International Games Day 2016 had 1,730 libraries from around the world participate.
We appreciate everyone who took the time to reply to our after-event survey. We received 483 replies.
Attendance
380 of our survey respondents gave attendance figures. The average per library was 46 attendees. The flat average for 1,730 registered libraries equals approximately 79,580 attendees.
We had an abundance of helpful and positive responses to our question: Is there anything else you would like to share about International Games Day or gaming in libraries?
- I think gaming is a critical way to learn and it’s important that libraries embrace it!
- It was a great day and my managers are planning to run the event again next year. We are also launching a board games library for our borrowers to play in the library. Due to the success of the day, there are also discussions on either starting a regular group or running a similar event more than once per year.
- This program is a lot of fun for both the patrons and the staff. Every year we have some new patrons who are blown away by our board game collection and when they hear there is a day when all the games are out and we encourage patrons to play all day..they get so excited! Such a great opportunity and fun time for all.
- I simply think that gaming in libraries is a fun and engaging way to get students and patrons in the door and aware of the other services offered by libraries. It shatters stereotypes and brings people together. I definitely plan to do more game days and to make IGD a more major event each year.
- I think IGD is a fun and exciting way to get people more involved with libraries. Several individuals have approached us about hosting routine game events at our location, which we think is terrific. Any way to reach out to more people is a good thing.
- Great opportunity for positive interaction with diverse members of the general community.
- I love it. I think gaming in libraries is not done enough. People who game, in my personal experience, are always looking for new people to play with. Especially if they’re very into a certain game or need new blood in an RPG. This is a great way to get gamers in one room and have them meet, talk, and play.
- This is a great idea. It’s inspired our library to have monthly game evenings for families. People have asked about game days ever since we held our first IGD, so we had a few in the past year. Everyone enjoys them!
- IGD was a great opportunity to really highlight the significance of gaming in libraries. I’ve been encouraging all kinds of people to join in on the fun of our monthly game nights and have witnessed several new budding friendships occur over good competition. Everyone who attends learns how to play new games and engage new modes of problem-solving.
2016 Donors and Donations
The International Games Day Committee would like to thank our donors for making this day great with their generous donations. This year our donors were Asterion, Breakout EDU, Bridgeside Interactive, Cheap Ass Games, Glass Plate Game, Good Games, OnePlay, OzAnimart, Paizo, Prima Games, Red Glove Games, Simon & Schuster, Sleeping Beast Games, Steve Jackson Games, and Vested Interest. Many times these games are the foundation for building a library’s game collection.
Here are a few of the many thanks for the donated games:
- Thank you so much! This game will get a lot of future play in our library.
- Thank you so much for the games! The patrons had a blast with them.
- Thank you for your generosity!!
- We have so many great games in our games library because of your sponsorship this year and in the past. Thank you!!!
- Thanks so much for the free games! I have a very limited school library budget and these games are appreciated.
- Thank you so much for your support of libraries and International Games Day.
- Thank you for generously donating these games! International Games Day would not be possible at our small library without generous donors like you.
- We greatly appreciate your donation. We hope to keep growing our game library for future game events and the next International Games Day!
IGD Outcomes
Goals
What were your goals for IGD?
| Percentage | Total count | |
| To provide a source of entertainment for members of the community | 78.79% | 353 |
| To increase the library’s role as a community hub | 74.55% | 334 |
| To provide an additional service for a group of active library users | 59.15% | 265 |
| To encourage interaction between diverse members of the community | 58.24% | 258 |
| To offer intergenerational gaming | 51.56% | 231 |
| To introduce users to other library services | 50.45% | 226 |
| To create publicity for the library | 44.42% | 199 |
| To attract an underserved group of users to the library | 37.72% | 169 |
| To develop new forms of literacy (media literacy, game literacy) | 34.15% | 153 |
| To allow users to improve their skills/knowledge | 23.21% | 104 |
| To develop traditional literacy skills | 12.28% | 55 |
| Other | 5.36% | 24 |
Other included:
- Draw attention to gaming in other mediums, like novelizations of games (ex. The Silver Eyes)
- To encourage patrons of entertainment options at the library, beyond books, movies and music
- Foster a more favorable perception of the library; support students in game design courses
- Program planning project for Teen Service Learning
- To promote a culture of gaming
- To market the games available to community members.
