All it took was $40 of stage makeup, a video camera, and some creativity, and several UTC librarians made an engaging library tour video. The video was such a hit, it earned them the 2011 Association of College & Research Libraries President’s Program Innovation Contest.
The video, called The Nightmare on Vine Street, is a library orientation video game requiring students to complete a series of tasks in order to escape from the library all while being hounded by “zombie” librarians. The game was highly successful, played by over 500 students in the first year.
“The Lupton Library is pleased and honored to have won the 2011 Association of College & Research Libraries President’s Program Innovation Contest. Our Nightmare on Vine Street video transformed a traditional library tour into an engaging online encounter that UTC students have found both informative and fun,” Theresa Liedtka, Dean of the Lupton Library, said.
The idea for the game came from a librarian who asked for help on a Game Design project for a class assignment. Working as both one large group and a series of smaller teams, the staff and faculty involved in the project met over the course of several months to craft a video game experience that would teach the basics about our library as well as entertain and challenge students new to campus.
“The project relied on extensive teamwork, a variety of talents, and took full advantage of the current zombie craze. It is a pleasure and privilege to work with such an imaginative and team-oriented group of librarians,” Liedtka said.
Employees from the Lupton Library who helped on the project included Andrea A. Schurr, Stephen Leather, Jason Griffey, Lane Wilkinson, Bo Baker, Caitlin Shanley, Beverly Kutz, and Virginia Cairns.
