Using gamification to activate university library use

This paper proposes a territory building game to activate library use. Each bookshelf becomes the territory of the player who spends the longest time in front of it, and players compete to win more territories. The time spent in front of each bookshelf was calculated by matching an image taken every 0.5 s by a camera attached to the chest with an image of each bookshelf taken beforehand. According to the questionnaire, players who were more enthusiastic about the game visited the library more frequently and stayed longer, and explored bookshelves they would not normally visit. We present an example of the experimental use of the proposed game in a university library. Fifteen university students were recruited as players of the game, and an eight-week experiment was conducted. The results of the experiment showed that players were divided into four types according to the degree of immersion in the game, with more active players tending to visit the library more often and stay longer, and an interest in new areas of books was also observed.