This document discusses the potential for using virtual reality in libraries and education. It describes how students have used Minecraft to build a virtual library and learn digital citizenship skills. The document also outlines some of the history of virtual reality technologies, from early viewing devices to their use in virtual worlds like Second Life. Researchers examined over 75 virtual libraries created in Second Life and believe new virtual environments will also be used to create virtual libraries and information spaces. The document promotes trying virtual reality and lists several references on topics like using games to teach design, exploring virtual reality for science learning, and how the Oculus Rift could be used in libraries.

1. Librarians Utilizing Virtual Reality
Dr. Valerie Hill
Information Literacy Consultant
Suzette Lewis
UW PhD Candidate
Access the recording at
http://www.library20.com/page/2015-recordings

2. VR is here! Can it be educational?
Photo from wikimedia commons

3. Minecraft Club
Students are ready to build in 3D.

4. 5th
Graders built a library game to teach digital
citizenship in Minecraft.
Prosumers: both consuming and producing media

5. Evolving Information Literacy
Searching strategies Content formats

6. History of Virtual Reality
Not so new! VR has been around since the 1950s.
"View-Master with Reel" by Museum of Hartlepool -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47908901@N03/6856504002/. Licensed under No
restrictions via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:View-
Master_with_Reel.jpg#/media/File:View-Master_with_Reel.jpg
"VR-Helm". Licensed under Public Domain via Commons -
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:VR-Helm.jpg#/media/File:VR-Helm.jpg

7. Sci-Fi becomes Real World

8. Virtual World Libraries
Second Life is only ONE of many virtual worlds.

9. Big 6 in 3D on UW Island

10. Librarians can try VR
I did!

11. Virtual Resources & Environments
Gannt and Woodland examined over 75 virtual
libraries, in the virtual world of Second Life
(SL). The researchers believe, “Building on the
experiments and successes we have
documented in SL, we are confident that
libraries and information space will be created
in new virtual environments” (Gannt and
Woodland, 2012, pp. 138).

31. References
Gantt, J.T., and Woodland, J.R. (2013). Libraries in Second Life: Linking Collections,
Clients, and Communities in a Virtual World. Journal of Web Librarianship, 7(2),
123-141.
Google Education. (2015) Expeditions Pioneer Program. Retrieved from
https://www.google.com/edu/expeditions/
Hill, V. (2015). Digital Citizenship Through Game Design in Minecraft. New Library
World, 116 (7/8), 369 -382.
Lewis, R. (2015). Virtual Reality: Soon to Become Mainstream in Libraries? (cover
story) Information Today. 32(4), 1-29.
Mastel, K. and Huston, D. (2009), “Using video games to teach game design: a gaming
collection for libraries”, Computers in Libraries, Vol. 29 No. 3, pp. 41-44.
Merchant, Z., Goetz, E.T., Keeney-Kennicutt, W., Cifuentes, L., Kwok, O., and Davis, T.J.
(2013). Exploring 3-D Virtual Reality Technology for Spatial Ability and Chemistry
Achievement. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning. 29(6). 579-590.
Moorefield-Lang, H. (2015). Libraries and the Rift. Knowledge Quest. 43(5). 76-77.
Photos from Wikimedia creativecommons & bigfoto