Dear ARLIS/NA colleagues,

Please see below for McGill Library call for papers (“Play On! Research Colloquium) and call for artwork (“Play in the Stacks”).

Jennifer

Jennifer Garland

Assistant Head Librarian

Rare Books and Special Collections, McGill University Library

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CALL FOR PAPERS – Play On! Research Colloquium at McGill Library, Montreal QC

"When we play, we explore the limits of the possible" –Thomas Hendricks.

This perspective on play is a useful one for libraries. The changing needs and services of 21^st century libraries, users, and education demand that we consider new ways of promoting engagement, interaction, and creativity.

Play is a way of exploring those options, of learning, and of exchanging ideas with others. The benefits of play and games for children are now well-established; the question of where play and games fit in the serious, product and goal-oriented adult world is less well developed. Libraries are excellent at organizing information but have, historically, been less open to free exploration and playful interaction in a library environment.

Public libraries and the world of games have paved the way for new ideas on user interaction and engagement. Where can the element of fun enter into the research experience? How can games and play change the way users/players engage with their library environment?

ROAAr invites papers and workshop proposals on the topic of play, games, and creative engagement in education and libraries for “Play On!,” a research colloquium on play in libraries. The presentations should encourage engagement and discussion. Interactive and alternative projects are encouraged. The colloquium will take place on May 15, 2020.

Possible topics include:

Play and creativity
Gamification in higher education
User/player centred design in libraries and beyond
HCI – human-computer interaction
Sports and social games
History of play
Wordplay, riddles, jokes
Social and cultural uses of/for Play
Immersiveness and engagement
Playful architecture and design
Play in collecting

Deadline for submissions: August 1, 2019
Please send abstracts (no longer than 300 words) along with a short biography/ludography (Maximum 50 words) to [log in to unmask]
Notifications of acceptance/rejection will be sent by the end of August. In special cases depending on available funding, we will be able to cover for travel and accommodation costs.

ROAAr - Rare Books, Osler, Art and Archives

Hosted by ROAAr (Rare Books, Osler, Art and Archives), McGill Library. At the heart of the downtown campus in Montreal Quebec, the McGill Library is a hub for research, discovery, and engagement. The rare and special collections house over 250 000 items unique in the world, making this a destination for historians, cultural scholars, and the playfully curious. This cultural heritage belongs to the community, and we invite artists to come, explore, and animate the collections for a 21^st-century audience.

CALL FOR ARTWORK - Play in the Stacks

ROAAr invites artists of all ages to submit proposals for projects that play with the material in our diverse rare and special collections. By play here we mean Re-mix, re-model, film, sketch, animate, sculpt, compose – there is material in our collections to inspire all mediums.

Selected artists will have the chance to draw inspiration from McGill’s rare books, prints, paintings, journals, archival, and manuscript materials as inspiration in a two-week residency in May 2020. Selected artists’ work will be featured in a special exhibition that will run July through September 2020 at the McGill library.

Deadline for proposal submissions: August 1, 2019
Please send artist statements (no longer than 300 words), along with a short biography (Maximum 50 words) to [log in to unmask]
Notifications of acceptance/rejection will be sent by the end of August. In special cases depending on available funding, we will be able to cover for travel and accommodation costs.