This is a series of recent posts from the Alliance Second Life google group (which you may be interested in joining: http://groups.google.com/group/alliancesecondlife?hl=en) which I think gets at some interesting questions about libraries in virtual worlds. I'd be interested in your comments or questions about this topic in the discussion section here. Rhonda/Abbey, who has the "last word" here, has been a leader in the project for two years, works for the Alliance Library System and is the newly appointed Director of Library Services for Alliance Second Life Libraries.


From: TroyMc <troy.mccona...@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 08:33:38 -0700 (PDT)
Local: Sun, May 4 2008 8:33 am
Subject: Two Questions

Hi,

After reading some of the posts to this group in the past week, I have
two questions:

1. What is an archivist? (I could look this up, but I'd like to get
the answer from my library-connected friends.)

2. What sorts of goods or services can an archivist provide in Second
Life?

Sincerely,
Troy McConaghy (Troy McLuhan in SL)

_______________________________________________________________________________


From: "Christi Janus" <christi.janus.in...@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 18:56:56 +0200
Local: Sun, May 4 2008 9:56 am
Subject: Re: Second Life Two Questions

Hello Troy

Good questions.. and tough answers.. lol

1. An archivist is a professional who assesses, collects, organizes,
preserves, maintains control over and provides access to the information in
archives. Archives are made up of records which have been created during the
course of an individual or organization's life. Records are normally
unpublished.

Archives are distinct from libraries as archives hold records which are
unique. Archives can be described as holding information 'by-products' of
activities, while libraries hold specifically authored information
'products'.

The duties of an archivist include acquiring and appraising new collections,
arranging and describing records, providing reference service and preserving
materials. The information maintained by an archivist can be any form of
media, such as photographs, video or sound recordings, letters, documents,
electronic records etcetera.

--This is information is a summary from a notecard with an introduction to
archives and archivists. You can find this notecard in a gift box at
Archives Land, SLurl:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cybrary%20City%20II/90/72/22 (the box can be
found in front of the scroll).

2. We're here to find that out! :)

In general, we have found out that meeting colleagues from around the world
is a good thing about SL, especially since we have a fairly small
profession. Also in SL we can exhibit documents from our repositories,
including archival documents. Scrolls, maps, photographs, letters, videos,
diaries, drawings, and so on. Next to that, I think, in future, reference
would be very helpful to provide using virtual worlds.

An example: many of our patrons do research on their ancestry, and get into
problems when emigrants 'appear' in the family tree. People get lost quite
easily, since it's hard to find specific information you need on the
internet. However, through virtual worlds it's easy to meet up live with
archivists/genealogy specialists from around the world, who could direct you
to databases, help you with searching, and know the specifics of the
country's archives.

If you would like more information, just ask me. I'll be happy to answer any
question about archives and archivists.

Kind regards

Christian (Christi in SL), a "real one"

_______________________________________________________________________________


From: "srh harris" <srharri...@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 12:31:33 -0600
Local: Sun, May 4 2008 11:31 am
Subject: Re: Second Life Re: Two Questions

I like the "what goods or services can we provide" question...for archivists
*and *librarians. The primary service obviously has to do with a 3D
interactivity between avatars. Virtual human interaction. But what about
goods, information? A lot of us are linking to 2D material in the regular
web.

Just to riff on one of Maxito's comments at VWLEM: What does 3D add to
information delivery? What IS 3D information? How do we go about providing
it to our customers? Is it better than 2D information?

--Stolvano


--
Steven R. Harris
http://collections2point0.wordpress.com

_______________________________________________________________________________


From: "Rolig Loon" <rl...@hbci.com>
Date: Sun, 4 May 2008 14:14:41 -0500
Local: Sun, May 4 2008 12:14 pm
Subject: RE: Second Life Re: Two Questions

>What does 3D add to information delivery? What IS 3D information? How do we
>go about providing it to our customers? Is it better than 2D information?
>
>--Stolvano

That's a very good question, Stoli. A first response is that 3D offers a
visual context for information, allowing us to group and rank materials for
easier understanding and access than is typically possible on the printed or
web page. The British Invasion exhibit at the Music Museum (MuMu) on
Infotainment is a good example. A 2D collection would include the photos,
sound files, and historical information in that exhibit, but the 3D version
makes it possible to appreciate those materials as parts of a contextual
whole. A patron can not only sample individual "files" but can see quickly
how they relate to one another and to the social setting of the 1960s. The
Land of Lincoln and Rich Idiot sims offer similar contextual framing for the
1860s and 1930s. As those sims mature, patrons will be able to use them as
"special collections" where photos, text files, and web-linked information
are related visually.

