Tag Archives: Libraries

History Escape Room Kits from the Indiana State Library!

Posted on by

Attention teachers and youth librarians! There’s a new kit coming from the Indiana State Library created especially with middle and high school students in mind. History Escape Room Kits will be available for teachers and librarians to check out starting in January of 2024.

Escape rooms are a popular way to engage students in learning, problem solving and critical thinking. Students enter a room or a space and are presented with a problem or mystery. They are “locked in” until the mystery is solved. They must scour the room for clues and work together to solve a series of puzzles that involve all manner of skills: map reading, image analysis, math problems, analyzing short passages, searching through newspapers, teamwork, leadership and more. If they succeed in solving the puzzles (usually in a limited amount of time) they can solve the mystery and “escape.”

The Indiana State Library’s History Escape Room Kits are being developed for Indiana’s public libraries and schools. All programs will be steeped in history and based on primary sources available from the Indiana State Library’s collections and the collections of the Library of Congress. The programs will be housed in containers and shipped to libraries and schools using the State Library’s courier network. Possible themes for the kits include: Genealogy with the Iris Baughman Diary, Jazz on Indiana Avenue with Sanborn Maps, Presidents and Vice Presidents of Indiana (including Benjamin Harrison), the Flu Pandemic of 1918 with WWI letters, Famous Political Speeches in Indiana and Indiana Basketball focused on Crispus Attucks High School.

Each History Escape Room kit will align with Social Studies Standards in Indiana for grades 6-12. These standards include map reading, industry in Indiana, primary and secondary sources, and events and movements in the 20th century. Escape rooms could be used by teachers as an engaging activity both during and after school hours. Youth librarians could use them as a pre-planned out-of-the-box program. History Escape Room kits will be designed for up to 16 youth to work on together but could be used by groups as small as four. Teachers could check out two to three copies of the same kit to accommodate larger classroom sizes.

Ease of use is front of mind for these kits. Teachers and librarians should be able to receive a kit, watch a video and get their room set up in 20 minutes or less. All solutions and hints will be included for the lead librarian or teacher, and all kits will be tested with actual teens before release. Interested libraries and schools will be able to reserve kits through KitKeeper, the same service that is used to book Storytime Kits, Book Club Kits, and Lego and Duplo Kits.

Training on using the kits will be available both at the Indiana Library Federation’s Youth Services Division conference held on Aug. 13 in Indianapolis, and at fall trainings held by the Indiana State Library yet to be scheduled.

The Escape Room Kits are sponsored in part by the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Midwest Region Program, located at Illinois State University. Content created and featured in partnership with the TPS Midwest Region does not indicate an endorsement by the Library of Congress.

Questions? Reach out to Suzanne Walker, Indiana Young Readers Center librarian.

This blog post was submitted by Indiana Young Readers Center librarian Suzanne Walker.

Helpful tools for libraries

Posted on by

As a library employee, do you ask yourself these types of questions:

“I wonder what website development software other libraries are using?”

Or…

“I know I heard about a new tool for tracking reading logs – what was the name of it?”

Or…

“What are some platforms for e-books, e-magazines and digital videos?”

We all know that in this ever-changing technological world, it is hard to keep up. Especially, if you have a zillion things on your to do list. And you might hit a brick wall when doing a Google search for library-related tools.

I was having a hard time keeping up with of all of the new techy tools. I had an idea brewing in my head – kind of a one stop shop for a list of techy tools. So when the world stopped meeting in person back in 2020, I had some extra time to put my idea into practice.

In August of 2020, I started the Helpful Tools for Libraries webpage on the Indiana State Library’s Continuing Education page.

This is a list of tools that might be helpful to your library. I wanted to curate a list in one place of these tools. It has since broadened to include things like a link to library internships, library security videos and much more. These tools aren’t endorsed by the Indiana State Library and there are certainly other tools out there that I don’t know about. Some of the tools are free and some have a cost. But, they are used by many libraries in Indiana.

