OLYMPIA — Secretary of State Steve Hobbs joined community members and staff to play Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) in Camas Monday to celebrate the debut of Camas Public Library’s D&D programming.
The D&D library kit being used was one of more than 50 donated to Washington’s public library systems by Wizards of the Coast, a Renton-based subsidiary of Hasbro. Recipients of funding from the Tabletop Role-Playing Games for All grants and Innovation grants offered by the Washington State Library and the Institute of Museum and Library Services received D&D kits for free, enhancing tabletop role-playing game programming at their libraries.
“I am happy to be part of Camas Public Library’s first D&D game,” Secretary Hobbs said. “Communities benefit greatly from the chance to engage in world-building, character creation, and the therapeutic effects of tabletop gaming.”
Camas Public Library will begin hosting D&D programming in September.
“Libraries are cornerstones of learning and community,” Camas Public Library Director Connie Urquhart said. “Tabletop games are a fantastic fit because they involve strategic thinking, problem-solving, and collaborative storytelling in a welcoming and inclusive environment.”
Washington’s Office of the Secretary of State oversees areas within state government including managing state elections, registering corporations and charities, and governing the use of the state flag and state seal. The office operates the State Archives and the State Library, documents extraordinary stories in Washington’s history through Legacy Washington, and administers the Combined Fund Drive for charitable giving by state employees and the Productivity Board state employee suggestion program. The Office of the Secretary of State also oversees the state’s Address Confidentiality Program to help protect survivors of crime.