- To offer stress relief to members of our community
Cost
| How much money did you spend on staff? | $123.89 (mean) |
| How much money did you spend on materials? | $92.88 (mean) |
| How much money did you spend on food? | $47.33 (mean) |
Activities
Which of the following activities were part of your IGD program?
| Type | Percentage | Total count |
| Board/Card Games | 96.17% | 427 |
| Console Video Games (Wii, Xbox, PlayStation) | 44.37% | 197 |
| Collectible Card Games | 27.25% | 121 |
| Computer Games | 25.45% | 113 |
| Life-size Games | 19.59% | 87 |
| Roleplaying Games | 16.22% | 72 |
| Online Games | 15.32% | 68 |
| Handheld Games | 8.56% | 38 |
| Outdoor Games | 4.73% | 21 |
| Other (Ping Pong, Virtual Reality, Hour of Code, Lego, Retro Arcade Games, Escape Room) | 15.54% | 69 |
Games Played
The top 10 games played at IGD were:
| Name | # of Libraries |
| Chess | 47 |
| Super Smash Brothers | 47 |
| Jenga | 40 |
| Minecraft | 33 |
| Connect Four | 26 |
| Uno | 23 |
| Candyland | 20 |
| Monopoly | 20 |
| Munchkin | 19 |
| Mario Kart | 18 |
Barriers
What barriers prevent you from running more gaming programs in your library?
| Type | Percentage | Total count |
| Not enough staff | 56.55% | 233 |
| Not enough money | 33.01% | 136 |
| Not enough space | 31.80% | 131 |
| Not enough community interest | 27.18% | 112 |
| Need more training for staff | 15.05% | 62 |
| Policies prohibit gaming | 2.18% | 9 |
| Other | 17.23% | 71 |
Other includes:
- Not in our mission
- More of a focus on maker programming
- Time
- Management worried about negative publicity
- Noise
IGD Libraries
Which of the following best describes your library?
| Type | Percentage | Total count |
| Public School | 85.3% | 412 |
| Academic | 7.66% | 37 |
| High School (ages 14-18) | 1.45% | 7 |
| Middle School (ages 11-13) | 1.24% | 6 |
| Private School | 1.24% | 6 |
| Elementary/Primary School (ages 5-10 years) | .62% | 3 |
| Special | .41% | 2 |
| Military | .21% | 1 |
| Prison | .21% | 1 |
| Tribal | 0% | 0 |
| Other (small town, campus, regional) | 1.66% | 8 |
Does your library have a game collection (digital/tabletop games, consoles, etc.)?
| Percentage | Total count | |
| Yes | 82.33% | 396 |
| No | 12.68% | 61 |
| Maybe | 4.99% | 24 |
What consoles does your library own?
| Type | Percentage | Total count |
| Microsoft Xbox | 5.52% | 18 |
| Microsoft Xbox 360 | 17.18% | 56 |
| Microsoft Xbox One | 15.64% | 51 |
| Nintendo DS (any version) | 11.96% | 39 |
| Nintendo GameCube | 4.60% | 15 |
| Nintendo Wii | 3.68% | 12 |
| Nintendo Wii U | 61.66% | 201 |
| Sony PlayStation 2 | 21.78% | 71 |
| Sony PlayStation 3 | 13.80% | 45 |
| Sony PlayStation 4 | 19.02% | 62 |
| Sony PlayStation Portable/Vita | 1.84% | 6 |
| iPad | 51.53% | 168 |
| Other | 15.34% | 50 |
Other includes:
- NES
- Super Nintendo
- N64
- Touchit (interactive touch screen)
- AWE station (educational games)
- Tablets
- Retron
- Steam computer
- Laptops
- Atari
- Raspberry Pi Play
Managing IGD
International Games Day is run by a small group of volunteers and our goal is to improve this event each year. This year we asked specifically what we can do and received lots of good ideas. We are in the process of updating the blog to make it more helpful. There are also a few other items up our sleeves that might require some help from our participants. We’ll put a call out in February 2017 for blog posts and help with worldwide events.
Remember that you can transform your library through play!