Why Board Games? Board games are amazing at bringing people together. In a time were we are often focused on our little black mirrors we sometime take for granted opportunities to engage with our friends and families. At least I know I do. So I rediscovered board games as a fun and entertaining way to set aside time for the people in my life who are important to me. Currently board games are going through a revival. Board game cafe's have become a popular meeting place. I visit Sapphire City Board Game Parlor for it's atmosphere and friendly and knowledgeable staff. It is an hour away from where I live in a small town, and I wished that I could bring a taste of that experience to my community. I work at Dover Public Library that finished renovations earlier this year opening up its space to be more inviting. My first thought when I saw the large tables next to the wall of windows was, this space is perfect for playing board games. So I wrote a proposal to bring board games to the library, and it was met with overwhelming support. The Friends of the Dover Public Library donated money to purchase the initial collection and I was tasked with the acquisition and processing of materials.
Selection Considerations I chose board games that would represent diverse gameplay mechanics and themes as well as variety in player count, from games that could be played solo to games that can be played by larger groups. My goal was that most of the games should be playable in 1 hour or less, though 2 longer running games did make it into the collection. I also chose games that were highly recommended and many of them are considered gateway games. I also played most of these games at Sapphire City, before purchasing them .
List of games 5 Minute Dungeon Azul Betrayal at House on the Hill Chess Codenames Coup Dixit Fluxx King of Tokyo Legendary: Marvel Love Letter Mystic Vale Pandemic Puerto Rico Sagrada Settlers of Catan Splendor Unlock! Exotic Adventures (includes Night of the Boogeymen, Expedition Challenger and Scheherazade's last tale)
Presentation Presentation is important to me. How can I introduce board games to our patrons in an appealing way that conveys the necessary information in an easy to navigate manner? I chose to create a board game menu to be placed on each of the tables. I created a template in Canva to layout the necessary elements and make sure that the menu has a coherent design. There is a title, image of the game in play and a description to entice the player. In the side bar I added visual clues to important details such as player count, play time, Age, cooperative or competitive, and game type. At the bottom I also included a suggestion for the next game a player could try if they liked this game. By far that was hardest thing to figure out since I specifically chose games that were different from each other.
Processing Currently these games are for in-house use only. I want to make patrons and staff familiar with handling the games and have a good lending system in place before I send them out into the wild. (Edit: This collection is now available to check out) Each game receives a sticker with the altered library logo on the lid and the library address on the box bottom. Taped inside the lid is an inventory card and a barcode. The box is secured with an x shaped rubber band and shelved on its side like books, rather than stacked. Stacking puts a lot of stress on the boxes so it is not recommended. And each game gets a detailed bibliographic record and an item record.
Links to Additional Resources
Here are some blog posts and websites I found helpful for starting this collection.
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