Libraries in Second Life
Encyclopedia
Second Life
(SL) is an immersive
3D environment that can be used for entertainment and educational purposes. Due to increasing interest in digital services, some libraries have established virtual services on Second Life.
By 2007, there were more than 40 libraries in Second Life and the number is increasing. Many of those libraries can be found in Cybrary City, part of the information archipelago on Second Life. This place was built for libraries to set up their virtual services and for displaying their resources. Libraries can provide their services while also learning new skills for 21st century librarianship.
is a virtual world provided by Linden Lab. The creation of the service was announced on 30 October 2002 in San Francisco.
Users of Second Life
are known as Residents.
Users can register and begin their new life with the beta program at Second Life®. Their Second Life is started by designing their avatar
. They can buy land, purchase properties, start businesses and take part in elaborate role playing activities.
industry, using online rules to do business successfully. These rules are mainly about harnessing network effects for getting more users.
Library 2.0
is the concept of how to use the web 2.0 opportunities in a library environment. It helps to build up a dialogue that creates a new generation of library websites, databases and OPACs. Technologies listed in web 2.0 above, such as RSS, wikis, blogging, tagging and social networking software could be used for building up an active, institutional environment driven by libraries.
Second Life libraries are examples of immersive learning environments
. Users can interact with the services in practical ways, such as walking around a virtual space. Libraries in Second Life
often put on digital exhibitions as part of their services, for example an exhibit displaying virtual represenations of Van Gogh
paintings, including Starry Night. The aim of virtual library services is to attract new users to traditional libraries as well as establishing links with librarians from all over the world. Most of these services are run by volunteers.
There have been numerous initiatives to create educational spaces within Second Life
. There are Victorian areas in which residents dress in period clothes, an Egyptian tomb and a Renaissance Island created by the Alliance Second Life Libraries. Central Missouri State University has also received funding to create a reproduction of 1920s Harlem.
Libraries can also put on virtual events such as conferences, seminars and lectures. In 2008 and 2009 Alliance Library System (ALS) organised a conference called Virtual Worlds: Libraries, Education and Museums Conference. It took place in the New Media Consortium Conference Center in Second Life
and was designed to “provide a gathering place for librarians, information professionals, educators, museologists, and others to learn about and discuss the educational, informational, and cultural opportunities of virtual worlds”
Virtual libraries which are independent, run by volunteers and not affiliated with a traditional library
are often the most successful ones in Second Life
. Second Life-only virtual libraries tend to be more successful than the Second Life branches of public libraries. Users suggest that the libraries in Second Life serve a niche population, which results in difficulties with marketing. Staff of public libraries have different perspectives on SL when they are experimenting with it, which results in general conflict.
In order to have a successful virtual library in Second Life
there are six different elements that should be considered. These are:
based local library co-operator, providing vital library services to citizens. It serves three sectors: libraries, legislators and communities. It is also one of the nine multitype library systems. Multitype library systems cooperate amongst different library sectors in a community, including academic, public, school, and special libraries.
In 2003, the Alliance Library System, the Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center, and the Illinois State Library Talking Book and Braille Service founded Online Programming for All Libraries (OPAL). OPAL is an international cooperative program supported by libraries and organisations that provide web-based service and courses/trainings for library customers and staff. The administrator of OPAL is TAP Information Services. Programs include library training, special events and virtual tours of digital library collections. OPAL events mainly happen online. Those online rooms can be accessed via various ways (e.g. voice-over-IP, text chatting and synchronised browsing) by participants. In 2006, Alliance Library System and OPAL Opened an Alliance of Libraries 2.0 on Second Life together.
In 2006 the Alliance Library System, along with other library organisations, began to investigate the possibility of establishing a library network on Second Life. By late 2006 they had purchased some land in Second Life and built a virtual library. They started holding discussion groups as well as classes for teens in the library, including courses on podcasting and film-making and an open-mic night.
