GAMERT (Gaming) Round Table

Hello all. I'm currently in the process of developing a small collection of TTRPGs for my library. I'm mostly just testing the waters with a core set of items for now, but I'm hoping that we'll get a strong enough response that I'll be able to expand it further in the future.

In order to introduce some variety for people who may be interested in games other than those that follow traditional D&D-esque group campaigns, I've tried to include some solo RPGs as well as indies with varying player numbers that have different play structures. One problem I've ran into a few times is that the physical copies for many potentially great games are pretty thin and flimsy, meaning they would likely get lost on standard shelves and would have an increased risk of being damaged from usage.

A potential solution I've thought of is purchasing digital copies of these games and either allowing patrons to request a printed copy of a game, or giving them access to a pdf that they can work from or print on their own. In order to do this I'd obviously have to make sure that this type of distribution is acceptable within the terms of copyright/user licensing for each game, so my next step was to start doing some research into how those are typically structured. If it seems like there are at least some games with which this would be possible, I'll then have to look at individual titles.

Before getting into the weeds of research, I was hoping to see if anyone here has any experience with using digital copies of games as part of their collection or has looked in depth at the legal parameters of distribution of these types of games. I'd imagine that different developers/publishers vary in what they allow, but even information on one or two specific developers would be helpful. I'm hoping to at least minimize the amount of time I would need to spend researching, so any and all advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Best,

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Devin Weaver
Technical Services Manager
Mercer County Public Library
He/Him/His,They/Them/Theirs
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Hey Devin!

The question of whether and how libraries could provide access to TTRPG PDFs is a familiar one to GameRT, but unfortunately not one we've managed to fully address (yet).

There are games and resources that may address some of what you're looking for, though. I especially recommend this web page listing open source resources, though with the caveat that the list is both non-exhaustive and doesn't appear to be updated regularly: some of the links are broken, and notable open resources such as the D&D System Reference Document and recently open-licensed games such as Magical Kitties Save the Day aren't present.

However, one recurring theme I've noticed in the open licensing is that only a game's text -- or even just a more limited system reference document -- will be licensed under a Creative Commons license or similar terms. This would prevent the direct sharing of PDFs for games like Magical Kitties or Cairn, as the artwork in those books isn't licensed. This barrier could be overcome if you have the capacity to copy such a game's text to a new text-only document though (license permitting).

I, for one, dream at times of a world where libraries can provide controlled digital lending for TTRPG PDFs, but we're not there yet.

I hope this helps!

Regards,

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Mackenzie Johnson
Cataloguing Librarian
University of Saskatchewan
He/Him/His
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Hi Mackenzie,

This is incredibly helpful, thank you! I'm also hoping to put together a list of free resources to display along with the collection, so the site you shared on open resources is doubly helpful. 

It seems like I'll mostly just have to consider the possibilities of alternative ways of sharing digital copies on a case by case basis, which realistically isn't something that I'd be able to feasibly do any time soon. It's nice to know that others, especially others with more experience in this area than I have, are also interested in finding an eventual solution.

Do you by any chance know if anyone has ever tried reaching out to any smaller indie developers about coming up with some sort of agreement to allow us to lend digital PDFs of their games? I'd imagine there would be at least a couple who would be willing to try to work out a solution that benefits everyone involved. 

Thanks again for your help!

------------------------------
Devin Weaver
Technical Services Manager
Mercer County Public Library
He/Him/His,They/Them/Theirs
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: Sep 04, 2026 10:56 AM
From: Mackenzie Johnson
Subject: Adding digital copies to TTRPG collections

Hey Devin!

The question of whether and how libraries could provide access to TTRPG PDFs is a familiar one to GameRT, but unfortunately not one we've managed to fully address (yet).

There are games and resources that may address some of what you're looking for, though. I especially recommend this web page listing open source resources, though with the caveat that the list is both non-exhaustive and doesn't appear to be updated regularly: some of the links are broken, and notable open resources such as the D&D System Reference Document and recently open-licensed games such as Magical Kitties Save the Day aren't present.

However, one recurring theme I've noticed in the open licensing is that only a game's text -- or even just a more limited system reference document -- will be licensed under a Creative Commons license or similar terms. This would prevent the direct sharing of PDFs for games like Magical Kitties or Cairn, as the artwork in those books isn't licensed. This barrier could be overcome if you have the capacity to copy such a game's text to a new text-only document though (license permitting).

I, for one, dream at times of a world where libraries can provide controlled digital lending for TTRPG PDFs, but we're not there yet.

I hope this helps!

