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On The Time Of Writing

LibraryCraft was created to deliver communities together throughout Western Australia (WA) in a secure, structured and moderated approach so that players may stretch their creativity and imagination. LibraryCraft uses the options of Minecraft that stretch users’ innovation and artistic thinking, develops their STEAM skills and builds social and life expertise such as collaboration, negotiation, economic administration and civic engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

In late 2019, the Fremantle Library launched a small, native Minecraft server for the area people of young individuals. After a number of months of testing and upgrades, LibraryCraft was made accessible to all gamers aged 7-17 throughout WA, and WA native governments were invited to participate.

Findings

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a cancellation of Fremantle Library in-particular person programmes; LibraryCraft, as a purely on-line programme, was scaled up, and in a couple of weeks, had greater than tripled its participant base. On the time of writing, LibraryCraft brings collectively 20 WA native councils, reaches over one hundred players from Derby-West Kimberley to Albany and sees hundreds of play hours logged each week. Players have created new friendships throughout the state and are usually working collaboratively on challenges and exploration.

Originality/worth

While Minecraft servers operated by libraries are far from new, LibraryCraft is unique. Gaming of libraries have run Minecraft servers collaboratively in Australia earlier than, and none is accessible state large. The programme is highly valued with households in WA, offering a secure social outlet for gamers caught at house in isolation.

Gaming