In 2007 ALS created a virtual information archipelago called Info Island. The grand opening was on 12–14 October 2007. Info Island consists of numerous islands housing various libraries and institutions run by the volunteers of the Community Virtual Library as well as Academic libraries such as Stanford University Library and government organisations such as the Centres for Disease Control.
libOpenMetaverse offers a functional library for interacting with Second Life servers. libOpenMetaverse is a collection of .NET libraries written in c# for interacting with 3d virtual world simulators. The core library implements the protocol, networking and client functionality. Usage of this library is the same as other .NET components. Microsoft Framework and API documentation are the main design guidelines of the applications, along with other tools. Some assemblies used by the core library can be used standalone:
The research questions for the study were:
A secondary question was looking at how other real life and Second Life libraries are similar or different than the Olathe project.
The study found that "Second-Life-only libraries are far more popular than Second Life branches of public libraries". They also found that "there are no clear indications of what makes a Second Life library more or less popular than an other.
built up the first Irish library in Second Life.University College Dublin
set up its library in Second Life in March 2007 as a part of ALS's Cybrary City project. This virtual library has several features and services, including user surveys, e-mail services, e-books, presentations, comment box, virtual PC, notecard giver, trampoline, dance machine and visitor counter. A work group was established for services, technology, staffing and marketing.
As well as a traditional building, Caledon Library has an outdoor reading room, the Vannevar Bush Memorial Reading Garden. Users can find a book and sit under a tree to read it. It also holds book discussion groups and hosts art exhibitions.
Caledon Library has two main collection policies. These are 19th century literature and materials relating to the Independent State of Caledon. They collect primary source material (including 19th century novels and periodicals or materials from earlier ages considered important in the 19th century) and research materials relating to the 19th century. They are hoping to build a “listening collection” of audio books on these topics. Another project is a collection of materials created by residents of Caledon or items relating to Caledon. Their aspiration is to eventually establish the Caledon Archives.
In recent years Second Life libraries have held discussion groups and planned events. Participant librarians say that responses have been much higher than they thought they could be. For example, in the early days of ALS establishing a virtual library in Second Life, a surprising number of Residents visited the building, with some even asking reference questions.
According to successful examples, more and more libraries have realised that Second Life is a new and good means to interact with their customers, helping traditional libraries to accommodate new demands and challenges.
. This could potentially cause problems with stress and tiredness.
Librarians also indicated that adequate computing equipment and faster broadband access is important for increasing the productivity and performance of Second Life libraries, and these requirements limit the involvement of numerous librarians. Additional issues of computing supports include network security programs that help Second Life libraries to solve problems such as appropriate permissions, authentications, limitations of functionality based on security restrictions and service attacks.
Additionally, there are some technology challenges. For example, the use of Radio-frequency identification (RFID) - common in most libraries - has become one of the challenges for Second Life libraries. Second Life sometimes is not able to get all the information normally stored on RFID devices such as the means keeping track of library books, people or policies.
Some studies have found that some librarians did not pay enough attention to pre-planning their Second Life libraries, despite librarianship having a culture of planning and management. Most Second Life librarians have no time to manage Second Life Library during their working time because there is not any official timeline that designed by departments. As a result, Second Life libraries are misunderstood by many people who view Second Life libraries as just games without any educational value. Although the Second Life library is easier to navigate and provides many useful and good materials, it has a few users. The reason is that the Second Life branch has been well promoted in real life so library users do not know its existence.
Second Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
(SL) is an immersive
Immersion (virtual reality)
Immersion is the state of consciousness where an immersant's awareness of physical self is diminished or lost by being surrounded in an engrossing total environment; often artificial. This mental state is frequently accompanied with spatial excess, intense focus, a distorted sense of time, and...
3D environment that can be used for entertainment and educational purposes. Due to increasing interest in digital services, some libraries have established virtual services on Second Life.
By 2007, there were more than 40 libraries in Second Life and the number is increasing. Many of those libraries can be found in Cybrary City, part of the information archipelago on Second Life. This place was built for libraries to set up their virtual services and for displaying their resources. Libraries can provide their services while also learning new skills for 21st century librarianship.
Second Life
Second LifeSecond Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
is a virtual world provided by Linden Lab. The creation of the service was announced on 30 October 2002 in San Francisco.
