UIUC Gaming Collections

Video games can be found in the library catalog using the call number search option under advanced search. The call number for all video games begins with "GAME."

Video games are located in three main locations:

At Grainger Engineering Library, video games are held on a shelf on the back way behind the circulation desk. They are not available for browsing, so please use the provided catalog search to browse their holdings.

To access the games at Oak Street Library, request the game for pickup through the library catalog at the library of your choice.

In the Main Library, games can be found in the Main Stacks, near the entrance on the 2nd floor of the Main Library building. After entering the Stacks, you can find the games on the right side by the sign for the Media Collection. Video games are shelved in alphabetical order by title.

At the University Library, the call number for all video games begins with the word "GAME" followed by a series of letters and numbers and ending with the year the game was published. The section of characters before the year identifies the platform the game can be played on - either a gaming console or PC. 

For example, the call number for Tales of Symphonia: Chronicles is GAME GV1469.35.T344 P533 2013. The series of characters before '2013' is 'P533', which represents the console the game can be played on (in this case, the PlayStation 3). You can use this guide for the call numbers associated with each gaming platform. to search for video games by console in the library catalog.

• P534: PlayStation 4

• P533: PlayStation 3

• P532: PlayStation 2

• P53: PlayStation One

• P52: PlayStation Portable

• P99: PlayStation Vita

• W55: Wii 

• W558: Wii U

• N56: DS

• N563: 3DS

• N568: Gamecube

• N65: Switch

• X3: Xbox

• X36: Xbox 360

• X361: Xbox One

• P48: PC

Is there a console, a video game, or a board game that we don't currently have in the collection? You can suggest a purchase to the library or contact Mara Thacker, Global Pop Culture Librarian, at mthacker@illinois.edu

Video games can be checked out by students, faculty, and staff for two weeks at a time. You can check out as many games as you like as long as you don't go over your item limit for the University Library. For more information on circulation policies, visit the link below.