Speak
Share your experience or expertise with the UNT community by speaking at one of the Media Library's many gaming events.
Demonstrate
Bring your projects to the UNT Media Library for students to playtest and receive valuable feedback.
Donate
Donate copies, old or new, of your games or equipment. Your donations help us build a vibrant community around games and gaming at the UNT Library. Gift of funds in support of the UNT Libraries are also appreciated.
If you are interested in speaking, demoing, or donating to the UNT Media Library, please contact us at media.library@unt.edu.
Phone: (940)565-2480
Email: medialibrary@unt.edu
The UNT Media Library began collecting video games and consoles in the fall of 2009 in support of video games, mass media and popular culture research, and various other programs at the University of North Texas. Tabletop games were added to this collection in 2010. Circulation of board games, video games, and consoles to the UNT community began in 2010. In 2016, the library began developing scenarios for escape rooms and breakouts. Resources for implementing breakouts became available for classroom use and events in the fall of 2017.
The material purchased for this collection fulfills the research, education, and recreation needs of UNT faculty, staff, and students. Criteria for purchase include games that support curriculum and collection goals, are top-rated or of high popular interest, are historically relevant to game history, or push design and technology boundaries. Collection goals are set each year with the current year’s budget and programs in mind but also include future goals in case additional funds become available.
Games are being used in coursework but they also have recreational value. In many universities, library outreach seeks to not only introduce students to library services but also help with retention, especially among first-year students, by building a sense of community.
Academic libraries provide a campus space for students from diverse programs to meet and work together. Furthermore, libraries with gaming collections and programming are particularly well suited for community building. Most gaming includes social elements either through multiplayer games or discussion about single-player games. The majority of college students already participate in one or more forms of gaming. Librarians, with a little help from residence life coordinators, campus student groups, and social media, can create a physical social space for gaming in the library.
Patrons can check out video games for all major consoles. Gaming equipment (consoles, remotes, and accessories) for select formats of these games is also available for checkout.
Video games
Game consoles
Game accessories
Game Accessibility devices
Virtual Reality (VR) devices (in-library use only)
The Media Library has a collection of more than 700 tabletop games that can be played in the library or checked out. This collection includes a wide range of classic board games, party games, hobby games, card games, and role-playing games.
You can view the collection by searching the subject tabletop games.
The Media Library provides access to a collection of legacy games and consoles for research and instruction. The consoles are 2nd through 7th generation with access to an Atari 2600, Dreamcast, Sega Master System, Sega Saturn, Nintendo 64, Nintendo Gamecube, Wii, Wii U, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.
View the collection by searching Legacy Collection in the catalog.
The Media Library develops escape rooms and breakout scenarios for use during events and as classroom learning resources. We not only provide the scenario for breakouts but also lend out any necessary equipment (puzzles, locks, documents). If you are interested in an existing scenario from Breakout EDU, modifying a scenario, or developing a new scenario, please contact the Media Library.
