No Muggles in the Library Tonight! Harry Potter Night at an Academic Library

Broussard, Mary J. Snider

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/46057 Copy

Description

Title

No Muggles in the Library Tonight! Harry Potter Night at an Academic Library

Author(s)

Broussard, Mary J. Snider

Issue Date

2013

Keyword(s)

• Academic libraries
• Gaming in libraries
• Harry Potter

Abstract

This article describes how an annual Harry Potter Night program fits into a college library’s mission. The literature shows college and university libraries are already accustomed to supporting their campus communities’ academic and cocurricular needs. Harry Potter Night at Lycoming College is an engaging experience. For one Friday night a year, the college library transforms into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry through food, decorations, and music. The central events are variations of trivia games and two obstacle courses, one focusing on Voldemort’s horcruxes and the other focusing on the Sorcerer’s Stone. These games and simulations are critical to creating an emotionally immersive as well as a multisensory experience. The attendance for this program has ranged from 30 to 100 students (on a campus of approximately 1,400), and the enthusiasm has been immense. This program has led to positive attitudes toward the library and valuable publicity in campus publications and has strengthened the library’s relationship with the college Residential Life office.

Publisher

Johns Hopkins University Press and the Graduate School of Library and Information Science. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

ISSN

0024-2594

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/46057

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2013.0017

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2013 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

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