GameRT at ALA Annual 2019 (Washington, D.C.)

It’s another great year for games at the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. from June 20-25, 2019. Join your fellow gamers and librarians at the following GameRT hosted events.

ALA Play
The Games and Gaming Roundtable invites you to the 11th annual ALAPlay on Friday, June 21st from 7:30 pm until 10:00 pm at the Renaissance in the Grand Ballroom North.  This event offers a free evening of gaming, exploration, and learning. Have you ever wanted to try your hand at painting miniatures? How about learning to play Magic the Gathering or Yu-Gi-Oh!? Would you like to extend your library programming to support local game designers, extending the impact of your maker spaces? How about trying your hand at some of the best game resources available for your library?

On hand will be some of the top game publishers, including 9TH LEVEL GAMES, ALBINO DRAGON, FIRESIDE GAMES, GREY FOX GAMES, HABA, KONAMI, LOONEY LABS, ROSEN PUBLISHING, THINKFUN GAMES, TH3RD WORLD STUDIOS and more!

Special events include:

• Wizards of the Coast will have learn to play Magic the Gathering events.
• Games Workshop will be teaching how paint gaming miniatures.
• An Unpub will be set up, with local game designers from the DC region showcasing the game designs in progress. Information about how to start your own Unpub event will be on hand.

Be sure to come early and stay late! The 1st 200 attendees get a free Games and Gaming Roundtable Pint Glass and drawings will happen at the end of the event, giving away games, prizes and more!

All ages are welcome!

Gaming Lounge
ALA and the Games and Gaming Roundtable invite you to join us in the Gaming Lounge (Booth 3639) on the exhibit floor, a hands-on interactive oasis of gaming amidst the sea of exhibits. Come explore game resources for your library programs with demos from leading game publishers. Try your hand at Magic the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, as well as RPG’s and board games for both kids and adults. The Gaming Lounge is where you can let your hair down, unwind, and get your game on!

This year’s schedule will include demos from:

• 9TH LEVEL GAMES
• ALBINO DRAGON
• FIRESIDE GAMES
• GAMES WORKSHOP
• GREY FOX GAMES
• HABA
• KONAMI
• LOONEY LABS
• THINKFUN GAMES
• TH3RD WORLD STUDIOS
• WIZARDS OF THE COAST

Gaming Grove
The Gaming Grove (Booths 3633 A-J) gives you the opportunity to meet many of the leading game publishers in a small, informal setting. You will have the time to talk with them about their games and how gaming can be an excellent resource and programming tool for your library. You can spend hands-on time with the games Friday evening at ALAPlay and during schedule demo times in the Gaming Grove. This year’s companies will be:

• 9TH LEVEL GAMES
• FIRESIDE GAMES
• GREY FOX GAMES
• HABA
• LOONEY LABS
• ROSEN PUBLISHING
• THINKFUN GAMES
• TH3RD WORLD STUDIOS

Presidents Program
Join GameRT on Saturday, June 22 at 2:30 p.m. for the Games and Gaming Round Table President’s Program. In two presentations, speakers will discuss the practical needs of managing game collections in libraries and using free gaming software to develop programming and teach coding skills. In the first part of the session Sian Brannon, Erin DeWitt Miller, and Diane Robson of the University of North Texas will highlight the results of a nationwide census on games in libraries conducted in fall 2018. They surveyed libraries to find out what games are being collected and what programming is offered. Information from nearly 600 school, academic, public, and special libraries was collected. Their findings will assist interested libraries as they advocate for creating or enhancing game collections and programs.

In the second half of the session speaker Nick Tanzi will provide a tour of Kodu, free software that enables users to learn how to code their own video games and share them online. Attendees will learn how to get started, how to develop programs for children and teens, and some of the reasons why coding and games will help young library users develop the skills they will need in college and the job market.

Last but not least, the GameRT Board Meeting will be from 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm on June 22, 2019, in the Washington Convention Center room 148. We hope you have a great time at ALA Annual.