About the Collection

Mission

The UIUC Gaming collection was created to support a wide variety of campus interdisciplinary programs, scholarly research, and student needs involving video games. The collection supports disciplines such as psychology, speech communications, computer science, information science, literature, and others which are investigating the technology, game world structure, narratives, and social interactions generated by the video game phenomenon.

The collection will also support the needs of students interested in gaming for classwork and other activities, including many registered student organizations dedicated speccfically to gaming.

Collection Goals

The collection goals include creating an archive of vintage and contemporary games; collecting secondary and supplementary research materials to facilitate investigation of gaming; and investigating ways to capture the output of campus gaming initiatives, such as games created by UIUC faculty and corresponding research.

Types of Materials Collected

The collection will eventually include examples of games from all platforms available, current, future, and historical. Examples include:

  • Console Games (XBox, XBox 360, Playstation 2 and 3, Nintendo WII, etc.)
  • Handheld Games (Nintendo DS, PSP, etc.)
  • PC Games
  • Vintage Console Games (Atari 2600, Sega Genesis, etc.)

Collection Use Policies

Current Games:

  • Located in open shelving on the lower level of the Undergraduate Library.
  • Circulate for up to 1 week, can be renewed up to 1 month total.
  • Late fee of $1/day.

Vintage Games:

  • Located behind front desk on upper level of Undergraduate Library.
  • Circulate to faculty for classroom and research use.