Author: Alvina Lai

Alvina Lai (they/them) is a Librarian. Their interests include DEI in LIS and LIS representation in pop culture. Alvina’s writing is on Play the Past, Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s “Plants & Gardens Blog,” and New York Times’ “Metropolitan Diary.” They authored the chapter “Reflections of a Non-Binary Asian American in LIS” in Trans and Gender Diverse Voices in LIS (2022). They participated in the panels “NYCC@NYPL: #OwnVoices Why Diversity Matters” (2019) and “NYCC: The Future Is Mobile: Leveraging Digital Media for Libraries & Classrooms” (2021).

Alvina served in Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA 2019-22 Mentoring Committee), Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA 2020-22 Northeast Chapter Officer), and Visual Resources Association (VRA 2021-22 Equitable Action Committee). In 2021, they received the SLA-NY Rising Star Award and VRA New Horizons Award. Alvina holds a MS in Library and Information Science from Pratt Institute, a BA in Creative Writing from The New School, and a BFA in Photography from Parsons New School of Design.

You receive a handwritten note regarding the whereabouts of the Wandering Bue. It is signed by Simone, the librarian in the game Strange Horticulture. Throughout the story, she does what librarians stereotypically do: provide information. She spends so much time working, in fact, that it leads to health decline. ItContinue Reading

There is a character in Spiritfarer called the Collector, a well-dressed, finicky walrus who goes by the name of Susan. When the player first meets Susan, she describes her distaste for the collection of “junk.” Nonetheless, Susan is the in-game collections achievement tracker, and will reward the player for findingContinue Reading

The Title Screen from the game Stardew Valley

This is a guest post by Alvina Lai. Alvina holds an MS in Library and Information Science from Pratt Institute, and a BFA in Photography and BA in Creative Writing from The New School. Their writing appears in The Mary Sue, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and the NYT’s “Metropolitan Diary”; allContinue Reading

LUNA Library Book

This article compares LUNA’s in-game library to real-world libraries and examines the influences of real-world library design in the game. I also discuss the puzzle and how it turns the player and characters into various library roles and librarian models, such as patron, reference desk librarian, and roaming librarian. Finally, Lai discuss the trope of the magical library, and how this trope allows audiences to appreciate the library as a place of mystery, as well as place of knowledge.Continue Reading

This is a guest post by Alvina Lai. Alvina holds an MS in Library and Information Science from Pratt Institute, and a BFA in Photography and BA in Creative Writing from The New School. Their writing appears in The Mary Sue, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and the NYT’s “Metropolitan Diary”; allContinue Reading