Users of Second Life
Second Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
are known as Residents.
Resident (Second Life)
- Activities of residents :Residents engage in many activities, just as people do in real life. Unlike real life, there is no biological need to seek nourishment or shelter. Thus some activities that would be necessary in the real world are purely voluntary leisure pursuits...
Users can register and begin their new life with the beta program at Second Life®. Their Second Life is started by designing their avatar
Avatar (computing)
In computing, an avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. It may take either a three-dimensional form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two-dimensional form as an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. It can also refer to a text...
. They can buy land, purchase properties, start businesses and take part in elaborate role playing activities.
Web 2.0 and Library 2.0
Web2.0 is centred around web applications that allow user interactivity and the creation and uploading of user-generated content. It emphasises communication and connectivity through the web. It can also be used as a new electronic platform for the e-businessElectronic business
Electronic business, commonly referred to as "eBusiness" or "e-business", or an internet business, may be defined as the application of information and communication technologies in support of all the activities of business...
industry, using online rules to do business successfully. These rules are mainly about harnessing network effects for getting more users.
Library 2.0
Library 2.0
Library 2.0 is a loosely defined model for a modernized form of library service that reflects a transition within the library world in the way that services are delivered to users....
is the concept of how to use the web 2.0 opportunities in a library environment. It helps to build up a dialogue that creates a new generation of library websites, databases and OPACs. Technologies listed in web 2.0 above, such as RSS, wikis, blogging, tagging and social networking software could be used for building up an active, institutional environment driven by libraries.
Second Life Libraries
Library services in Second Life can be found at the following SL locations:- Info Island 1
- Info Island 2
- Edu Island
- Caledon Library
- Healthinfo Island
- Imagination Island - Rachelville
- ALA Arts Island
- Cybrary City 1
- Cybrary City 2
Second Life libraries are examples of immersive learning environments
Virtual learning environment
Defined largely by usage, the term virtual learning environment has most, if not all, of the following salient properties:* It is Web-based* It uses Web 2.0 tools for rich 2-way interaction* It includes a content management system...
. Users can interact with the services in practical ways, such as walking around a virtual space. Libraries in Second Life
Second Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
often put on digital exhibitions as part of their services, for example an exhibit displaying virtual represenations of Van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
paintings, including Starry Night. The aim of virtual library services is to attract new users to traditional libraries as well as establishing links with librarians from all over the world. Most of these services are run by volunteers.
There have been numerous initiatives to create educational spaces within Second Life
Second Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
. There are Victorian areas in which residents dress in period clothes, an Egyptian tomb and a Renaissance Island created by the Alliance Second Life Libraries. Central Missouri State University has also received funding to create a reproduction of 1920s Harlem.
Libraries can also put on virtual events such as conferences, seminars and lectures. In 2008 and 2009 Alliance Library System (ALS) organised a conference called Virtual Worlds: Libraries, Education and Museums Conference. It took place in the New Media Consortium Conference Center in Second Life
Second Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
and was designed to “provide a gathering place for librarians, information professionals, educators, museologists, and others to learn about and discuss the educational, informational, and cultural opportunities of virtual worlds”
Virtual libraries which are independent, run by volunteers and not affiliated with a traditional library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
are often the most successful ones in Second Life
Second Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
. Second Life-only virtual libraries tend to be more successful than the Second Life branches of public libraries. Users suggest that the libraries in Second Life serve a niche population, which results in difficulties with marketing. Staff of public libraries have different perspectives on SL when they are experimenting with it, which results in general conflict.
In order to have a successful virtual library in Second Life
Second Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
there are six different elements that should be considered. These are:
- Location
- Timing
- Funding
- Techniques
- Organisational baggage
- Computing technology
Alliance Library System (ALS)
The Alliance Library System is an IllinoisIllinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
based local library co-operator, providing vital library services to citizens. It serves three sectors: libraries, legislators and communities. It is also one of the nine multitype library systems. Multitype library systems cooperate amongst different library sectors in a community, including academic, public, school, and special libraries.
