Connecting Librarian

Tom Peters, Lori Bell, Matt Gullett, Kelly Czarnecki. Celebrating its first year of existence.

• Second Life is a virtual world, not a game
• Alliance Library System and PLCMC were the first libraries established in it
• 2 main projects, adult Second Life and Teen Second Life (13-17 yrs)
• Over 5.5 million registered avatars
• Complete online community – cultural programs, business, recreation, buildings, property and services
• 5,000 visitors per day to the AL Archipelago
• 2-3,000 teen visitors a day to the Eye4You Alliance Island
• used for meetings, workshops and education (ie. ALA)

Avatars

• digital representation that represents you in-world
• they can walk, talk, fly, swim, teleport, anything you want them to do
• each participant creates an avatar in any physical description you want

Commerce

• SL has its own currency – lindens ($US=$350L)
• purchase clothing, hair, housing etc
• growing business

InfoIsland: Main Library and Welcome Center has 40 hours a week or reference service, using Question Point. They have a science-fiction and fantasy portal, with books, podcasts, authors etc. Pantheon Performance Center – live concerts. Open air auditoriums, medical library, Imagination Island (donated by grieving parents) – Rachelville (for their daughter) and Vendorville (just starting), Renaissance Island – with Henry VIII who is the apartment manager – period space.

Eye4You Isle – adults involved who want to work with the teens have to have extensive background checks before being allowed to do so. Teens in E4Y come from all over the world, don’t always use their local library, but they are there in SL. Working with a developer and the teens to develop the island.

Ideal for E4Y was to create a space where the teens could explore what they want from a library. Its a space for interactive programming and building relationships, mentoring. Only 2 out of 90 Teen Second Life island are available to all teens – E4Y is one, the other islands are closed school spaces etc.

Services provided:

• Reference
• Programs
• Exhibits – World War II posters, Alzheimers, author Vachel Lindsay, Sept 11 remembrance
• Collections – web resources, Second Life formatted e-books and audio books
• Book and gentre discussions
• Training

Most visits to Info Islands are for exhibits and events. Librarians from around the world volunteer their time to provide library service on Second Life. People like having the avatar to avatar interaction.

Why are Librarians in SL?

• Its a new professional frontier – need to be trying it out
• Where many library users and non-users are – be where your users area
• To attract new users to the traditional library through referral – back to physical libraries
• To investigate library service in virtual worlds – trying out new options
• To provide library services 24/7
• To meet and work with librarians worldwide – collaboration
• To learn and use the 3D Web, the emerging web interaction interface

How it all started

• April 2006 first rental building
• May 2006 – first island odnated
• October 2006 – Grand opening of Info Island I
• December 2006 – grant for Health Info Island – one of the busiest spots
• December 2006 – Cybrary City for librarians donated by Talis
• January 2007 – Sirsi-Dynix sponsors InfoIsland I and Eye4You Alliance
• February 2007 – Rachelville, Vendorville, new ALS building, opera building, ALA building and coming soon the Renaissance building.

Weather is always great, but you can force the sun to stay out. Can fly, walk, teleport and get around really easily.

Challenges

• funding and sustainability – got lots of donors giving time and talent, how to cover things like the monthly maintenance fee
• volunteer burnout – people get enthused, spend too much time then something has to give
• parternships are the key – not being paralleled in the real world – ie. with museums etc
• steep learning curve
• what library services do virtual world users want?
• What, you’re working in SL? Right…..
• Robust hardware & Internet connection are essential
• No integrated audio and web yet – trying to get real life resources integrated into it
• Highly addictive and time intensive

What have we learned

• virtual world residents do want a library – they come in droves
• collaboration is the key and partnerships are essential
• exhibits – very popular, events attract crowds
• SL is fun – fun factor as catalyst for amazing growth
• Speed with which this is unfolding is unbelievable – lost an island this morning, had to spend time finding it and putting it back in its proper place
• People still ask for books in a virtual world
• ALS & PLCMC have received huge national and international attention – recognized as key innovators

What’s next

• Permanent virtual ALS staff working out of the ALS world headquarters, same for PLCMC
• More traditional info resources available – eg. audiobooks
• Pioneer meeting technologies to facilitate virtual meetings eg. adding audio to meeting protocols
• Integrate Info Island and Eye4You into ALS & PLCMC dilay operations so all staff are SL functional
• Actively promote the Alliance Information Archipelago
• Improve transportation around the islands – eg. people mover, better teleporting
• Create an Info Island for kids

Why is it good for libraries

• Be seen as leaders in the library community
• Provides national profile and recognition as innovative library systems
• Easier to recruit excellent board members and staff
• Easier to land big grants to provide better service for our members
• As requested by members, testing new technologies and services ie. virtual library services

Info Island – http://www.infoisland.org/
YouthTech Eye4You Alliance blog – http://eye4youalliance.youthtech.info/

I have been so busy with changes at work and with my study tour coming up in 2 weeks, that I haven’t had time to blog. As per usual, everything that I want to write about comes up at the same time, so I’ll start with a “you should read this” post.

