Until yesterday.
SirsiDynix Institute has some great web conferences that our Electronic Resources Librarian takes advantage of often. This one was 2nd Life & Info Island: Library Service in a Virtual World with speakers Michael Savers from the Nebraska Library Commission and Rhonda Trueman from Johnson and Whales.
Second Life is a 3-D virtual world built and owned entirely by its residents. Right now there are over 4.7 million residents in Second Life and, once again, I am one of them.
In my opinion this virtual place is not a game. It's more of a place where you can do almost anything with the right know-how. There are small games within the world that can be played, but it's not necessary to play these games to appreciate the Second Life world.
Walking around in Second Life I have learned that everyone has their own reason for being in there. Some people are in there simply to see what all the hype is. Others are in there for darker reasons which I don't need to talk about. Yes, we still need to be careful even in Second Life.
Then there are the people who are there to teach and/or learn. Michael Savers talked about the different learning environments he has seen such as Victorian Times, Ancient Rome and the Globe Theatre. There is even a heart murmur simulation and molecular models. This means we can teach people all over the world about Science, History, culture and almost anything else we can think of. All we need to do is create it in this virtual world.
There are also virtual-live events held in Second Life. US Congress has held events there. Henry VIII has spoken there...okay, so we know he's not alive, but that's the beauty of a virtual world! There are book discussions, author events and parties. Live U2 concerts have even been streamed into 2nd Life with virtual Avatars that look like the actual band that is really playing across the world!
There are also groups in 2nd Life. These are groups just like we join in YAHOO or Google. If you sign up and start playing around in 2nd Life you might be interested in the group Librarians of 2nd Life. There are groups for almost anything. I belong to a group for people who like the Grateful Dead. I get messages about when they are playing and about how the concerts were.
The Alliance Library systems have created an entire Island for libraries. They have named it INFO ISLAND. So far there are 10 ALS islands and 9 associated islands. Anyone can own land and build as long as they have a premium account and the know-how. The great thing about places like Info Island and, another great one, Cybrary City 1 and 2, is that it's a place where libraries around the world can create partnerships and collaborate by holding workshops, discussion groups, and do networking across the globe without having to travel.
Nothing is perfect, and Michael Savers made sure to bring us back to reality by letting us know 2nd Life's flaws:
- You need to have at least the recommended hardware or the world simply won't work correctly.
- It can be like a chat room where anyone can talk to you and you have no idea who's listening.
- You don't have to spend real money, but it helps if you want to build or own land.
- The more people in the area you want to be in, the more lag in that area. (lag is when someone talks and their mouth moves a few minutes later...and it's very annoying)
- Let's face it, your boss won't consider this work.
- The more fun you have the more you want to be there...it can be very time consuming.
- People are generally polite but people will still fall on your head. (This really made me laugh! When you're going around the world you normally teleport there or fly. I like to fly from place to place, but landing is never easy. I have landed on many people and so will you.)
- Don't expect to recognize your friends by their looks. (it's true, you can, and will, change your appearance as much as you want...today you might be a punk rocker but tomorrow you might want to look more like a ballroom dancer. It's fun, but can get confusing to your cyber friends.)
- So many updates. (After this web conference I went to my desk and downloaded the software and tried getting in, but 2nd life was in the middle of an update so I had to wait about an hour. If you have an event you'd like to attend, get in there early or you might miss it.)
- System Issues. It happens.
I suggest you sign up and check it out. Make sure you have the minimum requirements first. My name on there is Ladee Beck. Feel free to add me as a friend. Here are some places to check out to learn more:
