Gamification for Digital Humanities in Libraries: A Survey of the Web-based Games on Digital Literacy

Games or gamification is an application of the digital humanities that impacts learning and education in the digital era. It has been playing significant roles in user education and promoting the user services of libraries. Libraries conduct several activities to promote library services and educate users on their digital resources and services. They have been following the best practices of promoting the library services and developing the digital literacy skills of users through conducting library orientation programs, resource sharing, vendor talks, demonstrations, training & tutorial sessions, content alerts, workshops, focus group discussions, etc. to make users aware and motivate them to the effective use of library services and resources. In the current digital era, acquiring knowledge through modern & intellectual skills using an online platform, has been introduced. Thus, modern libraries have started facilitating gamification platforms in the library premises to create more enthusiasm for learning quickly with deeper understanding, increasing engagement and motivation in using library services and digital resources. This research paper surveyed and evaluated the free web-based games available for developing digital literacy, including digital literacy instructions and promoting library services that benefit the libraries to identify the role of digital humanities in libraries by implementing gamification. The research study also evaluated the games, based on their features, simulations, play, etc., and ranked them based on selected criteria. The study found thatGaming Against Plagiarism (GAP), reference sources, and citation awareness is more popular.