Davis writes on using mystery games to prompt collections research

Robin Davis has published a peer-reviewed article in the journal College & Undergraduate Libraries. In "Introducing first-year and transfer students to a college library with a historical mystery from the special collections," she writes about a highly successful project she worked on in her previous job at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Librarians at John Jay created “Escape the Library!”, a murder mystery game based on a real 1921 crime. Students would compete in teams to find clues and solve the mystery, drawing on primary sources housed in the special collections. 

The activity introduced first-year and transfer undergraduate students to the library building, fostered a welcoming and fun atmosphere, and acquainted students with basic research skills. Davis’ article describes the coordination, design, and narrative of the program. Davis also cites our library’s escape room work by David Tully and Justin Haynes in the article.

Davis also recently published an article on digital privacy resources in Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian.