Don’t Just Roll the Dice: Simple Solutions for Circulating Tabletop Game Collections Effectively in Your Library

Abstract

Tabletop game collections in libraries raise questions regarding standards in collection maintenance. This paper details the University of North Texas Media Library’s study to determine best practices and standards for preserving and processing tabletop games for circulation. The authors list and describe the different methods of processing and preserving the games Ticket to Ride and Betrayal at House on the Hill and the project plan to test different copies of each game in circulation. After a period of circulation for each copy, the authors assess each method through an evaluation of damage and loss in relation to time and money spent on preservation and processing. The paper also describes a study of damage intended to simulate the effects of possible hazardous materials and scenarios during a typical play session, along with an assessment of damage to the test pieces. The authors outline the preservation and processing methods they currently use based on their findings from this research.