This list is not meant to take the place of the library Listservs. Those are invaluable to being able to ask questions in real time and to collaborate with other library staff.

If you know of a tool that you have found to be useful in your library job, just let me know and I might add it to this list. I can be reached via email.

Enjoy the tools!

This post was written by Northeast regional coordinator Paula Newcom of the Indiana State Library Professional Development Office.

Vying for vendors – The state RFP process

Posted on by

As a state agency, the Indiana State Library must follow state procurement rules whenever making a purchase or entering into a contract for goods or services. This is to encourage fair purchasing practices, while also helping keep costs low for the state. Some services that we regularly need bids for include:

  • InfoExpress courier service – We need a company that can handle the logistics of book delivery between nearly 400 library locations statewide.
  • INSPIRE – We need a suite of databases that can be accessed by all Hoosiers at any time of day, from any location within the state.
  • SRCS – We need a low-cost, unmediated service that can be used by patrons or library staff to request books from other library locations.

Whenever a new contract is needed, or a current contract is drawing near its expiration, the state library’s administration team reaches out to the Indiana Department of Administration, who initiates and guides the process. An IDOA employee is assigned to the project as a procurement specialist, and serves as a liaison between the library and potential bidders; ensuring a fair and neutral process without undue influence on library staff. The Indiana State Library also forms a team of reviewers and advisors, who may be from the library or other Indiana libraries. The team drafts an initial proposal that describes exactly what is needed and under what terms.

The state may post an RFP, a request for proposal; an RFQ, a request for quotation; or even an RFS, a request for services, depending on the type of contract and dollar amount involved.

At the beginning of the bidding process, a request for bids is posted to IDOA’s website. This is an invitation for all interested vendors to respond with information and a quote. These responses are compiled and reviewed by IDOA and then shared with the library’s team of reviewers and advisors. The reviewers complete a scorecard where they provide numerical scores and written comments over various aspects of the bid. The evaluation team may ask clarifying questions about the bids, and the bidders may be invited to make presentations demonstrating their product or service.

At the end of the process, IDOA collects all of the evaluations, tallies their scores, and puts them in preference order. To encourage supplier diversity, some additional scoring points are given to minority, women, or veteran-owned businesses. Vendors may be given one last chance to provide their BAFO, their best and final offer. Preference is typically given to the lowest-cost responsive bid. At that time, an award letter is written and sent to the winning bidder, and the other bidders are notified of the decision. Bidders may appeal if they believe a mistake was made. Finally, an announcement is shared with Indiana library staff that a new or improved service is available.

This blog post was written by Jen Clifton, Library Development Office.

New Indiana Library Passport launches on May 8!

Posted on by

The Indiana State Library is thrilled to announce the newest version of the Indiana Library Passport, a digital experience that encourages everyone to visit libraries across the Hoosier state. The new version of the passport will launch on May 8 and has many upgraded features.

The passport, open to everyone, showcases more than 140 main libraries and branches to explore – including over 30 historical Carnegie libraries – in an easy, mobile-friendly way. The passport includes stops at the Allen County Public Library, which features the Rolland Center for Lincoln Research; the South Whitley Community Public Library, which features the Shultz Gem Collection; the Bartholomew County Public Library, which features architectural design by I. M. Pei and the Large Arch statue by Henry Moore; and many more.

Patrons can visit a dedicated mobile passport landing page where they can sign-up for the Indiana Library Passport by providing their name, email address and mobile phone number. A link is then sent to their mobile phone, which opens the passport and directs the user to add the button icon to their home screen, where they can access it any time. There is never anything to download and no bulky apps take up space on a user’s phone. Click the Learn More button to see all of the libraries on the Indiana Library Passport.

Returning to the passport in 2023 is the prize drawing. When participants check in to libraries on the Indiana Library Passport trail, they will be entered into a quarterly drawing for a prize package, including, but not limited to, gift cards from local and national merchants; admission tickets to museums, parks, theaters; events and historic locations; books; confections; and organizational memberships. Once users sign up for the passport, they only need to use their phone to check in while physically at each location. Participants are eligible to check in to each location on the passport once per week which will enter them into the prize drawing. Click here for detailed instructions on how to sign up and on how to use the passport. Click here to read the Indiana Library Passport FAQs.

This year, passport users will have an opportunity to claim a limited-edition Indiana Library Passport mug. When users check into a library, they will be awarded 100 points. Once a user earns 2,000 points, they can redeem those points for the mug, while supplies last. The redemption process is done entirely within the passport and the mug will be shipped directly to the passport holder. Points can be earned once per week per library. Please note that employees of libraries on the passport are not eligible for the prize drawing or the mug.

In addition to the the opportunity to earn an Indiana Library Passport mug, the passport itself has many new features. On the main passport Experiences screen, users can click View to see a list of libraries on the passport. From there, users will now be able to see the distance from their current location to any library on the passport. A new advanced filtering option lets passport holders sort by name and by libraries near them. Carnegie libraries are also filtered out as special attractions. Finally, the passport now displays the weather of a user’s current location. The Indiana State Library hopes that everyone enjoys these additional features and quality of life improvements.

Please note that the previous version of the Indiana Library Passport will be retired on May 8 as the new version launches. Current passport holders will need to sign up for the new version of the Indiana Library Passport, as their information will not automatically be transferred.

The Indiana Library Passport is a collaboration between the Indiana State Library and Bandwango, a well-known technology company in the travel space. Bandwango technology is designed to support free and paid experiences created by destinations and marketed to visitors and locals. They are the technology company behind Visit Indiana’s State Nature Passport, among other passports in the state.

The 2023-24 Indiana Library Passport program is sponsored by the Indiana State Library Foundation.

Please contact John Wekluk, communications director at the Indiana State Library, with any questions.

This post was written by John Wekluk, communications director at the Indiana State Library.

Economic terms for the prognosticator in all of us

Posted on by

It’s a valuable thing – to be able to predict the future.

We all do it. We predict what might happen during our day, and we dress ourselves based on that prediction. We predict what the weekend might look like as we look forward to it. We predict which of our teams might win in the next big game.

One of the most important things statistics can do is project future statistics. We make important decisions based on projected numbers. In fact, it’s vital that we’re able to do this mathematically. It has become the basis for planning and policy.

So, what do you need to know about statistics to be able to anticipate the next month’s, next year’s or next decade’s economic forecast?

If you’re like me, you were required to take an economics course to graduate high school in Indiana, but the class didn’t delve into complex theories. Today’s lexicon requires that we know a few basic terms, even to understand the daily news. So, here is a resource guide to ensure you’re ready to read today’s market and follow its daily fluxuations.

In additional to the resources found in the guide below, researchers can consult with the Indiana State Data Center and our state partner agencies at any time by submitting a request 24/7 here.

Beige Book, formerly known as the Red Book
The Beige Book is a report published by the Federal Reserve. It summarizes economic activity and conditions by sector, and is organized by the 12 Federal Reserve Districts.

CPI, PPI, market basket
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics issues the Consumer Price Index, or CPI, for each month at the end of the month. It shows the changes in prices for major consumer categories like food and energy. It can show how the buying power of the dollar increases and decreases over the years. The CPI measures a market basket of items, or purchases of goods and services that usually happen together. For examples of these goods and services, visit Content of CPI Entry Level Items.

The Producer Price Index, or PPI, was once known as the wholesale price index. It measures prices received by producers, before goods and services reach the consumer.

Cost of Living Index and Calculator
The Cost of Living Index, or COLI, differs from the CPI in that it compares basic expenses between specific geographic areas. These measures are produced by the Economic Policy Institute and the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER).

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and S&P 500
The Dow Jones, incorporated in 1896, is a measure of the U.S. stock market containing the prices of 30 large cap stocks, which trade at $10 billion or more, while the Standard and Poor (S&P) 500 index measures 500 large cap U.S. stocks. Both indexes are used as general indicators of the financial health of the stock market. Current S&P 500 stocks represent 11 economic sectors classified by the Global Industry Classification Standard.

Economic Agencies and Organizations
Indiana Business Research Center (IBRC) Kelley School of Business at Indiana University
Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC)
Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD)
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
U.S. Census Bureau
U.S. Federal Reserve System, “The Fed”

Economic Publications
Indiana Business Review Indiana Business Research Center
InContext Indiana Business Research Center
Indiana Economic Digest
Liberty Street Economics Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Monthly Labor Review U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Survey of Current Business U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

GDP, GNP, NNP
The real gross domestic product (GDP) is the volume level of GDP, which is the value of goods and services produced in a year within a country adjusted for inflation. Find quarterly GDP data for the U.S. using the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) website and the FRED GDP page.

GNP is the value of goods and services within a certain country produced by the residents of that country, wherever those goods and services are. It is the GDP plus foreign investments.

NNP, or the net national product, is the GNP corrected for depreciation.

Inflation and recession
By definition, an economic recession occurs when the real GDP falls for two consecutive quarters. However, economists can differ in their descriptions of what constitutes a recession. That’s why it’s important to pay attention to the rulings of the Federal Reserve Board, also known as The Fed.

Inflation is a rise in prices over a period of time. Inflation happens naturally over time, but during certain periods, the rate of inflation is higher. You can measure the rate of inflation going back to 1913 with the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator.

Unemployment rate and labor participation
The labor force participation rate, measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), is made up of the employed and the unemployed. A third category of workers are those who are not participating in the labor force (unemployed and not seeking work). See the BLS Employment & Unemployment webpage for current U.S. data and HoosierData.IN.gov for current Indiana data.

Hopefully, these resources will aid researchers as they seek out important economic information.

This blog post was written by Katie Springer, reference librarian. For more information, contact the Reference and Government Services Division at 317-232-3678 or submit an Ask-A-Librarian request.

Sources:
“A Guide to Everyday Economic Statistics,” by Gary E. Clayton and Martin Gerhard Giesbrecht.

Adult literacy resources

Posted on by

I recently had a request for adult literacy kits that could be checked out for use by public libraries. Although that is a great idea, it is not something that the Indiana State Library currently offers. So, I started searching the internet and found online resources that could be helpful for libraries wanting to start an adult literacy program or wanting to offer additional free online adult literacy resources.

According to a study completed by the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies in 2019, 43 million people in the United States have low literacy skills. The good news is Indiana has one of the highest percentages for literacy rates at 92% giving it a rank of 12th-highest in the United States. But this doesn’t mean we should stop striving to raise literacy rates in our communities. Research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health that found a mother’s reading skill is the greatest determinant of a child’s future academic success and focusing on literacy education for mothers can pay off with dividends lasting into the future. Adult literacy lessons can also be geared to help English language learners.

The resources listed below come from the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy website.

ReadWorks
ReadWorks is a free supplemental resource that provides K-12 and adult educators with a library of curated non-fiction and fiction passages, as well as interactive vocabulary supports, text-dependent question sets and teacher guidance. They offer free webinars to help you get started implementing ReadWorks into your classroom.

Click here to view ReadWorks’ content.

Marshall Leveled Reading Program
This program offers an app that contains over 1,000 customizable, mobile-friendly reading resources based on the Reading Skills for Today’s Adults leveled reading library.

LINCS Learner Center – Adult Education and Literacy – U.S. Department of Education LINCS is an acronym that stands for Literacy Information and Communication System. It’s geared toward adult learners and offers a variety of learning options. Users can also learn math, science, English, job skills, how to become a U.S. citizen and ways to stay healthy.

TED-Ed
TED-Ed works with expert educators and TED speakers from around the world to offer high-quality, interactive, video-based lessons every day at no cost.

Click here to view the TED-Ed collections.

TeachRock
TeachRock is a standards-aligned curriculum designed to support arts integration using the history of popular music and culture to interest students through a variety of free lessons. Their lesson plans are arranged by grade, subjects, genre, activities and topics.

Click here for TeachRock lessons.

Unite for Literacy
Unite for Literacy offers a free digital library, with hundreds of books that are written in English or Spanish text and narrated in over 50 languages.

Hopefully, these resources will help libraries in their quest to expand adult literacy offerings.

This blog post was submitted by Kara Cleveland, Professional Development Office supervisor at the Indiana State Library.

Indiana Games Roundtable to hold first in-person meeting

Posted on by

While the summer of 2020 may hold a lot of traumas for many library employees across the state, it also was a perfect storm of events for me personally. I had just begun my term on the American Library Associations Games and Gaming Roundtable as treasurer and chair of the International Games Week (now Month) Committee. We had seen the Indiana Library Federation, Midwest Collaborative for Library Services and Indiana State Library hosting countless virtual discussion groups to support one another through the early days of the pandemic. Lastly, the State Library switched the systems for hosting Listservs. Now, that last one might not seem too earth shattering, but as someone who was new to my role at the State Library, it sparked a question about these Listservs… can we have new ones? And thus, the Indiana Games Roundtable was born.

After almost two-and-a-half years we are ready to meet in person! This meeting will be for anyone around the state, whether your library already has games or not, to come together and talk and learn from each other. Here is our current plan, but we are interested in building this learning opportunity with you.

The Indiana Games and Gaming Round Table is planning our first in-person event! Come join us for “The Benefits of Library Gaming” on April 17, at the Pendleton Community Public Library. We will have a keynote presentation in the morning and two break out discussion opportunities, so the event will be eligible for three LEUs for Indiana Library Staff. Registration will be capped at 40, so be sure to sign up before April 5 by 5 p.m. The Pendleton Community Public Library will be providing lunch from Fazoli’s.

Tentative schedule:

Registration/opening:     9:30-10 a.m.
Keynote:                        10-11 a.m.
Bio break:                      11-11:10 a.m.
Discuss topics:              11:10-11:30 a.m.
Lunch:                           11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
Breakout 1:                   12:45-1:30 p.m.
Bio break:                     1:30-1:40 p.m.
Breakout 2:                   1:40-2:25 p.m.
Play games:                  2:30-3:30 p.m.

Please note that all times are Eastern Time.

Feel free to post questions to the Listserv, and if you would like to reply with any games you would be willing to bring let us know that as well. If you are not yet a member of the Listserv, visit the Indiana State Library’s webpage to sign up.

This post was written by George Bergstrom, Southwest regional coordinator, Professional Development Office, Indiana State Library.

Meet Emma Woods, digital inclusion fellow

Posted on by

Digital equity in Indiana is important because it’s necessary for access to essential services, civil and cultural participation, education and employment. This is why I am very excited to now be serving the Indiana State Library as their digital inclusion fellow!

I am an Americorps member serving through the American Connection Corps program run by the Purdue Center for Regional Development and Lead for America. In my previous role, I served the Uplands region of Indiana in developing county and regional-level digital inclusion plans.

I graduated from the University of Southern Indiana in the fall of 2021 with a bachelor of arts in political science and a minor in public relations. While in college, I found my passion for community building through my involvement in student organizations. This experience through Americorps has allowed me to continue growing my community organizing skills and make a difference in Indiana.

While serving with the library, I will be curating a digital inclusion plan for the state organization and presenting a three-part webinar series on what digital inclusion is, what resources are available and community implementation of digital inclusion strategies. I will also be promoting the various digital equity and inclusion programs within the libraries. I have included theses resources below as well!

Affordable Connectivity Program
The Affordable Connectivity Program is a Federal Communications Commission benefit program that helps ensure that households can afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare and more.

The benefit provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price.

More information can be found here. Click here to apply.

FCC Map Challenge
Recently, the FCC released a map showing broadband availability across the U.S. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration will use this map to guide the distribution of funding for building broadband infrastructure through programs such as the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program. To make sure that the funding reaches the areas that need broadband most, residents and businesses are being asked to look at the map and verify that the information is correct.

Click here to view the map and to validate information. More information about the challenge process can be found here.

Indiana’s Digital Equity Plan Survey
As more activities take place online, it’s important that everyone has equal access so that all can take part in our society and economy. A survey about your electronic devices, internet access and use, and the difficulties you face will provide information for Indiana’s first-ever digital equity plan. The 10-minute survey can be found here. This is your opportunity to help Indiana become a state where digital equity is a reality!

This blog post was written by Emma Woods, digital inclusion fellow, Indiana State Library.

2022 Indiana State Library end-of-year reflection

Posted on by

As we close the book on 2022, we reflect on the many projects and services that came to fruition and were provided by the Indiana State Library, as well as the staff that continue to work so diligently to make things happen this year.

On the heels of 2021 – a year filled with many things related to, surrounding and/or as a result of COVID – we went about our regular business in 2022 with the Genealogy and Local History Fair, Discovery to Delivery, the Difference is You conference, DNA workshops, Evergreen updates and migrations/onboarding (and everything that goes along with those), web archiving of born digital state publications, digitizing and uploading collections to the Indiana State Library Digital Collections, Letters About Literature and more. In addition to regular business, the Indiana State Library had a number of projects in 2022 that went beyond the norm. Below are the highlights of some of those projects and programs.

On March 1, the Indiana Digital Library launched, creating a statewide consortium of e-books and magazines through the OverDrive platform. IDL is comprised of 203 public libraries from across the state, which have total checkouts amounting to almost 4 million since IDL rolled out. This new consortium allows access to more materials, cuts wait time, and ensures a more efficient use of funds. More information about IDL can be found here.

The Indiana Library Passport – a digital passport program for libraries across the state created to highlight features that make their library an excellent place to visit – launched in early July. This mobile passport is open to everyone, and features 140 public libraries and branches in Indiana. Patrons can visit the passport landing page to sign up. When participants check in through the Passport while they’re at the location, they will be entered into a quarterly drawing for a prize package!

On July 1, a new librarian certification portal was unveiled. The new certification portal was designed in-house specifically for librarian certification, allowing the process to be more streamlined and customizable for future use. Over time, the types of transactions that can be completed through the portal will increase. Changes include a new credit card service with lower fees, correspondence almost entirely done through email, a public lookup for librarians and in-house troubleshooting.

In August, the Indiana State Library presented “The Mystery of the Darlington Bible,” a program in which the focus was a 14th century medieval Bible held in the collections at the library. Professor David Gura of the Medieval Institute, and curator of ancient and medieval manuscripts at the Hesburgh Library at the University of Notre Dame, investigated and presented on the origins of the book, including the production techniques, magnificent illuminations and movement from Medieval Spain to Indiana.  Though the circumstances of its travels remain something of an enigma, we hope to bring more of its history to light as Dr. Gura continues his research on the Darlington Bible, the existence of which was previously unknown to the medieval scholars’ community.

Following the release of the 2020 census data, Indiana State Library staff, along with the assistance of the Indiana Business Research Center, worked to reevaluate Indiana’s public library districts and classes by compiling 2020 census data and examining that data in conjunction with public library survey data. This is an arduous and lengthy process, but population changes must be reflected since, in turn, they can affect a library’s class size, causing the need to reexamine service models to accommodate any changes. The Library District Interactive Map on StatsIndiana is updated with the most recent boundaries after 2020 census redistricting.In October, it was announced that the U.S. Government Publishing Office named the Indiana State Library as the 2022 Federal Depository Library of the Year for its preservation and promotion efforts of the Federal Documents Collection. “This is the first Library of the Year I am awarding since beginning my role as GPO superintendent of documents, and I can’t imagine a more deserving library,” said GPO superintendent of documents Scott Matheson. “Indiana State Library’s long-standing dedication to promoting and preserving government information is something to be admired. Through its much-loved Government Information Day and other crucial efforts, [the] Indiana State Library has played an important role in helping GPO realize its vision of an America Informed.”

