Among the many informative articles being written about Pokémon Go, there are two worth highlighting. “What is really behind the Pokémon Go craze” provides this pithy description of the game as “the first real success story of the use of augmented reality technology, which blends the digital and real world together. The combined effect is part bird-watching, part geocaching, part trophy-hunting, with a heavy dose of mid-1990s nostalgia.”^[1] The article is a worthwhile read if you’re looking for a succinct description of this phenomenon to share with your staff, board, or patrons; however, this second article brings some more practical ideas for libraries.^[2] Replace the words “small business” in the article with “libraries.” What can you do to get players to use your services while they’re playing the game?

You “gotta catch ’em all”—patrons, that is. Doing so goes beyond marketing and relies more on the behavior of library staff and the environment of your building. You have agroup of potential patrons just at the edge of your grasp. Are you welcoming these people to see what’s happening in the building through signs or other advertisement while they are in your parking lot catching Pokémon? Is all your library staff, from the front line to the administration, able to (at least briefly) talk intelligently about Pokémon Go? Making sure all your staff understand the basic premise of the game will help your overall rapport with this frequently absent-from-the-library demographic. It can be as simple as encouraging staff to walk out of their way while coming into the building for their shift to ask someone hunting Pokémon in the parking lot, “What have you caught so far here?” This provides the same warm feelings as asking a perplexed person in your book stacks, “Can I help you find something?” Your staff show that they care about all their patrons.

Whether you buy a lure and walk through your parking lot handing out fliers on your current services, or you simply track the most successful Gyms in your community and congratulate them on social media, you can show the twenty- to forty-year-olds that you care about what they are doing. And if you care about the game they are putting so much time and effort into, you obviously care about other things they are interested in, too. They may just come back to you when they need something else.

Just a few libraries with  Pokémon GO events:

• Warwick Library: Pokémon Go Gym Meet
• Worth-Pinkham Memorial Library: Pokémon Go: Walk & Train Club
• Bronx Library Center: BLC PokeStop: Pokemon Lure Module
• Midland County Public Library: Pokemon Go Bar Crawl and Pokemon Hunt

Reference

[1] Hayley Tsukayama and Ben Guarino, “What is really behind the Pokémon Go craze,” Washington Post, July 12, 2016.

[2] Walter Chen, “Pokemon Go Is Driving Insane Amounts of Sales at Small Local Businesses. Here’s How It Works,” Inc.com, July 11, 2016.

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Libraries that offer gaming programs or circulate games should consider attending Gen Con to better serve their patrons.  Gen Con is a great place for librarians to learn about and playtest games to add to their collections.  I was at the convention for 3 days, and I still wasn’t able to experience everything.  While there I learned about many games I’d never even heard of. Moreover, I was able to playtest games that are currently out, as well as upcoming releases.  Reading reviews of board games, and even seeing them played on YouTube, are nothing in comparison to getting my hands on the actual games themselves, and playing through with a group of people.

The convention is broken up into an exhibit hall, a large play hall in the back, and multiple rooms with different events happening throughout the convention center.  Purchasing a badge allows you into the gaming area and the exhibit hall, but many of the events cost extra.  Many of these events require tickets, which often sell out very early. Next year I plan on deciding what events to participate in ahead of time and purchasing those tickets as early as possible.

Librarians are able to get a special pass and attend on Trade Day (Wednesday), which I think could be particularly helpful.  I was overwhelmed by all of the information and gaming that was offered throughout the website and at the convention, and I was lucky to attend with friends.  I would suggest that any librarian who is attending Gen Con for the first time should partner up with someone who has been there before.  Another suggestion would be to look through the programming book, available in PDF form on the Gen Con Indy website.  The program book is currently for this year’s convention (which just wrapped up), but should be updated soon.  Even if the program book is slightly out of date, it gives an idea of what is available at the convention.

Gen Con was an amazing experience.  I left the convention with multiple new games, and an even longer list of games that I want to purchase soon.  As a librarian, I am excited to get some more table-top games to add to our ever growing selection.  I can’t wait to attend the convention again next year.

Cover Image Credit: SuSchu

The post Games, Games, and More Games – Experiencing Gen Con as a Librarian first appeared on Public Libraries Online.