Minecraft in public libraries

These are the references that I have spotted on the subject.  To my knowledge, there are only a very few UK libraries currently involved, although a recent Lis-Pub-Libs conversation (July 2014) suggests interest I spicking up.  Do please send any news or thoughts on this to ianlibrarian@live.co.uk.

 

  • Minecraft building competition @ my library – Librarified (USA). “Last weekend my library hosted a Minecraft competition that has been my most successful program to date. I don’t think there are a lot of other public libraries out there who have done much Minecraft-related programming, so I thought I’d write about what we did, how we did it, and how it worked.” June 16th 2011

“thats actually like way too cool for a library to be doing.”

 
  • Minecraft at Darien Library – Darien Library (USA), “Darien Library is excited to be hosting its own Minecraft server. If you don’t know about it already; Minecraft is an awesome sandbox construction game in which players create and destroy different types of blocks in a 3D environment. Explore new terrain, gather raw materials, create amazing structures, and watch out for Creepers that come out at night!”  June 2013.

 

“Organising and taking part in Minecraft activity sessions is very simple and fun for a wide variety of ages. The possibilities are endless, limited only by your imagination. Simple tasks can be laid out for younger children to build and learn or you can give them creative freedom to build whatever they feel like. From simples house and farm buildings to creating your own rollercoaster. The game boasts two different game modes; Survival, allowing you to gather materials and tools necessary to build your own homestead or Creative, giving the player endless amounts and varieties of blocks to bring their own creations to life. With an active modding community there are a large variety of changes and additions that can be implemented.

For control we would suggest Xbox controllers (USB adaptors are available at low cost), a widely known and familiar system for most kids and supported by Microsoft. On our Discovery Table and interactive signage products it would be possible to launch Minecraft and with a big enough screen for everyone to be able to gather around and share the experience. There are also lots of videos on YouTube that you can play to the children in advance of playing to show them what is possible, although please preview these videos before playing them as some may include inappropriate content. We also have the ability to script and create a custom activity session to suit your needs. We are avid fans of Minecraft and have been since its Beta release.” Neil Wishart at Solus via LIS-PUB-LIBS, July 2014.

In the UK, East Lothian Libraries ran a session for National Science and Engineering Week 2014, provided by a company called ComputerXplorer.

Surrey also report that “We’re at the early stages, with a pilot session planned for 19 April [2014]. Having spoken to the very helpful librarian at Darien County, we’re going to have a LAN party at Walton library, one of our largest. We’ve found a volunteer who is going to provide a server and the necessary equipment, we’re going to get people to donate a handful of Minecraft licences, and we’re going to invite young people from 8 to 16 to participate (and bring their own devices, if they have them. We have some elderly laptops we can use, too”

See LIS-PUB-LIBS article “Minecraft sessions in libraries” 25th July 2014.

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