Brent Abercrombie, Indiana State Library federal documents coordinator.

In late November, we learned that we were awarded a $30,000 grant from the Nicholas H. Noyes, Jr. Foundation, which will be used for the purpose of funding a six-month termed conservator position to stabilize and treat a collection of mid-19th century rare wall maps housed in the Indiana Division of the Indiana State Library. Currently, these maps are restricted due to their condition. Treating these maps will allow them to be digitized and made available to researchers.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but highlights from a year well done! With other exciting projects that received a jumping off point in 2022, we’re excited to see what 2023 brings! Thank you for a great year!

This blog post was written by Stephanie Asberry, deputy director of public and statewide services at the Indiana State Library.

Government information games

Posted on by

Learning government information can be viewed as a daunting task. Most people know government information exists, or can name a government document, but struggle to properly explain or grasp the sheer scope of it. Government information typically gets associated with politics, political science or history. Often viewed as a subject rather than a type of information, government information covers all subjects and is considered a credible and reliable resource. Educators can trust the information presented to be accurate. Government information is also presented in fun engaging ways specifically designed for adults and children. One of the engaging techniques used for children are games.

Many federal agencies create education resources specifically for children and educators. Tracking down all these learning activities can be laborious. Luckily, there are some tricks and resources available to make the process easier. The Indiana State Library’s Indiana Federal Documents blog recently published a Games & Activities page within the Children’s Resources subject guide. Most of the games are targeted for elementary and middle school students and are either standalone games or activities with a accompanying lesson plans. It is important to note that some games require a specific internet browser (e.g., Google Chrome) in order to play. Below are just a few examples of federal agencies creating games designed to engage and educate children.

Recognized by the American Library Association as A Great Website for Kids, Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government features learning adventures and games create improve student’s understanding of the federal government. The games test students’ knowledge of geography and understanding of the three branches of government. It also has activities designed for various age groups. The website is an excellent resource to begin teaching children about the federal government and civics.

NASA Kid’s Club is a great website that is presented in a fun and engaging layout with games and activities for elementary age kids to learn about NASA and space. The clubhouse has five games that range from easiest,  level 1, to hardest, level 5. All the games support national education standards in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, also known as STEM. The Kid’s Club also includes Info for Parents, Teachers and Caregivers that provide an overview of the games along with related resources to explore.

Ready.gov Kids was created to teach children about natural and manmade disasters. Through games and activities, the website helps them learn about how to prepare themselves and their family in case a disaster occurs. The games page tests kids on a wide range of emergencies and explains how to build an emergency kit through Disaster Master and Build a Kit online games. Ready Kids also features a Resource Library filled with helpful activities, resources and tools.

These three examples represent just a sample of games available on federal web sites. The Games & Activities page also includes links to games from the U.S. Mint, CIA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. census and more. All the games are designed to educate children on a particular subject or topic. The page does not represent every game or activity available online. It is not uncommon for webpages or games disappear or get moved to a new site, so keeping a guide current can sometimes be challenging. There are tips one can use to search for a particular game or agency.

Targeted searching can help potentially uncover new resources or activities. USA.gov is an excellent starting point to search for government information. The site allows researchers to search through all available government websites to find information. Keyword searches for “game” or “kids” yield several results from federal – and some state – agencies. One can also use Google to search for a particular government department or agency and include kids in their keyword search to see if a children or education section exists. If those searching tips do not yield a positive outcome, contacting a federal documents librarian can help confirm what is available. Happy playing!

This blog post was written by Indiana State Library federal documents coordinator Brent Abercrombie. For more information, contact the Reference and Government Services at 317-232-3678 or via “Ask-A-Librarian.”