I have worked on cataloging video games and their related
peripherals, such as special controllers. I attended the Online Audio Visual Catalogers (OLAC)
conference at the end of October to learn more about cataloging special formats. I attended a
workshop on best practices for video game cataloging and a session on cataloging 3D objects, which is relevant since video game peripherals are 3D objects. After this conference, I wrote a
session summary for the OLAC Newsletter on 3D object cataloging.
There are a lot of concerns and issues related to housing and loaning video games and
their related components, so in order to get a better understanding of how public organizations
grapple with these issues, I was a part of a small task force who visited the Strong Museum of
Play (which houses a large, publicly accessible video game collection) in May 2017 to talk about
these issues. This required several meetings with appropriate MSU Library stakeholders to
discuss their concerns and questions before making a site visit to the Strong Museum in
Rochester, N.Y. I served as the representative for cataloging and metadata-related issues.
Possible solutions and additional areas of exploration were brought back and shared with the
appropriate stakeholders for consideration.
Throughout the year, I have worked on cataloging video games and their related
peripherals, such as special controllers. In addition to games donated by Rovi, I have also
worked on creating procedures and work flows for video games purchased by subject
specialists for classes, as well as Rovi video games that do not have Rovi call numbers. From
January to July 2018, myself, Autumn Faulkner, Tim Kiser, and Nicole Smeltekop participated in
a pilot project to consider whether adding Library of Congress Demographic Group Terms
(LCDGT) in the 385 (intended audience) and 386 (creator information). During that time we
added appropriate 385 and 386 terms to the records we were creating (for me I focused on
adding 385 terms for intended audiences for the video games that I was working with) and
ultimately wrote a report on our findings. Due to limitations with the current thesaurus for these
terms, as well as limitations with our OPAC and the ability to display and allow patrons to use
these terms in a meaningful manner, this pilot determined that adding these terms to our
records would not be useful at this time but recommend revisiting this in two to three years.
2019-2020 work on cataloging video
games and their related peripherals, such as special controllers. This year my main focus was
working on cataloging games on a handful of platforms: Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 4,
and PlayStation Portable. By focusing on specific platforms, I am able to catalog more quickly.
In addition to games donated by Rovi, I have also worked on creating procedures and work flows for video games purchased by subject specialists for classes, as well as Rovi video games
that do not have Rovi call numbers
I received
training on cataloging in Folio in April 2022 and worked on modifying video game cataloging procedures
and workflows for Folio. Working with the Video Game Coordinator, we created procedures for cataloging
non-Rovi video games purchased with collections funds. With the purchase of new games, I have
encountered a problem with the controlled vocabulary for video game platforms | use. The vocabulary
was created through an IMLS-funded project (GAMECIP), which ended its work in 2018. Since then,
there have been new video game platforms, but no controlled language has been added to the vocabulary
for these platforms. In January 2023, I contacted one of the GAMECIP project members, a cataloger at
UC Santa Cruz, Marcia Barrett, to discuss the vocabulary and find out if there were intentions to update
it. She encouraged me to reach out to the chairs of the Online Audio-Visual Cataloging Committee’s
(OLAC) Cataloging Policy Committee to ask that they consider updating this vocabulary in the future.
Unfortunately, the chairs were not able to commit to this project at this time and there is a need going
forward to have this vocabulary updated as new game platforms are released. After my initial
communication with Marcia, she emailed me asking if she could consult with me regarding a video game cataloging best practices document that she was working on for OLAC. She had the cataloging
knowledge and consulted with people who knew about video games, but she didn’t have the perspective
of a video game cataloger to unify the information she received to make comprehensive best practice
recommendations. I spoke with her for an hour on February 1, 2023, and provided my expertise as it
relates to video game cataloging.
Folio cataloging training, April 5, 2022.
I gave an overview of video game cataloging to an interested individual who was participating in the
Spartan Project SEARCH program. This program is for young adults with developmental disabilities and
it provides participants an opportunity to gain experience in a variety of settings that align to their interests,
abilities, and availability.
For my secondary assignment in Cataloging, I continued to work on cataloging video games that were
part of the ROVI donation, as well as new games purchased by the Video Game Coordinator on the
GAMMO fund. I took a NACO refresher course led by Autumn Faulkner, which consisted of
approximately 12 hours’ worth of sessions at the end of January through February 2025. Since then, I
have been working on creating authority records for corporate bodies for video game companies.