But Minecraft itself is still thriving, and indeed, I think it will stand the test of time to be a classic form of entertainment in much the same way that Legos are a timeless toy. The only limits to what can be built are the user's own creativity and gameplay mechanics, and even the latter is often expanded by mods. So it's no wonder that libraries across the country offer Minecraft-based activities to some degree. My own workplace has a monthly themed meetup (we also had open play twice a week, which is currently on hiatus during construction). Librarians mainly treat Minecraft as a digital form of the aforementioned Legos, which is a large part of the experience, to be sure. Yet the virtual environment aspect has many possibilities for educating and/or engaging children that I have not seen widely implemented.
There are Minecraft users who have, over the course of thousands of hours, painstakingly created virtual versions of both fictional locations - Hogwarts, Minas Tirith, Redwall Abbey - and real-life locations - the Taj Mahal, the Colosseum, and the Eiffel Tower.
Many of these completed recreations have been shared on fansites, where they can be downloaded by other users and then explored. If there's a popular book series that a youth library wants to make an event for, there's probably a corresponding Minecraft creation available for use! Librarians could also create mazes and scavenger hunts in-game, especially useful in areas where the library is not physically big enough to allow for them in real life.
Minecraft isn't just a game, it's a tool - and one that librarians shouldn't be afraid to try out for themselves. If you can dream it, you can build it. And if you build it...
They will come.
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