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

Slide 1: 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

Slide 2: Flying Librarians of Oz These slides are at: http://slideshare.net Search: sirexkat After 15 Feb 2006 Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 3: Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 4: Outline • What is Second Life ? • Library services in Second Life • Advantages to Librarians • Live demonstration • Questions and discussion Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 5: Not covered Found elsewhere • Technical setup • The digital divide and SL Time will tell • Benefits to our users • Long term usefulness Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 6: What is Second Life ? A 3D online digital world imagined, created and owned by its residents • Islands * Objects • Buildings * Avatars Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 7: Accessing Second Life 3. Free 4. http://secondlife.com 5. System specifications 6. Family name. First name 7. Download client Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com Kathryn Greehill. http:librariansmatter.com

Slide 9: 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 Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 10: 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 Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 12: Who is in Second Life ? • >3 million registered • 15K online at once • Individuals • Organisations • Companies • Universities • Australians Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 14: 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 Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 15: Library Services in Second Life Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 16: 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 Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 17: 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 Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 18: 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 Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 19: Info Island 1 Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 20: Info Island 2 Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 21: EduIsland Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 22: Caledon Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 23: Healthinfo Island Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 24: magical place with displays, ..a environments, and experiments relating to children’s literature Imagination Island - Rachelville Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 25: NEW • Cybrary City 2 – USD300 - 500 for library land • ALA/Arts Island Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 26: Cybrary City Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 27: •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 Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com •Shopfronts for individuals too.

Slide 28: Australian Libraries Building • How it happened. • What’s there. • What we’ve been doing. Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 29: Advantages for librarians Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 30: The Interface • Prototype of VR • Free • We have access now • Lots of people there Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 31: • Personal advantages • Rapid increase of IT skills * Networking • Fun and playfulness * Collaboration • Creative expression * Information sharing Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 32: Let’s play….. Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 33: 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. Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 34: Contact me. Kathryn Greenhill • Second life name: Emerald Dumont • http://librariansmatter.com • sirexkat@gmail.com • Skype: sirexkat Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 35: EXTRA SLIDES Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 36: 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

Slide 37: 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

Slide 38: What do other SL librarians think? “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

Slide 39: What do other SL librarians think? “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 “…enjoyed a new environment for helping people with their information needs” Takver Twin, Bradley University Library Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 40: What do other SL librarians think? “[if used for online reference] – privacy, less fear of sounding stupid, can multitask without offending the librarian” Brian Garfield, Case Western Reserve University “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 Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 41: What do other SL librarians think? “..opportunity to “…working with meet so many people who have other librarians and library great ideas and want students from to implement them … around the world working on the future and in every type of libraries…” of librarianship” Lorelei Junot, Alliance Library System Abbey Zenith, Alliance Library System Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

Slide 42: Backup tour of Australian Libraries Building - in case of technical problems Kathryn Greenhill http://librariansmatter.com

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