{"id":116,"date":"2026-08-04T16:07:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T23:07:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/anitayjc\/?p=116"},"modified":"2026-08-04T16:07:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T23:07:48","slug":"on-creativity-and-collaborative-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/anitayjc\/2026\/08\/04\/on-creativity-and-collaborative-play\/","title":{"rendered":"Infinite Learning Reflection: On Creativity and Collaborative Play"},"content":{"rendered":"

In \u201c<\/span>Embracing the Long Game<\/span><\/a>\u201d Greenwalt describes the Oak Park Public Library\u2019s Idea Box, a participatory space where the community\u2019s contributions build upon each other. The library\u2019s customer service manager Monica Harris had cited inspiration from the way communities emerge and develop online, referring to the way that people \u201cmight want to talk about the same things you want to talk about.\u201d However, especially in the anecdote about adding checkmarks to people\u2019s favorite books, I think the Idea Box managed to go beyond that, as the participants not only responded to the given prompt but also gave it a new life. The resulting creative process defied expectations, making it more akin to a public play area than simple \u201cconversation.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image by Jonny Gios<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Play is something that everyone should engage with, regardless of their age. As the architect of the British skate park F51 puts it, \u201cPlay doesn\u2019t just stop when you get older. If anything, you should make sure you can incorporate play even more\u201d (<\/span>Dowdy, 2022<\/span><\/a>). Examples of play in this module include<\/span> the DOKK1 Urban Mediaspace<\/span><\/a> and<\/span> the LEGO Art Machines at the Exploratorium<\/span><\/a>. In the latter example, workshop facilitator Amos Blanton stresses the importance that such activities be \u201copen-ended.\u201d I especially enjoy when play occurs socially and in unprecedented ways, especially among audiences who are typically thought to have \u201caged out\u201d of play, so the fact that the Idea Box participants were able to take the activity\u2019s guidelines and make something new out of it was rather inspiring to me. (Side note: The playful riff on existing structures reminded me of <\/span>Grand Theft Hamlet<\/span><\/i>, a documentary about two actors who managed to put on a production of <\/span>Hamlet<\/span><\/i> in Grand Theft Auto Online with other players during 2020, as well as <\/span>Goncharov<\/span><\/i>, a 1973 Scorsese mafia film that has a large fanbase on Tumblr and\u2026 doesn\u2019t actually exist, as it was collectively fabricated in 2022 based on a photograph.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Based on the list of recent topics and the photos on<\/span> its webpage<\/span><\/a>, it seems like the Idea Box has focused less on public participation and more on displays and exhibits instead, eventually going on hiatus earlier this year, to \u201cclarify vision and establish formal policies and clear procedures.\u201d This is understandable, as play was likely <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> the original point of the Idea Box. Though themed displays exhibiting local artists and highlighting important holidays are still valuable in community spaces like the OPPL, I do find it unfortunate that the participation and open-endedness has become rather limited in the Idea Box. Then again, I also understand that it is more difficult to measure and monitor play than it is to measure and monitor something with more structure. Still, I hope that the OPPL (and other libraries) are able to provide community members with other\/more opportunities to engage with each other in open-ended play.<\/span><\/p>\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dowdy, C. (2022, February 7). What the Nordics can teach us about having fun. BBC<\/em>. https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/culture\/article\/20220207-what-the-nordics-can-teach-us-about-having-fun<\/a><\/p>\n

ELIG.org. (2016, February 4). Creative learning, making and coding at DOKK1 in Aarhus, Denmark<\/em> [Video]. YouTube. https:\/\/youtu.be\/G-lCxenhWSk<\/a><\/p>\n

Greenwalt, R. T. (2013, February 21). Embracing the long game. Public Libraries Online<\/em>. https:\/\/publiclibrariesonline.org\/2013\/02\/embracing<\/a><\/p>\n

LEGO Foundation. (2016, July 5). What do we mean by learning through play?<\/em> [Video]. Vimeo. https:\/\/vimeo.com\/173458519<\/a><\/p>\n

Oak Park Public Library. (n.d.). Idea Box<\/em>. Retrieved August 04, 2026 from https:\/\/www.oppl.org\/news-events\/idea-box<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In \u201cEmbracing the Long Game\u201d Greenwalt describes the Oak Park Public Library\u2019s Idea Box, a participatory space where the community\u2019s contributions build upon each other. The library\u2019s customer service manager Monica Harris had cited inspiration from the way communities emerge and develop online, referring to the way that people \u201cmight want to talk about the … Continue reading Infinite Learning Reflection: On Creativity and Collaborative Play<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":822,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reflections"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/anitayjc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/anitayjc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/anitayjc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/anitayjc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/822"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/anitayjc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/anitayjc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":121,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/anitayjc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116\/revisions\/121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/anitayjc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/anitayjc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/anitayjc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}