Thinking back to the post I made here a couple of weeks back, our sort of 3D
library is ideal for a "browsing" public because it emphasizes ease of
random access. It is less well suited for research-oriented patrons who want
to examine a topic in depth. Our style of 3D presentation also lends itself
easily to events that attract groups of patrons with a common interest.

The libraries on Info Island strike me as transitional. They are not truly
3D, for the most part. With some clear exceptions, they rely more heavily
on web-based resources than many of the libraries of the Alliance Virtual
Library, and they resemble RL libraries more closely as a result.

Rolig

_______________________________________________________________________________

From: Bill Sowers <sixsunflow...@yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 08:43:05 -0700 (PDT)
Local: Mon, May 5 2008 8:43 am
Subject: Re: Second Life Re: Two Questions

First off I'm confused.. What's the difference between
Info Island and Alliance Virtual Library? Is Info
Island not a part of the Alliance Virtual Library?

Second.. one of the problems is prim space. When one
is limited to 125 prims for a collection a 3-D 85 prim
object is gonna take up a lot of space.

I know Troy has the holodek approach to presenting
collections like this but it still puts a crimp in the
works... the number of collections.

We could collapse Info Island down to a few
collections and achieve something more like the Museum
of Music approach... eliminate the Bell Towers and
Alliance Library building... and perhaps get a few
more volunteeers involved who'd like to pitch in and
contribute.

Would save me a lot of time on the monthly displays...
Cinco de Mayo and Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
too... no need for them.

Bill/Rocky
Bill and Diana Sowers
http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/lincoln/info.htm
_______________________________________________________________________________

From: rl...@hbci.com
Date: Mon, 05 May 2008 11:02:18 -0500
Local: Mon, May 5 2008 9:02 am
Subject: Re: Second Life Re: Two Questions

Sure, Rocky. And I'm sorry if I may have accidentally sounded
critical of Info Island. I really didn't mean to be. I only meant to
say that we have two different sorts of libraries under the Alliance
Virtual Library umbrella. The ones on Info Island are more similar to
RL libraries, where you go to look up stuff. The ones like MuMu, Land
of Lincoln, and so forth, are contextual libraries, where you go
to gather information in an experiential package. Of the two, the
latter set make more use of the 3D potential of SL, I think, but they
are not any more "worthy" than the others. We need both approaches. I
was simply responding to Stoli's question about how we use 3D
resources. In the framework of that question, I do think that over the
long haul our patrons are likely to gravitate toward libraries that
are interactive, visually oriented, and events-centered. Keep in mind,
though, that I'm not a librarian. I just love it here.

Your comments about prim load are right on target .... one of our
greatest challenges.

Rolig
_______________________________________________________________________________

From: "Abbey Zenith" <abbey...@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 12:13:02 -0400
Local: Mon, May 5 2008 9:13 am
Subject: Re: Second Life Re: Two Questions

Actually - there are no "libraries" on Info Island, there are collections
(other than the addition of ICT Library, which is a partner). Info Island,
Info Island International, Infotainment, and Imagination are what
constitutes what we've always called SL Library 2.0 - a public type library
for the residents of SL.

Our collections as well as our ability to created and display the
collections improve with time. There is no right or wrong, no best practice
for all. Volunteers spend numerous hours creating these collections,
assessing them, revamping them, creating events around them, etc. We are
still exploring what works best and I must say volunteers have rallied again
and again to change things around as new tools and methods have become
available. When we talk about the collections, lets don't forget the people
behind them - people that are putting hours of their lives into their
creation. We are still exploring, still learning - discussion is good that
is a part of it too! In the upcoming months the advisory board will be
looking at how far we've come and where we go from here! Thanks everyone
:)

Rhonda/Abbey