To me, readers’ advisory is one of the most fun parts of being a librarian. I am always trying to find new ways to recommend books to kids. Like the Alameda County Library (CA), my library has a program that makes recommendations based on a questionnaire for patrons looking for a personal recommendation. Then, a few years ago, I created a virtual readers’ advisory website that made it easier for patrons to search for books without the catalog. But something was missing. Over the past few months, I started to think about a way to turn my virtual readers’ advisory into a more gamified approach. It wasn’t until I was running an in-person escape room program that I had an idea: a readers’ advisory virtual escape room!
Virtual Escape Rooms
If you have never played a virtual escape room before, you are in for a treat! These programs are puzzle-filled adventures based around a theme. Instead of real-life puzzles, each is created and played on a computer. By solving each of the clues, you can “escape” the room. If you want to try one, the Madison County Public Library (KY) has a full list of free online escape rooms for you to try.
Step 1: Choose a Theme
Since my readers’ advisory escape room was for the winter, I made it with a winter theme. I designed it on Google Drawings, by layering different winter images together. Each image leads to a different puzzle. While winter worked best for me, you can make a virtual escape room with just about any topic.
Step 2: Create Your Puzzles
When making an escape room, the key thing is to have variety. Different people like different puzzles, so I tried to include different kinds of puzzles in my escape room. I set it up so each puzzle came with some book recommendations. This way, even if a patron didn’t solve all of the puzzles, they would still walk away with some great books to read. For example, in Canva, I created a snowman graphic that recommended different books with snowmen on the cover. I then uploaded that graphic to Puzzle’s Jigsaw Puzzle Generator. When kids click on the snowman image in my escape room, they are taken directly to the online jigsaw puzzle. I also used an online crossword puzzle, and a puzzle where certain letters spelled out a secret message.
We have a lot of Scratch users in my library, so I also made some minigames. One game involves helping a bear catch falling presents. Using Scratch is fun, because it serves as a way to connect with patrons. When I was working on creating this game at the reference desk, one of our patrons even came up to me and asked “Are you using Scratch? We’re making games in school right now!”. If you have Scratch users at your library, consider adding it to your virtual escape room.
Step 3: Put It All Together
For a virtual escape room, I like to have a Google Form function as the landing point. The different puzzles each have their own question. This way, if a patron wants more direction, they can follow each question on the form to help they discover every puzzle. I put the link to the Google Form in an image of a cabin in the center of my escape room.
My library’s online catalog has a list feature, where librarians can save books on similar topics. When patrons answer the last question on the Google Form, they get a link to the list in the catalog. From there, patrons can see every book featured in the escape room and place a hold. It’s a fun way to make it easy for patrons to get books. If your library’s online catalog doesn’t have a list feature, you can design a cool graphic in Canva or Google Drawings with all of the books, then include a link to that graphic.
Have you ever tried to gameify your readers’ advisory? What approaches have you found work well?
Ann Baillie (she/her/hers) is the Youth Services Assistant Manager at the Alsip-Merrionette Park Public Library in Alsip, Illinois. She is the past-manager of the Illinois Library Association’s Youth Services Forum. Her main interests are the connection between Readers’ Advisory and technology, and how libraries can use technology to better reach patrons.
This post addresses ALSC Core Competencies II. Reference and User Services and III. Programming Skills.