[WEB4LIB] 3D (VRML) Interface to IRCAM's Multimedia Library Catalog

[thom]

On Tue, 12 Jan 1999 elist-web4lib at ircam.fr wrote:

>         http://mediatheque.ircam.fr/infos/vrml/index-e.html
> 
> The public space of our Multimedia Library has been completely modelled
> in 3D (using VRML 2.0), showing all the stacks, cabinets, terminals, etc.

Hey folks. I think you need to lighten up and imagine not system
librarians in this thing but kids ( I actually think many of the adults in
your libraries would also get a kick out of this). 

On the surface you might think: Pretty goofy idea, modeling the 'physical'
library down to inspectable books! I actually thought that before I looked
at this. But I think this is pretty cool and keeping the kids in mind I
have in mind a teacher who is going to take a bunch of 2nd graders to the
public library and has them 'play' with this technology before hand and
explains how the modern library works these days.

I also have in mind folks in the library who want to find a 'space' like a
bathroom or a music room.

I also have in mind a 'personal' visual interface for my local public
library where I can rearrange things as I want or I can make everything
except for large yellow books between 95 and now appear  alone on shelves.

Granted I can't do any of this and the technology is pretty goofy but my
guess is I will be able to do this someday and the folks on web4lib are
going to have to make it happen which means the folks on web4lib are going
to have to learn to play all over again because they have forgotten how to
imagine the new which is the essence of play and creating new experiences. 

Wittgenstein said that unless some folks did silly things nothing
important would ever get done. This is a real silly one which means it is
probably real important. Remember that goofy guy name Michael Hart who
wanted to digitize a million texts by the year 2000? Or, remember those
goofy kids at Stanford who started to create yet another hierarchical OO
and are millionaires today? Or the 2 Steves who thought there might be a
market for 'personal' computers? 

The question isn't whether it works today but can you imagine a future
with something like it in it? I can. I want to see version 2 which
probably means that a group of folks on something like web4lib have to get
together and play.

Thoughts?

--Thom