In 2003, the Alliance Library System, the Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center, and the Illinois State Library Talking Book and Braille Service founded Online Programming for All Libraries (OPAL). OPAL is an international cooperative program supported by libraries and organisations that provide web-based service and courses/trainings for library customers and staff. The administrator of OPAL is TAP Information Services. Programs include library training, special events and virtual tours of digital library collections. OPAL events mainly happen online. Those online rooms can be accessed via various ways (e.g. voice-over-IP, text chatting and synchronised browsing) by participants. In 2006, Alliance Library System and OPAL Opened an Alliance of Libraries 2.0 on Second Life together.
In 2006 the Alliance Library System, along with other library organisations, began to investigate the possibility of establishing a library network on Second Life. By late 2006 they had purchased some land in Second Life and built a virtual library. They started holding discussion groups as well as classes for teens in the library, including courses on podcasting and film-making and an open-mic night.
In 2007 ALS created a virtual information archipelago called Info Island. The grand opening was on 12–14 October 2007. Info Island consists of numerous islands housing various libraries and institutions run by the volunteers of the Community Virtual Library as well as Academic libraries such as Stanford University Library and government organisations such as the Centres for Disease Control.
libOpenMetaverse
LibOpenMetaverse is a .NET based Client/Server library used for accessing and creating 3d virtual worlds.libOpenMetaverse offers a functional library for interacting with Second Life servers. libOpenMetaverse is a collection of .NET libraries written in c# for interacting with 3d virtual world simulators. The core library implements the protocol, networking and client functionality. Usage of this library is the same as other .NET components. Microsoft Framework and API documentation are the main design guidelines of the applications, along with other tools. Some assemblies used by the core library can be used standalone:
| Component | Purpose |
|---|---|
| OpenMetaverse.dll | Core protocol library and client functionality |
| OpenMetaverseTypes.dll | Common types utilized in 3d space and generic types utilized by both clients and servers |
| OpenMetaverse.StructuredData.dll | A library for creating, using and manipulating the OSD serialization format |
When Real and Virtual Worlds Collide: A Second Life Library
When Real and Virtual Worlds Collide: A Second Life Library is a research paper carried out by Chase Baity, Pam Chappell, David Rachlin, C. Vinson and Marilyn Zamarripa. The group studied traditional public libraries, their Second Life counterparts, and independent Second Life in order to find out whether independent Second Life libraries or libraries affiliated with a Real Life library were the most successful. They used surveys, focus groups, and interviews. Over 350 users and 15 staff members participated in the study.The research questions for the study were:
- What are the integrated goals between the real world and virtual world libraries?
- What is the optimal way to deliver services to reach these goals that are highly usable for employees and patrons?
- How usable currently is the virtual library?
A secondary question was looking at how other real life and Second Life libraries are similar or different than the Olathe project.
The study found that "Second-Life-only libraries are far more popular than Second Life branches of public libraries". They also found that "there are no clear indications of what makes a Second Life library more or less popular than an other.
University College Dublin (UCD) Library in Second Life
The University College Dublin (UCD) James Joyce LibraryUCD Library
UCD Library dates from the establishment of University College Dublin as a constituent college of the National University of Ireland in 1908...
built up the first Irish library in Second Life.University College Dublin
University College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
set up its library in Second Life in March 2007 as a part of ALS's Cybrary City project. This virtual library has several features and services, including user surveys, e-mail services, e-books, presentations, comment box, virtual PC, notecard giver, trampoline, dance machine and visitor counter. A work group was established for services, technology, staffing and marketing.
Caledon Library
The Independent State of Caledon is an area of Second Life which is exclusively Victorian themed. It includes its own virtual library.As well as a traditional building, Caledon Library has an outdoor reading room, the Vannevar Bush Memorial Reading Garden. Users can find a book and sit under a tree to read it. It also holds book discussion groups and hosts art exhibitions.
Caledon Library has two main collection policies. These are 19th century literature and materials relating to the Independent State of Caledon. They collect primary source material (including 19th century novels and periodicals or materials from earlier ages considered important in the 19th century) and research materials relating to the 19th century. They are hoping to build a “listening collection” of audio books on these topics. Another project is a collection of materials created by residents of Caledon or items relating to Caledon. Their aspiration is to eventually establish the Caledon Archives.
