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There are five laws of library science, penned by S. R. Ranganathan in 1931:

Books are for use
Every person his or her book
Every book its reader
Save the time of the reader
Library is a growing organism

The fourth law is easily glossed over, but without it the other laws could not be obeyed. “Save the time of the reader” means, at its core, “make things easy to find.” Librarians have spent hundreds of years refining classification systems, standardizing subject headings, and embracing new […]

Continue Reading about Digitizing and Preserving Toy Trade Catalogs: The Sacred Duty of the Librarians of Play Published on:
June 19, 2020

Digital rights management (DRM) tools have been used on software for decades. Companies install these protections to defend software from piracy or the unauthorized copying of the data. However, although designed with the best of intentions, DRM can have a negative effect on legally purchased software as well.
In 2010, Disney released the game Tron Evolution as a tie-in to the company’s Tron: Legacy movie, and distributed it on console and Windows computer platforms. While the console versions have their own […]

Continue Reading about Off the Grid: Tron Evolution and DRM Authentication Published on:
June 16, 2020

Eight months, 169 boxes, 1,270 folders, 1,314 objects, and a partridge in a pear tree. Minus the bird, these statistics hint at just how large the archives of video game pioneer Don Daglow are and how long it took to prepare them for research use at The Strong’s Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play. This collection of video game concepts, development papers, original artwork, never-released game demos, and Stormfront Studios company records provides a behind-the-scenes look at […]

Continue Reading about Unboxing the Past: The Don Daglow Papers Published on:
June 11, 2020

Imagine being able to dress up for more days than just Halloween. You could opt for a Renaissance faire, but if your character of choice is a superhero, Jedi, or video game villain, cosplay is a better option. With cosplay comes conventions, school clubs, events, library programming, and just the idea of having fun with those who share a similar hobby as you!

Nowadays you can visit your local fabric or craft store and see items advertised specifically for cosplayers, such […]

Continue Reading about Costuming for Everyone: Cosplay Published on:
June 9, 2020

Since 2017, The Strong has directed significant energy toward our Women in Games initiative, which documents and celebrates the crucial contributions of women to the electronic games industry. Under the International Center for the History of Electronic Games (ICHEG), the initiative builds upon the holdings of museum artifacts and archival records which illustrate the impact of women in the field. (If you attended the Women in Games: Inspire! or Women in Games: Create! programs in 2018 or 2019, […]

Continue Reading about Building a Mystery—Spotlight on Jane Jensen Published on:
June 5, 2020

People play video games for a myriad of reasons. Relaxation, mental stimulation, engrossing plotlines, eye-catching graphics, and much more draw gamers to certain titles. But one goal in particular lures players back to games over and over again: high scores. In the modern world of gaming, it’s easy to share personal accolades. Consoles like the Xbox and PlayStation offer achievements and trophies for completing various tasks throughout their games. Mobile apps often feature badges, online ranking boards, […]

Continue Reading about Displaying Your High Score With Activision Patches Published on:
June 3, 2020

Mary Valentine
The Strong Museum Trustee
When I was a kid I loved to play “grocery.” Every Saturday morning, I would hear Mr. Maroni’s old produce truck groan as it came up the hill, turned the corner and slowly limped down my street. I would throw open the screen door on the porch, scamper past the glider, and fly down the steps out front to be there just as the big, uncovered wood-sided truck ground to a stop directly in […]

Continue Reading about A Precursor to Wegmans? Published on:
May 29, 2020

I recently revisited World Video Game Hall of Fame inductee The Oregon Trail, traveling west with extra oxen, plenty of bullets, and cash to spare. My colleague Laurie was laid up with typhoid, and Jo died of cholera near Independence Rock. I succumbed to the same malady before South Pass, alas! I think I started too late in summer because finding water became an issue, but I still had plenty of bullets. Despite criticism aimed at its biases, […]

Continue Reading about A 1927 Board Game Prefigures The Oregon Trail and Beth Dies of Dysentery Published on:
May 27, 2020

Jerome L. Singer, the distinguished psychologist who explored the depths of daydreaming, and alongside his wife the eminent developmental psychologist Dorothy G. Singer (1927–2016), became a pioneer in the study of imaginative play, died on December 14, 2019. Jerome and Dorothy were charter members of the editorial advisory board of The Strong’s American Journal of Play. With his hundreds of publications over a half century of scholarship, Jerome Singer helped us better understand the mysteries of human consciousness, […]

Continue Reading about Remembering Jerome L. Singer: Psychologist and Scholar of Daydreaming and Play Published on:
May 21, 2020