WebJunction

I'm curious to know what you all have experienced with the [url http://secondlife.com/whatis/ ]Second Life[/url] virtual environment.

There is an avid group of library staff who have been creating a library (now multiple libraries) for Second Life "residents." I'm pretty new to this kind of world myself and I'm having all sorts of technical problems trying to get started in it --firewall blocking, out of date graphics cards --that kind of thing.

I know that the SL library has a version of QuestionPoint for their use, making reference as virtual as it gets. Who all has been there? What do you think?

Were you ever able to get in? If so, let me know and I will be glad to give you a tour. You can also read this article on the Web in Serious Games Source which will tell you more. Our blog is at http://www.secondlifelibrary.blogspot.com

Serious Games Source article:
http://seriousgamessource.com/features/feature_063006_second_life_library.php

I think this is where libraries and other education institutions are going. Lori

I just wanted to share this [url http://youtube.com/watch?v=jTQkzfz5osQ ]cool video[/url] filmed in Second Life. It's a tour of InfoIsland from the vantage point of a roller-blading avatar. I don't know how he manages to do a 360 air move --did he buy that at the gesture store? In SL, you can cruise right into the library with your skates on! No shushing here.

I still feel like a lurker in Second Life, except that it's a lot harder (not possible) to stay invisible in that environment.

Hi there. Do you have an avatar? We have a couple state library employees participating in different projects and we recently had a large state library group join to create a presence and eventually to offer training. Come in and I can put you in touch with them or email me at lbell927@yahoo.com and I will put you in touch with them. Lori

My experience so far is that you should try it on the fastest computer with the best video card and internet connection you have access to.

I've figured out that Second Life is basically unusable from my work laptop, but works fine on my home computer. On my laptop the graphics don't fill in, and I get stuck easily. When I walk, I eventually just start sinking into the ground until I can't move any more.

If you are having these kind of issues on a desktop pc, you might be able to upgrade the video card for not too much money.

Linda, this is a great post from your SL-savvy friend. Her intro tour is nicely stated, but what I really like is that she takes on the "big question" --"Is Second Life for your library?"

"Second Life touts on their webpage that they have 963,206 total residents -- and the past two days I've been on in the evenings I've seen a max of approximately 13,000 of these residents actually logged in. So -- if you are hoping to tap into some of your real life patron base that doesn't visit the traditional library via Second Life think again -- the numbers just don't support it -- in fact you would probably be better off going and creating a library in The Sims or WoW (more people play those games)."

"But if you are hoping to advance information literacy beyond your traditional patron base and want to take advantage of and experiment with a program that could potentially influence future trends in online social networking then give SL a try."

Anyone have a rebuttal to that line of reasoning?

Hi and welcome to our discussions! I love the name of your blog --library stories.

I read in the SL list emails that more and more library workers are showing up at InfoIsland to check it out and get involved. That's so cool, but I still think there are many for whom it's not even on the radar. It is a time suck and time is the commodity in short supply for all of us. There are also the technology hurdles. All that said, this kind of environment (whether its Linden Labs or some successor) just may be THE FUTURE, the next evolution of the whole Internet experience. As a profession, we wouldn't want to miss out.

I would love to hear what others think as well.

Linda (or should I say Okie Wind?), have you made any more progress in SL? I wonder if you're having graphic card incompatability issues like I did. What was strange about my experience was that I could take limited actions in the SL environment, but then would get stuck. I kept thinking I was not understanding the controls correctly. Finally out of frustration from being unable to emerge from a watery trench where I got stuck, I emailed SL support. They responded that my laptop did not have a suitable graphics card.

Which is the rub for many libraries right now --the technical hurdles. If you and I (WebJunction) are acting as filters/translators for new technology adoption, I think we're in the "let's wait and see" phase now for Second Life. It's such a cool sensation to move around in the virtual world, I can easily foresee widespread adoption in the next few years.

This Clay Shirky piece on Second Life seems apropos: http://www.valleywag.com/tech/second-life/a-story-too-good-to-check-221252.php

(I confess to trying an avatar-based community in the latter '90s ... I wasn't much moved by it at the time.)

I'm trying to remember the name of the avatar-community I found circa '96. The Palace?

maddog will probably remember.

Even then you needed more computer than most people had.

Hi and thanks for commenting on this topic! I was at that session as well --I wish I had a way of connecting f2f with WJ members, some kind of radar signal to let me know when I''m in the same room with them. ;-)

There were a couple of things that struck me about the presentation.
--One was Lori's comment about the surprising number of SL avatars who are showing up at the SL Library for orientation to library services. I'm guessing that these are folks who don't use the library in real life and are just now discovering it in their second life. That's cool! As Lori said, avatars get tired of all the sex and gambling in SL and come looking for a refreshing change of focus. There's definitely an opportunity there!!

--I also appreciated that Michael Sauers (yes, nice laugh!) gave the reality check. My entry into SL was hardly seamless and it was nice to hear someone identify some of the technical hurdles instead of making it sound completey fluid and easy. The burnout factor is also very real.

Still, it's an amazing experience to move around in SL --and I'm not a "gamer"!