Library and Information Science Commons^™

Beyond Foursquare: Library Treks With Scvngr, Amy E. Vecchione, Margaret Mellinger

Library Faculty Publications and Presentations

SCVNGR is a game-based geolocation application where users can earn points or gain rewards by completing challenges and treks. Builders design questions that involve text based answers (open ended or multiple choice), QR codes, or photo challenges. Librarians at Boise State University and Oregon State University have built treks and challenges using SCVNGR for library orientations and instruction. They have found SCVNGR a better environment than Foursquare for these purposes. With SCVNGR, students can participate in the challenges and treks using not only their smart phones and mobile devices, but also via text-messaging and laptops. Librarians can easily create multiple …