Helene Blowers at Library Bytes, points to a post by Joyce Valenza giving a short list of 2.0 rules to live by. Very useful hints.

Jenny Levine at Shifted Librarian points out the importance of virtual worlds, such as Second Life and gives compelling reasons why librarians should be at least exploring them.

Karen Schneider from Free Range Librarian posts an open letter to the Library of Congress on ALA TechSource, in response to a public meeting they called. She makes some very interesting points about “bibliographic control” and libraries.

Michael Stephens at Tame the Web blogs his 10 Tech Trends for Librarians in 2007. If you want to know what to be looking into, this article must be your first stop.

Finally, there is a lot of buzz going around the blogosphere about Twitter, a communications gateway. I’ll let you read more about it through the various pro and con posts doing the rounds. These include: Lifehacker, blyberg.net, David Lee King and BlogCritics. What’s my verdict? Don’t know yet, but I figure it could be useful for my study tour and even if not, its worth playing with, just to know what’s out there and being used, so I’m joining up right now!

Just when I thought my first life was diverse enough, I am now getting a Second Life. Second Life is a virtual world, but its way beyond a game. Many businesses including Reuters, Disney, Sun, Toyota and others have conducted business there, even ALA has office space there.

I got interested because of the creation of Info Island, which is run by the Alliance Library System. They have a virtual library, where anyone can walk in and look at e-books, try out databases, ask questions and much more. With the recent establishment of an Australian Libraries building, things are getting even more intriguing.

For those of you with an avatar in Second Life, watch for me next time you’re there – I’m Alexandria Bourne. Here I am in front of the Australian Libraries Building.

If you are in Second Life, let me know your SL name and I will watch for you too. In the meantime, I have to practice flying and teleporting. Good thing my avatar has a hard head and can breathe underwater!

If you want to know more about Second Life, check out the Wikipedia entry, or visit the Virtual Libraries Interact blog for the view from Australian Librarians.

This from CW at Ruminations and Kathryn, my co-conspirators at librariesinteract.info. Should be a fascinating time for all. Hope you can make it!

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The Australian libraries blog, librariesinteract.info, is hosting an end-of year party in Second Life on 13th December, 6pm to 8pm Western Australian time.

Second Life is a virtual world, with a population of over 1 million, in which large companies, schools and Universities (IBM, Dell, Harvard) have set up shop. Reuters newsagency has its own correspondent there. According to a September 2006 Popular Science article, Second Life, through currency trading, shopping and land sales, has a GDP of $64 Million. Recently, Australian Libraries were given a free building for a year on Cybrary City, courtesy of Talis and the Alliance Library System in return for 2 hours per week work on library services for SL residents.

The party will include a tour of Info Island and Info Island II by Lori Bell from Alliance Library Systems. We will follow the yellow brick road from the Oz library to the Kansas State Library Virtual Branch next door. Then, back to our building to hang out… dance on the dance floor, snare some cyber snacks, and go easy on the virtual alcoholic beverages.

You can join in virtually from your own PC, or come and look over our shoulders in real life. If you join in virtually, it would be a good idea to check out Second Life before the event. :
1. Go to the Second Life site
2. Check the systems requirements .
3. Go to the join up page and choose one of the family names offered..and make up your first name.
4. You will be asked for your credit card details, but do not have to give them.
5. Download the Second Life client to your PC.
6. Choose how you’d like your avatar (representation in SL) to look.
7. Enter…explore.
8. Teleport to just outside our building at: 207, 68, 23. (Often passersby can help you out to do this) Alternatively, we can teleport you to our building, if you send us a message.

For further details, please contact Con Wiebrands (flexnib@gmail.com) or Kathryn Greenhill (sirexkat@gmail.com). If you are already exploring Second Life and would like to meet up, our SL names are Paradoxa Kurrajong (Con) and Emerald Dumont (Kathryn) – feel free to IM us!

Hope to see you on Info Island!
Kathryn and Con
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