LibParlor’s Research Community Bingo: My Experience at UNLV

The Librarian Parlor team knows how important it is to foster connection and community with fellow researchers, so we developed Research Community Bingo as an open resource that can be adapted for various contexts. We hope that fellow academic librarians and leaders will use this resource to strengthen research communities at their own institutions. 

We designed our materials to be adaptable across various research personas, from seasoned researchers with multiple grants under their belt to those who perhaps are just beginning to wonder what kinds of research might be for them. 

Research Community Bingo consists of editable templates including customizable bingo cards and promotional materials that can be adapted to your specific institutional context. Before releasing it into the wild, I tested Research Community bingo at my institution, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Research Community Bingo at UNLV

While I was working with the LibParlor team on the LibParlor Online Learning (LPOL) curriculum that we launched in 2024, I was also serving on the UNLV Libraries’ Scholarship Committee, a group responsible for hosting professional development and community events around library and information sciences (LISLibrary and Information Science An interdisciplinary field that examines how physical and digital information is organized, accessed, collected, managed, disseminated and used, particularly in library settings.) scholarship. From our initial LPOL research, I knew that researchers wanted to connect with colleagues but often lacked opportunities to do so. I also knew from my time at UNLV that there was an incredible breadth and depth of expertise amongst my fellow UNLV LIS researchers, and thought it would be meaningful to create a way for us to connect with each other. We co-hosted the event with the UNLV Libraries Mentoring Committee in April 2025. 

After a brief introductionIntroduction The start of a research article providing background information and an overview of the research presented in the article. explaining the rules, participants received their bingo cards and began mingling. The energy in the room quickly shifted from initial hesitation to enthusiastic conversations. As facilitators, we circulated to ensure everyone was engaged and occasionally introduced participants who might benefit from connecting. After folks connected, we had an hour of round tables on various topics so they could dig deeper into their chosen topics.

The feedback we received from participants was overwhelmingly positive and encouraging! Here are some highlights:

“I’ve been at UNLV for three years and made more meaningful connections in this 90-minute event than in all the departmental mixers I’ve attended.”

“The bingo format gave me ‘permission’ to approach people I wouldn’t normally talk to. I found two potential collaborators for my upcoming project!”

“As an introvert, I usually dread networking events, but the structure made it much less intimidating. Having specific prompts helped me start conversations without anxiety.”

Some participants suggested improvements for future events, which mainly consisted of wanting more time together:

“I’d love to see a follow-up event that builds on the connections made during bingo. Perhaps themed discussionDiscussion The section of a research article where the researchers analyze and interpret the findings. This section provides the “so what” for the research conducted. groups or project incubator sessions?”

“Consider extending the time. Just as I was getting into deep conversations, the event ended!”

Research Community Bingo at UNLV proved to be a powerful tool for community building, breaking down silos, and fostering a collaborative research culture. The playful format created space for authentic connections while the structured prompts ensured meaningful, research-focused conversations that unearthed strengths in the community.

We can see this working well in a lot of different contexts, like 

• New faculty orientation: Using Research Community Bingo to help incoming faculty connect with potential collaborators and mentors
• Graduate student research symposiums: Facilitating connections between students across disciplines
• Research centers: Building community among affiliated researchers who may not regularly interact
• Multi-institutional events: Creating connections across neighboring colleges and universities

But we also encourage institutions to think creatively about how this model could serve their specific needs and learn more about working with LibParlor to build community at your workplace.

If you implement Research Community Bingo at your institution, we’d love to hear about your experience. Please consider sharing your story through a guest post on LibParlor or by tagging with us on BlueSky. Your feedback and adaptations will help us continue to improve this resource for the LIS research community and can’t wait to see how you use it!

Acknowledgements

This Research Community Bingo event wouldn’t have been possible without the collaborative efforts of the UNLV Libraries’ Scholarship Committee and the UNLV Libraries’ Mentoring Committee. I want to express my sincere gratitude to my co-planners and co-facilitators: Patrick Griffis, Anjanette Jones, Katherine Manifold, Rosan Mitola, Darnelle Melvin, Susie Skarl, and Aidy Weeks. I also want to thank all the researchers who attended the event. Your enthusiasm, openness to connection, and willingness to engage made the bingo activity truly successful!