relax, socialise and experiment outside of the utilitarian demands of work and home. But far from just offering patrons an opportunity for detached leisure, this book illustrates how libraries are connecting games and play to policies agendas around their municipality’s economic and cultural development. Attending to the institutionalisation of play, the book sheds new light both on the contradictions at the heart of play as a theoretical concept, and what libraries are in contemporary public life.

A compelling history, a manifesto, and a manual for change.

Through exquisite drawings and storytelling, Julia Jacquette's graphic memoir provides a distinctive account of her childhood in Manhattan in the 1960s and 1970s. Inspired by the adventure playgrounds from her youth growing up in New York City, the painter Julia Jacquette explores the brightly colored structures of the play spaces and the surrounding landscape of the city in Playground of My Mind. With compelling illustrations and personal narrative, this book features adventure playgrounds created by architects Richard Dattner, M. Paul Friedberg, the partnership Ross Ryan Jacquette in New York City, and Aldo van Eyck in Amsterdam. These structures encouraged constructive, imaginative play and gave renewed life to utopian notions of American and European modernist architecture. Playground of My Mind reflects upon the period of the 1960s and 1970s which was a tumultuous time of social change and activism in New York City and throughout the United States. While considering the conflicted emotions that envelop idealized aspects of the past, this unique book captures the nostalgia for a bygone era of New York life in vivid detail. Published in association with the Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College in association with the exhibition, Julia Jacquette: Unrequited and Acts of Play.

Dreaming of a day when there will be a real playground in her own neighborhood, a little girl is ecstatic when she learns that a local playground has been planned, in a story inspired by the construction of the first playground built by the KaBOOM! national nonprofit.

Powell delivers an exuberant, lively board book celebrating dadNtold from a child's point of view. Full color.

Public libraries must offer relevant, exciting, and stimulating learning centers that appeal to kids. This book is a step-by-step guide for creating affordable and effective educational programs for children and youth by focusing on one simple concept: play. With the standards of education rising every year and current technology making all types of information widely available to anyone with an Internet connection, libraries need to stay relevant by constantly evolving. One important way to strengthen a public library's identity as an irreplaceable resource is to make it an exciting and stimulating learning center that appeals to children and youth. This book demonstrates how to transform the informal setting of a public library into a place where "play" in the guise of game-based learning becomes a natural and exciting process for children and young students. It also shows readers how to incorporate existing programs such as the makerspace, storytime, and book clubs to play to their strengths; more effectively utilize the tools and resources they have; and transform their libraries. The first two chapters explain why learning through play and exploration isn't only for early childhood development, identifies the key differences between free play and structured play, and addresses why libraries are the perfect setting for learning. Next, the author draws on her experience in children's librarianship and as a children's book author to describe methods to listen to (and understand) children, manage organized chaos, and gain the children's trust. Additional chapters explain how to write weekly or daily lesson plans, how to brainstorm supporting activities to reinforce concepts being taught, and how to infuse STEM and literacy objectives into daily lessons. The book closes with suggestions on marketing and promotion, ways to support the classroom, and strategies that will "keep 'em coming back" and build an enthusiastic customer base.