[Web4lib] SecondLife Community Libraries

Thu Sep 10 17:48:25 EDT 2009

H Micheal and all
Far from having been passed by, SecondLife is alive and well, with twice
as many active residents as when I joined two years ago. 

One of the most interesting things about SL is the way people seem to
feel that libraries are a necessary part of their online communities,
even the fantasy communities. I live in a steampunk-fantasy 19th century
Oregon town, where I was recruited to be the Director of a public
library that exists only in cyberspace. We are part of a library
consortium - one of several library consortia that exist on SecondLife.
Our members include about a dozen similar libraries in a wide variety of
role-playing communities, from medieval Japan to Ireland to Moorish
Spain to Victorian England. 

Silly? Perhaps, but also a research laboratory for studying the roles of
an online library in a highly computer-literate community.

Jean Hewlett
Regional Librarian, University of San Francisco
aka Riven Homewood
Director, Steelhead Public Library, Steelhead City, SecondLife

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mitchell, Michael" <Michael.Mitchell at brazosport.edu>
Date: Thursday, September 10, 2009 11:49 am
Subject: RE: [Web4lib] Facebook
To: lcohn at bplnj.org
Cc: web4lib at webjunction.org

> Yes, that sounds very cool. I stand corrected on the vitality of 
> Second Life. I had the impression it had been passed by.
> 
> Mike Mitchell
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: L Cohn [mailto:lcohn at bplnj.org] 
> Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2009 1:18 PM
> To: Mitchell, Michael; L Cohn
> Cc: web4lib at webjunction.org
> Subject: RE: [Web4lib] Facebook
> 
> 
> 
> Here's a specific example for you of the use of something like 
> Second Life.  I recently joined it, and have worked for the 
> Alliance Virtual Library on my own time in the past month.  There's 
> another library in Second Life that is holding "live" readings, 
> virtually every night.  Last night, I got an invitation to attend a 
> reading of Greek Mythology, stories about Theseus....Now, I love 
> Greek mythology and would have loved to attend, but I had other 
> plans....
> Picture this....you (your avatar) is sitting in a simulation of 
> Mount Olympus while someone else's avatar, which bears a striking 
> resemblance to Zeus....is sitting on a nearby cloud and you hear, 
> through your computer, a real voice reading Homer, or some other 
> great work of Greek literature.  
> 
> The simulation is really fairly crowded.  This library's events 
> (West of Ireland), are always quite crowded.  The people in the 
> audience can be  gamers or people just having fun
> a virtual world, but they were walking around this simulation of 
> Ancient Greece and stumbled on the reading.  They very well could 
> be inspired to pick up a book and read it for the first time.  And 
> not just any book, but a Greek mythology book.
> 
> This is what this virtual world is capable of doing.  Its very 
> exciting.  Perhaps some libraries aren't quite ready for it, but 
> look ahead.  The possibilities are really exciting.
> 
> Lisa
> 
> ------------------------------------
> Lisa Cohn, ILL, WebMaster,  Reference
> Bloomfield Public Library,  bplnj.org
> 90 Broad Street, Bloomfield, NJ 07003
>  973-566-6200x217, lcohn at bplnj.org
> ------------------------------------
> 
> 
> ---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
> From: "L Cohn" <lcohn at bplnj.org>
> Date:  Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:05:50 -0400
> 
> >
> >
> >
> >I think blogs were the new thing, but were quickly passed by newer 
> and more impressive forms of Web 2.0.  Technology ran a little 
> faster than blogs could keep up with.  Blogs were updated faster 
> than some websites, but other Web 2.0 technologies, including 
> Facebook, Second Life and Twitter are just faster yet...instantaneous.
> >
> >Lisa
> >------------------------------------
> >Lisa Cohn, ILL, WebMaster,  Reference
> >Bloomfield Public Library,  bplnj.org
> >90 Broad Street, Bloomfield, NJ 07003
> >  973-566-6200x217, lcohn at bplnj.org
> >------------------------------------
> >
> >
> >---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
> >From: "Mitchell, Michael" <Michael.Mitchell at brazosport.edu>
> >Date:  Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:20:45 -0500
> >
> >>Thanks for your answers. I feel a bit more enlightened now though 
> not necessarily convinced. I keep trying to believe in Library 2.0, 
> or even small parts of it, but I'm just not being very successful 
> in convincing myself of the utility of most of it. 
> >>	For example, we can stay in their face with Facebook, I see that 
> now, but I just don't see that we (Brazosport College Library) have 
> that much to put in their faces. There is a time and place for 
> everything. We can let them add social tags to books and other 
> items but I don't see imprecise descriptions helping anyone much. 
> Blogging is so over-rated and becoming quite passé. They're 
> everywhere but look how many blogs haven't been updated in months. 
> Aren't they sad looking? Our reference librarian is participating 
> in a national reference service that invites texted questions. I 
> think he said he's gotten about six questions so far in a month or 
> so. But it's new so maybe word just needs to spread. 
> >>	I'll keep lurking and thinking here.
> >>
> >>
> >>Michael Mitchell
> >>Technical Services Librarian
> >>Brazosport College
> >>Lake Jackson, TX
> >>michael.mitchell at brazosport.edu 
> >>
> >>
> >>-----Original Message-----
> >>From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:web4lib-
> bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Mitchell, Michael
> >>Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2009 9:43 AM
> >>To: web4lib at webjunction.org
> >>Subject: RE: [Web4lib] Facebook
> >>
> >>What are the advantages of Facebook over Web pages on the library 
> Web>>site? I'm afraid I really don't understand. I just don't see 
> anything>>special there. I'm really asking, not trolling.
> >>
> >>
> >>Michael Mitchell
> >>Technical Services Librarian
> >>Brazosport College
> >>Lake Jackson, TX
> >>michael.mitchell at brazosport.edu 
> >>
> >>
> >>-----Original Message-----
> >>From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org
> >>[mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Leo Robert 
> Klein>>Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2009 9:22 AM
> >>To: web4lib at webjunction.org
> >>Subject: Re: [Web4lib] Facebook
> >>
> >>John Fereira wrote:
> >>> Christine Zeitler wrote:
> >>>> One of the academic libraries at which I work is attempting to 
> decide>>if
> >>>> they want to use Facebook to interact with the students.  
> >>> 
> >>> I think that the more important question here is whether 
> students want
> >>
> >>> to use Facebook to interact with libraries.
> >>
> >>Good point but increasingly it seems as if Facebook is more an 
> entry 
> >>point for various types of communication, including friends of 
> course, 
> >>but also professional and personal interests.
> >>
> >>I mean, just looking at my own list, I've got the Chicago 
> Historical 
> >>Society, a couple of my old schools and something called 'Static 
> FBML' 
> >>whose meaning I honestly can't remember.
> >>
> >>Assuming a similar collection (adjusted for age) on the part of 
> our 
> >>users and I don't think it's too exotic if the library starts 
> banging on
> >>
> >>their Facebook door as well.
> >>
> >>LEO
> >>
> >>-- -------------------
> >>www.leoklein.com (site)
> >>www.ChicagoLibrarian.com (blog)
> >>
> >>aim/msn/yhoo/goog: 'leorobertklein'
> >>-- -------------------------------
> >>
> >>
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> >>
> >>
> >>
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> >>
> >>
> >>_______________________________________________
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> >>
> >>
> > 
> >
> >
> >
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