Learning Through Quests and Contests: Games in Information Literacy Instruction

Games-based learning is an innovative pedagogical strategy employed at all levels of education, and much research in education, psychology, and other disciplines supports its effectiveness in engaging and motivating students, as well as increasing student learning. Many libraries have incorporated games into their collections and programming. College and university libraries have begun to use games for information literacy and library instruction. Academic librarians use commercially-produced games, create their own games, and employ game principles and mechanics to enhance their traditional instructional offerings. While there may be impediments to implementing games-based learning for information literacy, the promising benefits of this approach outweigh the obstacles. Using games in library instruction capitalizes on the many similarities between games and the way that students do research, and has the strong potential to increase student engagement in information literacy training.