HOW TO GAMIFY
YOUR LIBRARY
GAMIFICATION
• Definition
• Why use gamification?
• Game design concepts
• Things to watch out for
"Gamification is the use of game
thinking and game mechanics to
engage audiences and solve
problems" - Gabe Zichermann
2014 TREND
STUDENT LIBRARIAN PROGRAMME
GAME EXAMPLE
ORDER IN THE LIBRARY
GAME EXAMPLE
GAMIFICATION
• Definition
• Why use gamification?
• Game design concepts
• Things to watch out for
"If kids are willingly working quite
hard to learn what is required to
solve relatively complex problems in
video games, why should we not
harness this effort for educational
purposes?" - Poulsen
"With games, learning is the drug" -
Koster
QR CODE SCAVENGER HUNT
GAME EXAMPLE
Jude Cosson
"Most of them have had easy access to
sophisticated games and virtual worlds
their entire lives, and so they take high-
intensity engagement and active
participation for granted. They know what
extreme, positive activation feels like, and
when they're not feeling it, they're bored
and frustrated" - McGonigal
"Video games are the epitome
of...creative engagement. By
comparison, school is so boring that
kids, used to this other life, can't
stand it" - Prensky
GAME FEATURES
• Engaging
• Learning is fun
• Clear goals
• Optimal experiences
• Problem solving
• Immediate
feedback
• No fear of failure
• Social interaction
• Creative thinking
GAMIFICATION
• Definition
• Why use gamification?
• Game design concepts
• Things to watch out for
DECIDE NOW APP
GAME EXAMPLE
GENRE QUIZ
GAME EXAMPLE
WHAT THINGS ARE FUN?
• Winning
• Problem-solving
• Exploring
• Chilling out
• Teamwork
• Recognition
• Triumphing
• Collecting
• Surprise
• Imagination
• Sharing
• Role playing
• Goofing off
• Customisation
- Werbach
BLIND DATE A BOOK
GAME EXAMPLE
Anne Fahey
CLASS DOJO
GAME EXAMPLE
MONOPOLY READING
GAME EXAMPLE
@JJPurtonJones, http://taupakiroom11.com/
GAME MECHANICS
• Points
• Levels
• Badges
• Leaderboards
• Relationships
• Appointments
• Competition
• Collaboration
• Constraints
• Narrative
• Challenges
• Virality
• Discovery
• Loss Aversion
THE GAME LAYER ON TOP OF THE WORLD
Seth Priebatch
A NOVEL MURDER
GAME EXAMPLE
Glenys Bichan
HOUSE POINT COMPETITION
GAME EXAMPLE
READING BINGO CHALLENGE
GAME EXAMPLE
Random House
SELF-DETERMINATION
THEORY
• Competence
• Autonomy
• Relatedness
- Deci & Ryan
READING QUEST
GAME EXAMPLE
ITERATION
GAMIFICATION
• Definition
• Why use gamification?
• Game design concepts
• Things to watch out for
POINTSIFICATION
"Once you start giving someone a
reward, you have to keep her in that
reward loop forever"
- Zichermann & Cunningham
WHEN THE CROWDING-OUT
EFFECT IS NOT A CONCERN
• Teaching a skill
• Short- term behaviour changes
• Uninteresting tasks
"In environments when extrinsic rewards are
most salient, many people work only to the
point that triggers the reward - and no further.
So if students get a prize for reading three
books, many won't pick up a fourth, let alone
embark on a lifetime of reading..." - Dan Pink
"A program that turns vacation reading into
something one has to do to obtain a reward is
hardly likely to produce children who have
"learned to love books". Quite the
contrary...Children are not only unlikely to
continue reading; they are less likely to read than
they were before the program began" - Kohn
WHAT SHOULD
WE DO?
• Replace contingent, extrinsic rewards with
intrinsic rewards
• Maximise intrinsic motivators of competence,
autonomy and relatedness
• Use narratives, quests and challenges that
promote things like exploration and discovery
• msimmsnz@yahoo.co.nz
• @MSimmsNZ
• www.goodkeenlibrarian.blogspot.co.nz
• http://librarygamification.weebly.com/
PLAN OF ACTION
• Decide on your objectives
• Think about how to make your activity fun
• Choose game elements
• Focus on intrinsic motivators
• Give good feedback
• Playtest, iterate and improve

How to gamify your library