Regards,

------------------------------
Mackenzie Johnson
Cataloguing Librarian
University of Saskatchewan
He/Him/His
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 9/8/2026 9:24:00 AM
From: Devin Weaver
Subject: RE: Adding digital copies to TTRPG collections

Hi Mackenzie,

This is incredibly helpful, thank you! I'm also hoping to put together a list of free resources to display along with the collection, so the site you shared on open resources is doubly helpful. 

It seems like I'll mostly just have to consider the possibilities of alternative ways of sharing digital copies on a case by case basis, which realistically isn't something that I'd be able to feasibly do any time soon. It's nice to know that others, especially others with more experience in this area than I have, are also interested in finding an eventual solution.

Do you by any chance know if anyone has ever tried reaching out to any smaller indie developers about coming up with some sort of agreement to allow us to lend digital PDFs of their games? I'd imagine there would be at least a couple who would be willing to try to work out a solution that benefits everyone involved. 

Thanks again for your help!

------------------------------
Devin Weaver
Technical Services Manager
Mercer County Public Library
He/Him/His,They/Them/Theirs
------------------------------

Devin,

At CMU we actually just started this process--currently we're reaching out to publishers on an individual basis, and asking if they'd be open to enabling PDF access behind our university library login.  I'm not sure how this would translate to a public library model, but typically we tell them the materials will be prefaced with a copyright statement in a pop-up window that users will have to agree to, and that they can choose whether the access will be view only or downloadable. I've fond that most publishers have just been really excited to see their work circulate in libraries (or have suggested alternate routes--i.e. pointing users to free downloads elsewhere on a libguide), so it's been a very positive reception so far!

In terms of circulating flimsier RPG materials, we're currently using comic book sleeves and backing for our zines, but since it's a new collection we haven't seen enough use to tell you how well these hold up over time. You could also consider reaching out to see if publishers might enable you to make a DIY'd circulating copy while keeping the hard copy behind the desk to photocopy if the first one gets destroyed, but I'm not sure how open people would be to that model since we decided not to pursue it on our end. 

I hope this helps! Feel free to reach out if you have any more questions on these models. 

--Ashley

Ashley Werlinich

Arts and Humanities Librarian

Carnegie Mellon University 

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Ashley Werlinich
Liaison To English and Drama
Carnegie Mellon University
------------------------------

Hi Ashley,

I may reach out to you some time in the future about more details on the lending model you're using! Even if I'm not able to think of a way to adapt your specific structure to a public setting, I'm sure there would be other elements I could learn from, and knowing which publishers are receptive would be helpful. 

If we get enough positive feedback and circulation on the initial collection, I'll hopefully get to invest some funds in expanding/improving upon it in the future. I've thought about eventually getting a spinning magazine rack or something similar to display the flimsier materials, as that would both help protect them from getting worn down by/lost among larger books and also give us a way to face them out so that people get a better feel for what they are. Comic book sleeves are a really good idea for adding some extra protection, I may try them out if we get to that point unless I happen to see you mention somewhere down the line that they ended up not working out for your zine collection.

Thank you for sharing your initial process so far, and please let me know if you end up having any big breakthroughs and have the time to reach out!

------------------------------
Devin Weaver
Technical Services Manager
Mercer County Public Library
He/Him/His,They/Them/Theirs
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: Sep 08, 2026 09:31 AM
From: Ashley Werlinich
Subject: Adding digital copies to TTRPG collections

Devin,

At CMU we actually just started this process--currently we're reaching out to publishers on an individual basis, and asking if they'd be open to enabling PDF access behind our university library login.  I'm not sure how this would translate to a public library model, but typically we tell them the materials will be prefaced with a copyright statement in a pop-up window that users will have to agree to, and that they can choose whether the access will be view only or downloadable. I've fond that most publishers have just been really excited to see their work circulate in libraries (or have suggested alternate routes--i.e. pointing users to free downloads elsewhere on a libguide), so it's been a very positive reception so far!

In terms of circulating flimsier RPG materials, we're currently using comic book sleeves and backing for our zines, but since it's a new collection we haven't seen enough use to tell you how well these hold up over time. You could also consider reaching out to see if publishers might enable you to make a DIY'd circulating copy while keeping the hard copy behind the desk to photocopy if the first one gets destroyed, but I'm not sure how open people would be to that model since we decided not to pursue it on our end. 

I hope this helps! Feel free to reach out if you have any more questions on these models. 

--Ashley

Ashley Werlinich

Arts and Humanities Librarian

Carnegie Mellon University 

------------------------------
Ashley Werlinich
Liaison To English and Drama
Carnegie Mellon University
------------------------------