Community building through a public library Minecraft Gaming Day

Abstract

Minecraft is a popular building block game ubiquitous in the cultural landscape of young people. Noticing a gap in traditional library programs for virtual games such as Minecraft, children and youth services librarians at North Melbourne Library developed a collaborative Minecraft Gaming Day between librarians and young library patrons. The Minecraft Gaming Day was a uniquely creative experience linking traditional library service provision with socialisation, identity and the building of community. It challenged the traditional programming approach for young people and creating a program with young people, allowing young people to have a role in library programming, treating them as valued community members, and giving them the ability to contribute their vision to the future of library services. The combination of digital and real play spaces gave the young community a positive, educational and active way to participate in library programming and demonstrated how young people and librarians can work together to creatively help public libraries support their communities and promote social inclusion and literacy building. This article is based on ethnographic research drawing from empirical data, including staff evaluations and a focus group conducted with five young people involved with the planning and implementation of the program.

Keywords::

• Minecraft
• community programs
• youth services

Implications for best practice

• Virtual gaming programs are an opportunity for public libraries to digitally connect with young people in virtual and real spaces.

• Minecraft is an educational creative game that can be used as an engagement, building and planning tool for young people.

• A Minecraft Gaming Day demonstrates how young people and librarians can work together to creatively promote social inclusion, literacy building and inter-generational learning.

• Public libraries can challenge the traditional programming approach for young people and create a program with young people to achieve best practice in program building.

Introduction

We live today not in the digital, not in the physical, but in a kind of minestrone that our mind makes of the two (Antonelli, 2013).

Games are central to the cultural landscape of young people, and public libraries are creating inventive programming as a way to attract this digitally literate generation. The arrival of virtual gaming worlds as educational and social devices is changing the profile of what public libraries can offer. Libraries are now not only keepers of knowledge and providers of information, they are also meeting spaces, gaming centres, technology access points and digital literacy agents.

Public libraries can utilise young people as active community builders and educators for best practice in program design, building and implementation. The use of young people and their expertise within gaming and digital worlds allows public libraries to educate and understand the capacity of this unique community-building platform. The dual value of young people and new technologies can change the way libraries educate, lead and communicate to all generations of community.

North Melbourne Library, young people and Minecraft

North Melbourne Library, a branch of the Melbourne Library Service, is a vibrant meeting space for young people. It has a diverse resident population, including a high percentage of families and school-aged children (Melbourne City Council, 2013). Young people are a dynamic part of the library user group and have historically had a great impact on the library environment due to their social behaviour, noise levels and use of new technologies. Consequently interaction, engagement and successful programming with young people are key roles for children and youth services librarians at North Melbourne Library.

Surrounded by schools, the North Melbourne Library is a third place outside school and home where young people gather to play games, in particular Minecraft. Very popular with young people, Minecraft is a game in which players build virtual worlds out of blocks. It challenges players to create their own environment. It has no specific goals for the player to accomplish, allowing a large amount of freedom in design and accomplishment. As of June 2014 it had sold nearly 54 million copies worldwide across all platforms (Makuch, 2014). Minecraft is a game based inherently on imagination. Unlike most other games, it encourages collaboration and creativity, not competition.

Seeing a gap in traditional library programs for virtual games such as Minecraft, children and youth services librarians at North Melbourne Library developed a collaborative Minecraft Gaming Day between librarians and young library patrons. Challenging the traditional programming approach of designing for young people and creating a program with young people, this program drew on the knowledge and enthusiasm of the young North Melbourne community. The gaming program aimed to explore a new way of engaging young people, highlighting the positive impact that young people and games can have in an environment in which they are active participants. The program allowed young people to have a role in library programming, treated them as valued community members and gave them the ability to contribute their vision for the future of library services. This engagement provided the opportunity to combine gaming programs with more traditional library goals such as reader and collection development, literacy learning and social inclusivity.

At its core, Minecraft is about using virtual building blocks to create virtual worlds. The game can be played on multiple platforms and puts players in a randomly generated world where they can create their own structures out of textured cubes – a contemporary virtual version of Lego. It is a unique game as its focus is on discovery, not accomplishment, in a way that traditional games based on points and levels function, for example Donkey Kong and Super Mario Brothers are not. There are three basic play-modes to Minecraft: single player creative, multiplayer creative and single player survival. This program focused on the creative versions, as these are the most commonly used within the library network. Through discussion with young people, Minecraft was considered as the perfect platform to understand young people's perceptions and thoughts about space and buildings.

