Cook Library Receives Game On! Grant to Build an International Gaming Collection

News item published on: 2025-08-07 09:50:15

The Games & Gaming Round Table (GameRT) of the American Library Association has awarded Cook Library a $1,000 Game On! Grant to build an international gaming collection that will support multicultural programming across campus.

Cook Library will collaborate with the University’s Pakistani Student Organization, Latinx Student Association, The Nations, and International Student and Scholar Services on interdepartmental programs to support international students and promote awareness of international games across campus. International students make up 7% of Southern Miss’s enrollment on the Hattiesburg campus, and the library has a wide student interest in multicultural games and will now have a budget to build a more substantial collection.

In the fall of 2024, over 80 students attended an International Game Night at Cook Library. Courtney Kruzan, the event coordinator, partnered with International Student and Scholar Services, the Pakistani Student Organization, and The Nations to offer multicultural games and food.

Game On! Grants were introduced in 2020 with the intention of providing libraries with the opportunity to receive funds to develop gaming programs or collections for their community. GameRT provides a venue for librarians interested in the use of games and gaming in libraries of all types a place to gather and share.

The grant proposal was written by Coutrney Kruzan, research services supervisor, with support from Tisha Zelner, head of Public Services. Zelner accepted the grant award on behalf of Cook Library at the American Library Association’s annual conference in July.