Head Hunt : An Online Library Orientation Game Fred Roecker Instruction Librarian LOEX of the West Conference June 6, 2008

Presentation Overview  Background of Ohio State and Libraries  Development of game  Demo  Data collected  Tips for creating a game  Questions

Background  Over 6,000 new OSU freshmen arrive on campus each fall  Summer orientation offered by the Office of First Year Experience (FYE)  No Library orientation currently included

Goals – FYE Office  Provide orientation to the Libraries, resources, and services  Offer to all new students before first day of classes  Alleviate fears and encourage usage  Available for families

Project Design Team Three Instruction Office librarians – design and content Graduate Student – assessment / programming Student – programming On- and Off-Campus Consultants

Funding Paul P. Fidler Research grant (Unsuccessful) (National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition) Administrative support Existing personnel Freeware

To-Do List Survey students about library use/preferences Explore different content/delivery methods Discuss issues with experts Conduct usability tests Distribute to students Summer 2007 Assess impact on student perceptions

Student Perceptions/Use Survey 500 students from all colleges Survey conducted four weeks into Fall 2006 Questions: Had intro to Libraries? Visited a library? Used resources? Comfort level? More info desired? Need orientation CD?

Survey Results – Library Use After four weeks at Ohio State – 29% - had received a library introduction 60% - had visited an Ohio State University library Student Comments – Did not know what library resources were available Had difficulty finding what they need

Survey Results – Orientation CD Orientation CD should include: Locations of libraries Map to show which library is closest to their dorm Short movies Digital stories Interactive games and puzzles **May not be interested in using this CD**

Design Team’s First Thoughts Goal: provide basic information about the OSU Libraries in an engaging format to inspire student use. Objectives: users should learn about resources (catalog, databases, advanced Google).

First Version – The Four Quests Conquering the Book Swamp Use the Libraries’ Catalog to find books Slay the Google Dragon Use advanced features in Google and Google Scholar Solve the Library Maze Explore the OSU Libraries Beseech the Articles Wizard Use a database to find articles

On Second Thought … Quests: too much like an “assignment.” Casual Games: more fun; focus on a positive, interesting orientation

Production Challenges Format ? Incentives ? Usability ? User tracking ? Project evaluation ?

Decision 1 - Campus Game Board

Decision 2 - Casual Games ClickZone Close to Dorms Database Match LC Call Number Order Library Superstars Libwords Multiple Guess Way / No Way

Decision 3 - Short Movies Renovation Slide Show Cartoon Research Library Libstories Director’s Welcome Learning Commons

Decision 4 - Testing / Evaluation  Usability testing (prototype)  Stress test (faculty and staff)  Comment form (within game)  Re-administer the Perceptions Survey  Respond to problems during game

Decision 5 - Incentives Barnes and Nobel gift certificates iTunes cards iPod Movie Tickets (for survey)

The Game (It’s about time!) A Demo of the game library.osu.edu/sites/fye/

Student players: 856 (937 overall) Completed game: 509 Most views (games): 1,298 (Call Number) Most views (movies): 831 (Director, Renovation) Rate Interest: [1 = Interesting 7 = Not at all interesting] Games: 2.91 (Jigsaw) 3.51 (Call number) Movies: 2.80 (Renovation) 3.51 (Director) User Data – Fall 2007

Perception Surveys Comparison Visited a Library ………...… 64% 71% Used online resource …..… 29% 42% Libraries are not conveniently located ………………..… 49% 38% Libraries too imposing ……… 22% 19% I don’t know what resources are available …………...… 48% 41% I’m not confident using Library resources ……..… 26% 32%

 “I learned that you need to return your book if someone requested it. Otherwise you have to pay $10.”  “You learned all of the information when you played the game. The nice thing was that you had to keep retrying until you got the right answer to make sure you knew!”  “Before the game I did not realize how useful the resources of the libraries will be and how many resources are available online without a need to go to the nearest location.”  “Wow, good job. I admit that I probably wouldn’t have explored all the libraries on my own. I would’ve just gone to the library closest to me. But with this game, I feel like I have a better idea of how to take advantage of what OSU libraries have to offer.“ Student Comments

Next Steps  Update OSU Libraries’ information  Add new games / movies  Dorms / colleges competition  Publicize earlier in summer

Want to Build Your Own Game? Assemble small, compatible, enthusiastic design team Know your goals and budget Design, consult, test, refine – repeat often Use freeware and in-house resources Have fun!

Useful Tools Captivate/Flash  Google Map API  HotPotatoes 6  jQuery  PHP LoginSystem by Jpmaster77  Thickbox 3  Toolman DHTML  XML/SWF Charts  Zoho Project Manager  = Free Software

“Library Skills Game” – Bardonia Elementary School “Quarantined” – Arizona State University library.west.asu.edu/game/quarantined/login.cfm “Library Arcade” – Carnegie Mellon “The Goodhue Codex” – Los Angeles Public Library “Cirticon, Library Defender” – Orange County Pub. Library “Defense of Hidgeon ” – University of Michigan Further Interest – Other Games

Further Interest - Books  Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter - Stephen Johnson  Got Game? How the Gamer Generation Is Reshaping Business Forever - John C. Beck and Mtchell Wade  A Theory of Fun for Game Design - Ralph Koster  Understanding Digital Games - Jason Rutter and Jo Bryce

Further Interest – Misc. Bibliographic Gaming Blog bibliogaming.blogspot.com/ Shifted Librarian Blog Gaming and Libraries Update ALA TechSource Library Technology Report Gaming, Learning, and Libraries Symposium (ALA TechSource – Chicago, November 2-4, 2008) gaming.techsource.ala.org/index.php/Main_Page

Thanks for coming! Questions? Fred Roecker The Ohio State University Libraries 120N Mason Hall 250 West Woodruff Columbus, OH (614)