Scope
We will explore gameful and innovative approaches from Citizen Science projects that could be promoted by academic libraries, addressing both theoretical and practical perspectives.
The aim is twofold: to promote Citizen Science and to increase user engagement with academic libraries. Librarians, researchers, and all interested participants are warmly invited to join the workshop. Short presentations, a hands-on activity, and a concluding discussion will encourage collective learning and shared reflection.
Organisers
Citizen Science Working Group of the Professional Development Institute (Institut de Desenvolupament Professional-UB) and especially Núria Bonada (FEHM-Lab, Faculty of Biology), Isabelle Bonhoure (OpenSystems research group, Faculty of Pyhysics and Faculty of Information and Audiovisual Media), Montserrat Llasat-Botija (GAMA research group, Physics Faculty) and Ignasi Labastida, (Head of the Research Unit at CRAI)
This workshop builds on the first workshop, “Citizen Science and Libraries: What’s Next?”, which took place in March 2025 within the framework of the Open Urban Sustainability Hubs (OPUSH) European project.
Schedule
10h-10h10: Welcome by organisers
10h10-10h45: Designing Gameful Participation in GLAM Citizen Science: From Motivation Theory to Implementation. Tomislav Ivanjko (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb).
- The seminar explores how gameful approaches (ranging from “games with a purpose” to lightweight gamification layers added to existing platforms) can increase motivation, retention, and learning in GLAM citizen science.
- The seminar links design choices to established motivation theory, particularly self-determination theory, distinguishing autonomy-, competence-, and relatedness-supportive features from purely extrinsic incentive schemes.
- It addresses specific mechanics (clear goals, onboarding and scaffolding, progressive task difficulty, feedback loops, badges and milestones, narratives, and social features such as teams or peer recognition) and explains how these mechanics shape participation dynamics, such as sustained contribution, collaboration, and constructive competition.
10h45-11h: Questions and Answers.
11h-13h: Gameful and Innovative approaches in Citizen Science projects
11h-11h30: Short cases presentations
11h-11h10: Reading Rivers (Llegim el Riu): an institutionalization of a citizen science project in public libraries and local environmental offices. Núria Bonada (FEHM-Lab, Faculty of Biology)
11h10-11h20: Heat Chronicles project (Cròniques de la Calor): libraries as headquarters and community hubs for urban heat research. Isabelle Bonhoure (OpenSystems research group, Faculty of Physics and Faculty of Information and Audiovisual Media)
11h20-11h30: I-CHANGE. Tools for the collective action against climate change and the case of the serious game “Our climate story”. Montserrat Llasat-Botija (GAMA research group, Physics Faculty)
11h30-13h00: Hands-on activities. The participants will be divided into three groups and will have the opportunity to perform a real testing of all three projects of 30 mins each. At the end of each testing, they will collaboratively reflect on the possibility to implement such type of projects in academic libraries (e.g. CRAI at the UB).
13h-13h30: Discussion and closing. The findings of the three testing groups will be shared, and a collective discussion will be fostered to brainstorm of future implementation or co-creation of citizen science projects in academic libraries (e.g. CRAI at the UB).