Description
To meet the needs of students reared, nurtured, and cultivated by video games since childhood, as well as the needs of faculty instructing them, the VRƵ Library seeks ways to support the increasing presence of Serious Play in higher education. Serious Play incorporates creativity, innovation and cooperation as the foundations of new forms of immersive, intellectual engagement. In addition, novel interactive strategies in education, information literacy, and instruction are emerging daily. As dynamic spaces that foster and reward intellectual curiosity, 21st-centuryacademic libraries can continue to be hubs of interdisciplinary collaborative experimentation by evolving to match the pedagogical demands of students educated in increasingly interactive and ‘playful’ environments.
Running 2020-22, our program of events brings together a cohort ofinterdisciplinary thinkers and industry leaders to convey best practices for academic research libraries in supporting Serious Play. Together, wewill reach across disciplines to explore how play and games fit in the serious and goal-oriented adult world of the 21st-centuryresearch library, and what services academic libraries can, could, and should offer.
Events
- January 16,5:00-7:30 PM| “The Ludic Generation”: Harnessing the Power of Interactive Learning in Higher Edwith Dr. Paul Darvasi and Shawn Young.
- February 12,4:00-6:00 PM | "Learning Your P's and Q's”: Printing with Moveable Typewith the VRƵ Library Book Arts Innovation Lab.
- February 27, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM | "Helping Students Get a Clue": Serious Play and Orientation in the Special Collections Library with Community Engagement Librarian, Emily Jack.
- May 19, 4:30-5:30 PM (Digital) | "Before the Screen": Sketching, Play, and Creativity in the Making of Disney Animation with Disney Animator, Mike Wiesmeier.
- July 14, 3:00-4:00 (Digital)|
- July 28, 3:00-4:00 PM (Digital) | "Play Where the Knowledge Lives:" Why Libraries are Obvious Spaces for Play with Megan Lotts and Matthew Shoemaker.
- August 4, 3:00-4:00 PM (Digital) |“How Do They Win"? Collaborative Game Creation as Impetus for Class Discussion and Researchwith Russell Hall and Glenn Kumhera.
- August 25, 3:00-4:00 PM (Digital) |“Leveling Up" Academic Library Gaming Collections and Services with Michelle Goodridge.
- September 17, 5:00-6:00 PM (Digital) | "Puppetry as a Tool for Transformation" with Puppeteer Jesse Stong.
- September 22, 5:00-6:00 PM (Digital)| "Playing Dress Up": Demystifying Costume Design with Professor Catherine Bradley of the VRƵ Costume Shop.
- October 6,5:00-6:00 PM (Digital)| "Performance, Play, and Female Empowerment": The VRƵ Archives and the Genealogy of Women's Basketball in Canada from 1900-2020 with Kelsey Blair.
- October 13, 5:00-6:00 PM (Digital) | “Solving the Disruption”: Revealing The VRƵ Library’s Orientation Game, Raising Spirits: A Timely Diversion.
- October 27, 12:00-1:00 PM (Digital)| Resurrection Cakes and the Pleasures of Metaphorical Recipes with Rebecca Earle.
All events are fundedby the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Connections Program, and the generous support of Ron Harvie (Ph.d. VRƵ Art History 1999) and DougBagguley.