Gaming, Research, and the Future of Library Service

A National Leadership Grant project exploring how games-based approaches can expand library innovation, community engagement, and digital inclusion.

Learn About the Project

Note that our website is actively being updated, shaped, and organized! Please check back in the future to see our published survey results, a more curated lit review paper, the toolkit, and more!

Questions? Reach out to Chris Baker at Chris.Baker@dpi.wi.gov.

Why This Work Matters

Libraries are evolving alongside the communities they serve. Games — both analog and digital — offer powerful tools for learning, connection, and civic participation. Yet many libraries lack research-informed frameworks for implementing games-based services sustainably and equitably.

This project brings together national partners to examine how gaming can strengthen library programs, outreach strategies, and community impact.

What This Project Will Deliver

  • A comprehensive research report on games-based library services
  • A scalable Digital Toolkit for implementation
  • National convenings and shared learning opportunities
  • Practical resources designed for real-world library environments

Project Phases

In 2024, the Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and Washington State Library a nearly $250,000 grant for a three-year project, titled “Empowering & Innovating Games-based Library Services: National Best Practices for Gaming Collections & Programming.” The project is designed with three phases in mind, generally aligning with the three years of the project schedule:

  • Phase 1: The Library Services Team will partner closely with David Gagnon, Director and Scientist of Field Day (a Learning Games studio and research lab housed within the Wisconsin Center for Education Research of UW-Madison) to conduct rigorous nationwide research and a literature review of past and current games-based library services, ultimately to develop a comprehensive and foundational research report. Nationwide libraries (including Wisconsin) will be asked to participate in valuable surveys emailed out during this phase. At the same time, Washington State Library will collaborate with the non-profit organization Game to Grow and local games developer Heart of the Deernicorn to initially pilot games-based programs and collections throughout Washington libraries (with a particular focus on justice-facing youth facilities), acquiring rich feedback from users and librarians along the way.
  • Phase 2: The research and feedback from the first phase will converge to support a more practitioner-focused strategy, bringing additional librarians statewide and nationwide into the fold to begin developing replicable and scalable games-based library service models. This phase will be facilitated with intentional input from targeted populations of library staff and library users via an open call for participation during the second year of the project– with the key goal of developing games-based library best practices, direction, and guidance, all through a lens of access and equity.
  • Phase 3: The information generated in the first two phases will be utilized to develop a deeply-informed and comprehensive ‘Games-based Library Services Toolkit’ – an easily accessible, digital resource guide, which will be accessible for free to all libraries nationwide for years to come.

Project management of the three-year process will be spearheaded by the non-profit WiLS, supplemented by the participation, communication support, and promotional leverage of both the American Library Association’s popular Games & Gaming Round Table and the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies.