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Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe how Utah Valley University Library staff created two games to orient students to the library and library services. Design/methodology/approach – Library staff developed and marketed the Get a Clue game, which used clues placed throughout the building at the beginning of the Fall semester to orient new students as they solved a mystery. During the Spring semester, the library staff introduced library services through LibraryCraft, an online game where students used library resources to slay a dragon. Findings – In post‐game surveys, students found the games entertaining and informative. The results show students saw the orientations as a good use of their time and their comfort levels with library services increased. Practical implications – As a means of engaging and informing students, games offer a new means of orienting students to the library and library services. The self‐paced game approach allows students to learn valuable information with minimal impact on staff. Originality/value – This paper offers practical information about using games as an academic library orientation. Assessment data support the effectiveness of games as an effective, asynchronous method of introducing students to a library facility and services. This information can be used by other libraries to create their own self‐paced orientation games.
Smith et al. (2011) studied this question.