Other examples of educational library in Second Life
- Many US universities in Second Life such as BerkeleyUniversity of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, HarvardHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, StanfordStanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
and PrincetonPrinceton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. - Universities from the following countries: UK, Australia, Denmark, France, The Netherlands etc.
Impact
Due to changes in modern lifestyle and consumer behaviours, modern customers may not visit local library buildings. This has became a worry and reason for city councils to cut libraries' budgets. Some libraries, such as ALS decided to take the organisations to their customers, transferring from real life into a virtual world.In recent years Second Life libraries have held discussion groups and planned events. Participant librarians say that responses have been much higher than they thought they could be. For example, in the early days of ALS establishing a virtual library in Second Life, a surprising number of Residents visited the building, with some even asking reference questions.
According to successful examples, more and more libraries have realised that Second Life is a new and good means to interact with their customers, helping traditional libraries to accommodate new demands and challenges.
Issues for Real Life Librarians
Some “real life” librarians may find it difficult to balance their duties in their online and offline capacities. Librarians are passionate about their commitments to virtual world libraries to the extent that most librarians completed virtual library work at home and are not compensated by their libraries for this work. This could potentially cause problems with stress and tiredness.
Librarians also indicated that adequate computing equipment and faster broadband access is important for increasing the productivity and performance of Second Life libraries, and these requirements limit the involvement of numerous librarians. Additional issues of computing supports include network security programs that help Second Life libraries to solve problems such as appropriate permissions, authentications, limitations of functionality based on security restrictions and service attacks.
Additionally, there are some technology challenges. For example, the use of Radio-frequency identification (RFID) - common in most libraries - has become one of the challenges for Second Life libraries. Second Life sometimes is not able to get all the information normally stored on RFID devices such as the means keeping track of library books, people or policies.
Criticism
Some professionals have acknowledged that Second Life offers unique opportunities to expand the horizons of traditional library services. In addition, some University librarians believe that Second Life library can be a valuable part of University services, becoming involved in activities such as delivering a downloading service for lecture notes.Some studies have found that some librarians did not pay enough attention to pre-planning their Second Life libraries, despite librarianship having a culture of planning and management. Most Second Life librarians have no time to manage Second Life Library during their working time because there is not any official timeline that designed by departments. As a result, Second Life libraries are misunderstood by many people who view Second Life libraries as just games without any educational value. Although the Second Life library is easier to navigate and provides many useful and good materials, it has a few users. The reason is that the Second Life branch has been well promoted in real life so library users do not know its existence.
See also
- Avatar (computing)Avatar (computing)In computing, an avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. It may take either a three-dimensional form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two-dimensional form as an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. It can also refer to a text...
- Resident (Second Life)Resident (Second Life)- Activities of residents :Residents engage in many activities, just as people do in real life. Unlike real life, there is no biological need to seek nourishment or shelter. Thus some activities that would be necessary in the real world are purely voluntary leisure pursuits...
- Immersion (virtual reality)Immersion (virtual reality)Immersion is the state of consciousness where an immersant's awareness of physical self is diminished or lost by being surrounded in an engrossing total environment; often artificial. This mental state is frequently accompanied with spatial excess, intense focus, a distorted sense of time, and...
- Digital LibraryDigital libraryA digital library is a library in which collections are stored in digital formats and accessible by computers. The digital content may be stored locally, or accessed remotely via computer networks...
- Second LifeSecond LifeSecond Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
- Social Networking and UK LibrariesSocial Networking and UK LibrariesLibraries in the UK are increasingly engaging with Social networking tools, both as a way of reaching patrons, and as a place where patrons can access social networking sites for their own use. Every public library in the UK provides computers for patrons...
- Web 2.0Web 2.0The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web...
- UCD LibraryUCD LibraryUCD Library dates from the establishment of University College Dublin as a constituent college of the National University of Ireland in 1908...
- Library 2.0Library 2.0Library 2.0 is a loosely defined model for a modernized form of library service that reflects a transition within the library world in the way that services are delivered to users....