Flying Librarians of Oz: What's all the fuss about Second Life and what's it got to do with libraries?

Flying Librarians of Oz What’s all the fuss about Second Life and what’s it got to do with libraries? Kathryn Greenhill February 2007 http://librariansmatter.com Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Flying Librarians of Oz These slides are at: http://slideshare.net Search: sirexkat After 15 Feb 2006 Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Outline

What is Second Life ?

Library services in Second Life

Advantages to Librarians

Live demonstration

Questions and discussion

Not covered

Found elsewhere

Technical setup

The digital divide and SL

Time will tell

Benefits to our users

Long term usefulness

What is Second Life ?

A 3D online digital world imagined, created and owned by its residents

Islands * Objects

Buildings * Avatars

Accessing Second Life

Free

http://secondlife.com

System specifications

Family name. First name

Download client

Kathryn Greehill. http:librariansmatter.com Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Isn’t it just a game ?

YES

Look and feel of gaming interface.

- Avatars, inventories, manipulate environment

Gamers are used to relating to information on their PCs in this way

Playful behaviour

NO

No rules, objectives, win/lose, points, strategy.

Like our library sites – win/lose isn’t the objective

Sleaze, porn, gambling and “how to make a fast buck” are there too

It’s all about people

APPEARANCES

Second Life – a lot of empty buildings?

Myspace - a bunch of noisy, badly designed web pages?

UNSEEN

The interactions they facilitate gives them life

Who is in Second Life ?

>3 million registered

15K online at once

Individuals

Organisations

Companies

Universities

Australians

What do you do in Second Life ?

Avatars

Talk – chat, IM and SecondTalk (skype based)

Modify your avatar

Walk, fly or teleport around

Objects

Build

Upload creations

Buy, sell and trade objects

Animate objects with scripts

Environment

Listen to podcasts

View movies

Join groups and network

Library Services in Second Life Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

What do libraries do ?

Reference

Desk is staffed

Uses Questionpoint chat reference software

Email a librarian service

Outreach programs

Writers’ talks

Visits from historical figures

Book discussions

Collections

External links

Web tools accessed within SL

Items especially made for SL (eg. Aetheric books)

Database trials

Classes and seminars

About using SL tools

For librarians

Who Pays ?

Sponsership

Talis

Cybrary City

SIRSI/Dynix

Info Island and Teen Info Island

Private sponsors

other islands

Administration

Alliance Library System

Eye4You Alliance

administers library on Teen Grid

Library services

Librarians – some paid, some unpaid.

time. Each Cybrary City library volunteers 2 hrs per week

Library Services in Second Life

Info Island 1

Info Island 2

Edu Island

Caledon Library

Healthinfo Island

Imagination Island – Rachelville

ALA Arts Island

Cybrary City 1

Cybrary City 2

Info Island 1 Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Info Island 2 Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

EduIsland Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Caledon Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Healthinfo Island Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Imagination Island - Rachelville .. a magical place with displays, environments, and experiments relating to children’s literature Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

NEW

Cybrary City 2

USD300 - 500 for library land

ALA/Arts Island

Cybrary City Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Administrative Offices

ALA Washington office

Australian Libraries Building

Claremont Colleges Digital Library

Eye4You Teen Library Services

Johnson & Wales University Library

Librarian Conference Center

Librarium & Philosopher's club

McMaster University Library

Normal Public Library

Nova Southeastern University Law Library

Patent Searches

Selfdescription.org

Society Hill, South Carolina Public Library

St. Louis County Library

State Library of Kansas

Talis Building

Teen Educators in SL

University of Washington

University of Montevallo

University of Illinois

University of South Florida Library

TX-950 club

UIC Library of Health Sciences

UCLA

Shopfronts for individuals too.

Australian Libraries Building

How it happened.

What’s there.

What we’ve been doing.

Advantages for librarians Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

The Interface

Prototype of VR

Free

We have access now

Lots of people there

Personal advantages

Rapid increase of IT skills * Networking

Fun and playfulness * Collaboration

Creative expression * Information sharing

Let’s play….. Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Join in…..

Subscribe to a blog:

http://infoisland.org

http://virtual.librariesinteract.info

Join the Second Life Librarians’ google group

http://groups.google.com/group/alliancesecondlife

Enter Second Life

Visit the Australian Library or Info Island.

Use the avatar list on VLINT to search for Australian Library avatars and IM them or add them as a friend. My avatar is Emerald Dumont.

Contact me.

Kathryn Greenhill

Second life name: Emerald Dumont

http://librariansmatter.com

[email_address]

Skype: sirexkat

EXTRA SLIDES Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

What do other SL Librarians think ?

“ I’m a solo librarian…I don’t have a lot of contact with other librarians…In SL I suddenly have contact with scores of librarians”

Rosamarita Kilara. Menlo Park, California.

“ ..collaborate in ways not otherwise possible. What we make of it is entirely up to us. The sky is the limit!” Willow Kindley. St Louis County Library. Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

What do other SL librarians think?

“ I think trying to learn building and scripting helps me build problem solving skills and probably has given me new appreciation for the work programmers do”

Wellendorf Chihuly, University of Montevello, Alabama

“ A place where I can begin to envision some of the “environments” that I think we all long for to display our digital collections” Jillianna Suisei, Hurst Associates, New Jersey Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

“ Smiling at the Yellow Brick Road…[connecting Kansas State Library and the Australian (Oz) library] ….connections like this… have made my real life world much smaller”

Rocky Vallejo, State Library of Kansas

“ ..faster/stronger bonds….I can invite SL residents to view my house and thus allow them more insight into my life than months of emails would allow.” Pam Ribble, John Moores University, Liverpool Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

“… enjoyed a new environment for helping people with their information needs”

Takver Twin, Bradley University Library

“ SL has provided a link to more resources, more concepts, more colleagues in the profession to share and network with than I could have imagined possible” Johan Althouse, Society Hill Library, South Carolina Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

“ Some forecasters see the [SL] environment as the up and coming thing for simulations, collaborating etc…SL is a chance to try out that kind of environment for free!”

Ilene Pratt, University of Southern Florida

“ [if used for online reference] – privacy, less fear of sounding stupid, can multitask without offending the librarian” Brian Garfield, Case Western Reserve University Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

“ ..opportunity to meet so many other librarians and library students from around the world and in every type of librarianship”

Abbey Zenith, Alliance Library System

“… working with people who have great ideas and want to implement them … working on the future of libraries…” Lorelei Junot, Alliance Library System Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Backup tour of Australian Libraries Building - in case of technical problems Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com