Purpose

LibraryCraft was created to bring communities together across Western Australia (WA) in a safe, structured and moderated way so that players could stretch their creativity and imagination. LibraryCraft uses the features of Minecraft that stretch users’ innovation and creative thinking, develops their STEAM skills and builds social and life skills such as collaboration, negotiation, economic management and civic engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

In late 2019, the Fremantle Library launched a small, local Minecraft server for the local community of young people. After several months of testing and upgrades, LibraryCraft was made available to all players aged 7–17 across WA, and WA local governments were invited to participate.

Findings

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a cancellation of Fremantle Library in-person programmes; LibraryCraft, as a purely online programme, was scaled up, and in a few weeks, had more than tripled its player base. At the time of writing, LibraryCraft brings together 20 WA local councils, reaches over 100 players from Derby-West Kimberley to Albany and sees hundreds of play hours logged each week. Players have created new friendships across the state and are regularly working collaboratively on challenges and exploration.

Originality/value

While Minecraft servers operated by libraries are far from new, LibraryCraft is unique. No groups of libraries have run Minecraft servers collaboratively in Australia before, and none is available state wide. The programme is highly valued with families in WA, providing a safe social outlet for players stuck at home in isolation.

中文翻译：

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LibraryCraft – COVID-19大流行如何导致WA图书馆公共Minecraft服务器的增长

目的

创建LibraryCraft的目的是以安全，结构化和适度的方式将西澳大利亚州（WA）的社区聚集在一起，以便玩家可以发挥自己的创造力和想象力。LibraryCraft利用Minecraft的功能扩展用户的创新和创意思维，发展其STEAM技能，并建立社交和生活技能，例如协作，谈判，经济管理和公民参与。

设计/方法/方法

在2019年末，弗里曼特尔图书馆为当地的年轻人社区推出了一个小型的本地Minecraft服务器。经过几个月的测试和升级，整个西澳大利亚州所有7-17岁的玩家都可以使用LibraryCraft，并邀请西澳大利亚州地方政府参加。

发现

COVID-19大流行导致取消了Fremantle图书馆的现场节目；作为一个纯粹的在线程序，LibraryCraft规模扩大了，并且在几周内其播放器群增加了两倍多。在撰写本文时，LibraryCraft汇集了20个西澳州地方议会，从德比·西·金伯利（Derby-West Kimberley）到奥尔巴尼（Albany），共有100多名球员参加，并且每周观看数百个小时的比赛。玩家在全州建立了新的友谊，并定期合作应对挑战和探索。

创意/价值

虽然由图书馆运营的Minecraft服务器并不是什么新鲜事物，但LibraryCraft却是独一无二的。之前，没有任何图书馆库曾在澳大利亚以协作方式运行Minecraft服务器，而且在全州范围内都没有可用的图书馆。该计划在西澳大利亚州的家庭中受到高度重视，为孤立地呆在家里的玩家提供了安全的社交渠道。