California Conference on Library Instruction - 2024

Play & Playfulness in Library Instruction

California Conference on Library Instruction

May 31, 2024 | University of San Francisco

In the environment of academic libraries, where there is pressure to be more standardized and efficient, we look for ways to engage and center students while being inclusive and equitable. How can we prepare students to think critically with information literacy instruction? Embracing play and playfulness in instruction is one strategy for building capacity in order to grapple with weighty topics. The act of play can make it possible to gain distance from reality in order to think past the constraints of life, and instead adapt to a task with curiosity and fresh perspective. Incorporating play simply for the sake of engagement is also worthwhile. CCLI seeks proposals about how librarians have utilized play in their instruction to solve information literacy challenges. Examples of the incorporation of play and playfulness into instruction could include games or gamification, creative prompts or scenarios, improv or theater, art or rapid drawing, storyboarding, zines, storytelling, and other multimodal approaches to motivate and create learning with students.