This might be shocking to some people, but your local library probably has a video game collection. If you’ve been to a library recently, this won’t be all that surprising: over the years, libraries have expanded their collections beyond books to provide access to all kinds of materials that are important to their communities, including comics, movies, magazines, and yes, video games. Libraries play a vital role in making sure that everyone has equitable access to information, and games are inarguably essential to society today. Although some libraries are just now adding video games to the stacks, librarians have been collecting video games, board games, and puzzles for a long, long time. Libraries building game collections to support esports activities and after-school gaming clubs are the latest incarnation of this rich history.

Big changes underway in the gaming industry are going to make it much harder—if not impossible—for libraries to collect, preserve, and provide access to video games. If you regularly play games, then you’ve probably noticed that fewer and fewer games are released on physical media like discs and cartridges. Instead, games are increasingly released through digital-only distribution methods, like direct downloads to your gaming console or purchases from online platforms. In a few years, digital platforms may be the only way to get the latest games. Right now, these platforms are designed to sell games to individual players, leaving libraries and other educational institutions that have an interest in acquiring games out of the picture. If we don’t take action soon, video games in libraries could be a thing of the past.

Image credit: Sean Norona, UNCG University Communications

That’s why I’m leading Digital Games in Libraries (DGIL), an initiative at the University of North Carolina Greensboro dedicated to developing new strategies and tools to help libraries adapt to this changing landscape. DGIL has just launched a two-year research project that will engage librarians, game developers, users of library game collections, and experts on library legal and policy issues in collaborative discussions to chart a path forward. Initial research is just getting started, laying the groundwork for a national virtual forum to be held in October 2025. The forum will bring these different communities together to better understand the major issues and to start developing solutions that work for both libraries and the gaming industry. Learn more about DGIL and how you can get involved at https://go.uncg.edu/dgil.

DGIL was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS): Building a Foundation to Collect Independent Digital Games in Libraries, LG-256637-OLS-24.

Blog contributed to NASEF by Dr. Colin Post, an Assistant Professor of Information, Library, and Research Sciences at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. He teaches and researches in the areas of archives and special collections, focusing on how archives and libraries are preserving today's digital culture for future generations.