The Minecraft Gaming Day

Melbourne Library Service provides activities for young people but no structured gaming programs. Its children and youth services librarians found a gap in programming for both virtual gaming and a program developed and designed by young people. To address this a cohort of six regular young library patrons and Minecraft enthusiasts of mixed gender and age were asked to be a part of a development and design team for a Minecraft Gaming Day. On a weekly basis this cohort engaged with the children and youth services librarians, sharing information about gaming platforms, virtual worlds, Minecraft and social interests. This knowledge base became a central part of the planning, implementation and success of the Minecraft Gaming Day.

The Minecraft Gaming Day was designed to give young people a chance to play Minecraft and also to allow them to imagine and critically examine the library space they were in. If young people could design a library, what would it look like? How would it be different from their current library? This virtual library space allowed communication, collaboration and social interaction to occur in a combination of both physical and digital mediums (de Souza e Silva & Sutko, 2009). Libraries within Minecraft, as one young person stated, had ‘endless possibilities … it puts you in the world and you can do anything you want’. (The quotes from participants used in this article are taken from interviews conducted as part of an unpublished case study.) North Melbourne children and youth services librarians also wanted to explore the potential of virtual gaming programs to offer an access point to young people's literacy, interests and attitudes towards libraries.

The gaming day was structured using Minecraft as a virtual planning tool. Participants were asked to create their own virtual library within the game with no restrictions on the design, idea or library space they could create. They were given a brief to create a library with some essential elements, including books, performance spaces and a loans desk, to ensure core library features were included.

The Minecraft Gaming Day was successful in connecting and engaging young people, but was limited by a number of technological barriers. The marketing specified to bring your own laptop – but many participants did not have one. This required the library service to provide up to 20 terminals for access. Minecraft can be played offline once loaded onto a computer and this let most players play in an offline capacity. Those who played online via the libraries' wireless network found it difficult due to the wireless connection often dropping out. As one player remarked, ‘We had a bit of a fail day because the technology, the Wi-Fi was a bit dropping out’. There were quite a few instances of young people losing their creations due to computers shutting down or just not performing, often because the extra computers that were used were out-dated technology for gaming use. Young people with their own laptops were far better off in this program as they could control and understand the technology. However, the technology failure was not a deterrent to the young participants who were supportive of each other, playing in groups and sharing technological advice with one another. A vital point to be made is that to combat the inadequacies of the library technology, the young participants themselves provided computers, Internet connections, mobile phones and gaming paraphernalia that were up-to-date and sufficient for the task. Melbourne Library Service awarded prizes on the day for creative, technical skill and also for encouragement.

Outcomes

As outlined in the Melbourne Library Service's strategic plan, ‘Libraries are not only physical facilities and places to borrow material. They are community hubs and places where people can meet for recreation, information and to foster a love of life-long learning’ (Melbourne Library Service, n.d.) The Minecraft Games Day achieved traditional library goals as well as many other objectives such as social inclusion, community engagement and literacy building.

Demystifying gaming worlds

North Melbourne Library was full of young people on the Minecraft Games Day. The lively space allowed librarians to interact with young people and to use the opportunity for traditional library capacity-building measures such as information sharing, social support and to encourage learning. A librarian encapsulates this interaction:

It (the gaming day) was great for the kids team in building a connection with some of the junior members of the library. Personally I got to know a few more of the kids using their interest in the Minecraft day as a great kicking off point. We talked about the event, sure, but it gave me the chance to enquire about what they were reading, watching, doing. (The quotes from librarians reported in this article are taken from an unpublished internal evaluation of the gaming day.)

The introduction of virtual worlds and gaming into library programming does not negate the need for interactions between people – virtual worlds in libraries are in fact a part of the conversation, not a substitute for it. Another important outcome from the gaming day was the learning acquired by parents of the attendees. Minecraft helped parents to not only understand the online behaviour of young people, but it also involved them in the process. Many young people were excited to show their parents their designs and achievements throughout the day. Parents, like librarians, became a part of the learning and social fabric of the day.

Social inclusion

North Melbourne Library became a conduit for gaming technologies for young people who did not have access to Minecraft or gaming at home. There was a sense of isolation because some were not able to understand or participate in peer group conversations and discussions about Minecraft unless they were at the library. This is not uncommon: in 2010 a national study found that libraries provided a ‘technological lifeline’ to young people from low socio-economic families; and among young adults (14–24 years of age) in households below the federal poverty line, 61% used public library computers and the Internet for educational purposes (Public Libraries Victoria Network, 2012). These statistics suggest that young people continue to turn to libraries for access to technical resources and opportunities (Tripp, 2011, p. 230). Social inclusion is an important part of the role that public libraries play in providing access to games and other cultural touch points for their generation. The library becomes a space outside school and home to integrate and participate with peer groups through the use of new technologies. Libraries, such as North Melbourne during the gaming day, provide not only social support and a space for young people to interact with each other but also a levelling of class, ethnicity and social hierarchies. This gaming program was a response to young people's interest in Minecraft and in turn gave disadvantaged young people access to a social gaming platform that allowed them to feel socially included.

The gaming day created opportunities for interaction not just between librarians and young people, it also fostered a relationship between North Melbourne Library and the local community. Many patrons visiting the library remarked on, and were interested in, the program in the library. It broadened their understanding of young people and broke down assumptions they may have had about young people in the library. Many adult borrowers on the day began discussing their own gaming interests and showed how these could inform future library programs.

The engaged librarian

Apparent in the virtual Minecraft libraries created for the gaming day was the presence of a librarian. In one virtual library titled the ‘Big Book’, the librarian was a futuristic robot who moved within the space and spoke its own language. In the ‘Treehouse’ there was a librarian on every floor to engage with library visitors. It can be seen that there is a place in both virtual- and real-world libraries for librarians. As one case study participant commented,

It makes such a big difference if the librarian understands what we are doing – this library is cool because it's not getting shushed all the time. Some libraries are all stiff – but this one is relaxed and you can hang out.

By creating the opportunity for dialogue with young people and allowing their interests to be expressed, the librarian was invited into the virtual- and real-life spaces that the young people occupied. It is clear that through building a dialogue of trust with young people, and allowing them a key role in program building, there is a sense of ownership over the space and a feeling of relevance to library programs.

Young people are community builders

During the gaming day, many of the young people were involved and keen to help out less experienced players, including those who had previously not had access to the required technology. Dialogue between players within the game and then in person, across the room and over the tops of their screens, was a central part of the Minecraft event, showcasing the variety of communication methods young people employ to engage with their peers and extended communities. This is outlined in a librarian's assessment: ‘I remember finding them to be strangely uncompetitive, weirdly supportive of each other’ and ‘having forty or so kids running around, wildly inspired by not only their own, but each other's creations’.

Participants' comments indicate that young people were active agents in the community space within the library, committed to the building of interest, community awareness and relevance of Minecraft as a library gaming program. This demonstrates the ability of young people to be instrumental in the creation of library communities. Percy-Smith suggests that ‘we need to pay more attention to opportunities for children and young people to participate more fully in everyday community settings – home, school, neighbourhood – through the actions, choices, relationships and contributions they make’ (Percy-Smith, 2010, p. 109).

Let's do it again

One participant in the Minecraft Gaming Day stated,

I had to think about what people were doing in the library and then think about Minecraft that way. I used to think that the only thing libraries were for is checking in and checking out books but it's not. It's for hanging out and games.

The gaming day changed perspectives and challenged traditional perceptions of libraries. Young people and many of their parents were surprised and happy to have a contemporary and relevant gaming program for young people at the library. A participant remarked: ‘We come into the library to play games so it would be so much better if they were in the program as well’.

The relationship built between the young people in the community and the library staff is ongoing and integral to the building of relevant programs for young people. This gaming program has developed a model for further Minecraft activities in the library service. Understanding the technology needed, the logistics and the community interest in this game has provided a solid foundation for future gaming days at the Melbourne Library Service.

Next steps: Minecraft in your library?

‘I'm still getting asked when the next Minecraft day will be and that's months later. Winner!’ This quote from a librarian is a measure of the success of the North Melbourne Library Minecraft Gaming Day. North Melbourne Library successfully engaged young people and crossed new boundaries in both virtual and real spaces. The library space was enlivened with young people, sharing ideas and creating libraries on screen. From this we can see how Minecraft is a valid platform for community building, social inclusion and change. Library gaming programs allow important community-building activities such as civic participation, as well as the development of important library goals such as reader development and digital literacy skills.

One of the key outcomes of the Minecraft Gaming Day was the shared identity built between the team of young people and the children's and youth services librarians. Having an ongoing dialogue with young people and observing their interest in the programming process was an encouraging and invaluable learning experience for library staff. The gaming day demonstrated that if given support and opportunity, young people themselves can provide community-building outcomes that are both inclusive and relevant. It also demonstrated that to successfully engage in virtual and real worlds with young people, we as library staff may not need to provide all of the required technology; we may just need to be aware of it, support it and understand it.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rachael Cilauro

Rachael Cilauro: Since starting her career shelving at her local public library when she was 16, Rachael Cilauro has developed a passion and commitment to promoting the importance and relevance of libraries in our contemporary world. She sees libraries and young people as vital parts of our community culture, and young people in combination with new media and virtual worlds in library spaces as a complex, exciting and integral part of the future of libraries.

Notes

^1. This paper is a revised version of a presentation given at the ALIA National Conference, Melbourne, 15–19 September 2014.