Referencing the Imaginary: An Analysis of Library Collection of Role-Playing Game Materials

Abstract

The most famous role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons, recently celebrated the fortieth anniversary of its release. The books that define the games in the role-playing genre function like sports rulebooks, contain entries like encyclopedias, or are based on collections of maps similar to those in atlases. In the library context, this places the books that define role-playing games in the domain of reference books. While currently divisions of the American Library Association encourage librarians to consider using the game in community-building and youth services, there was a time period where organized groups actively tried to discourage librarians from collecting materials associated with the genre. This study is an assessment of library holdings of role-playing game materials worldwide, detailing collection and cataloging issues associated with the genre.

KEYWORDS:

• Games
• role-playing
• rulebooks