Hello colleagues,
Image by Paku lurus from Pixabay
As many of you may know, I’m in the process of trying to put together a more structured, ongoing “Games + Learning Cohort” of librarians throughout the state of Wisconsin. I may have connected with you before, or you might be a connection to other possibly-interested folks!
My main end-goal is to create a digital space to communicate among each other and pool our resources together to make them accessible to other librarians, so that folks who aren’t familiar with gaming don’t have to reinvent the wheel – and instead can rely on the great work done by those before them. Additionally, I’m hoping we’ll be able to collaborate together on projects (when the stars align and time + resources permit; conference panels are a good start!), offer advisement and guidance to other librarians who could benefit from our experience (an easier way to troubleshoot and Q&A), and – eventually – even work to set certain “best practices” and standards nationwide when it comes to games + libraries initiatives.
I hope to make this Cohort a welcoming space for librarians of all sorts (school and public librarians, collection developers, programmers, researchers, enthusiasts, makerspace facilitators, playful learning coordinators, etc.) that are interested in games (of all types: video games, AR, VR, tabletop, board, competitive card games, etc.), and, my focus – games-based pedagogy.
Wisconsin is uniquely suited to be a national leader in the conversation, and as our Cohort grows, there may be excellent opportunities to collaborate with external partners, possibly including: Field Day Learning Games, PBS Wisconsin Education, the Play Make Learn annual conference, ALA’s Games and Gaming Round Table, and more! There are multiple innovative projects already in the works that folks might eventually be able to get involved in. Additionally – a colleague of mine at the UW iSchool is seeking information about innovative games-based programs or initiatives in libraries that could be expounded upon in a class he’s teaching. There’s a lot going on!
Bottom line: if you are interested in this conversation and would like to stay involved (even if just in the wings, watching!), please let me know so I can include you on my list of communications. Share with others in your circle that might also be a good fit for this group. Also, if you have an existent examples of games-based programs or initiatives in your space that you are/were excited about, PLEASE send that info my way to share with my iSchool colleague. 
You can reach out to me at Christopher.baker@dpi.wi.gov; Thank you all for your time and consideration,
~Chris
Chris Baker
Public Library Consultant, Library Services Team
Department of Public Instruction
(608) 264-6709
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