Tuesday, August 16, 2016

2016 EDU: Librarians Share Virtual Communities as Resources--Valerie Hill

Librarians Share Virtual Communities as Resources 
Invited post by Valerie Hill
Virtual worlds have libraries, of course.  Not virtual libraries, but real libraries of the future.   Virtual worlds, after all, live on the internet.  They have access to the the same huge store of information as does anyone connected to the internet.  But virtual worlds also connect people.  And when people of matching interests connect, they form communities.  Invited author Valerie Hill takes it from there.
Boston Public Library Reading (Wikipedia)
That was then

Librarians Share Virtual Communities as Resources

The word library conjures images of wooden tables, lovely lamps, hushed reverence and the smell of old books to those of us born before the Internet and the close of the Gutenberg Parenthesis. But what will the library of the future become now that we carry libraries in our pockets on mobile devices and now that we live in physical, virtual and augmented spaces?
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Libraries now hold media in numerous formats:  physical books, artifacts, movies in various formats, ebooks and links to electronic databases.  In the near future, libraries may hold virtual reality headsets and collections of augmented reality applications.
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Perhaps, an even more an important collection that libraries of the future (starting now) can curate is virtual communities.  Because we live in digital participatory networked culture, we can connect with people across the globe in virtual spaces.  Membership and participation in virtual communities can present challenges because there are so many:
questions:
  • How do you find the best communities of interest?  
  • How can you build an authentic community and attract members who share common goals?  
  • How can virtual communities interact and share information?
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  • (More after the break)
  • Where is Arcadia?
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Metaverse events, current and upcoming


Romantic Knot Short Poetry Workshop-Tue 8/16, 7 pm SLT

“She loves me, She loves me not…” This week at the Short Poetry workshop we’ll have some fun writing Romantic Knots - love poems where the first line is Romantic, but the second line is NOT. Let’s see how we can twist love into knots. So come down to the Short Poetry Library and join us to learn, write and share.

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Virtual Communities as Resources

The Community Virtual Library (CVL) in Second Life has been exploring virtual world librarianship for a decade.  In addition to collecting virtual world resources to share with individuals in this virtual environment, librarians now realize the new information needs of learners and visitors--including the need to find virtual communities in which to connect and construct learning. 
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Just as social media has increased our intake of information, pictures, recipes, blog posts and articles--so have virtual environments brought an onslaught of immersive learning experiences, simulations, and communities to explore.  Without a helpful individual to give guidance or a hub with informative instruction on evaluating these spaces, it is extremely difficult to navigate virtual worlds and find the best places, most qualified people for particular needs, and high quality immersive experiences in virtual worlds.
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Librarians are no longer bound by the walls of the beautiful hushed reverent spaces we thought of in the physical world (although we may still treasure them).  In the Metamodern era, librarians must think outside the box (or outside the prim) and redefine acquisitions of resources beyond both physical and electronic documents and artifacts.  Communities of people are resources!

Community Virtual Library

Librarians began working together in Second Life in 2006.  After a decade of exploration in virtual world librarianship, SL is still considered the best starting place for librarians, educators, artists, and individuals to build and experience immersive learning because the tools are built in and the people are already there.  CVL is, however, expanding to other virtual worlds, particularly open source environments, through creating a Hypergrid Resource Center.  With the aid of Selby Evans and others “outworlding” to new frontiers, CVL will help individuals navigate to other worlds and connect communities.
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Spaceship at Hypergrid Resource Center, 
Community Virtual Library in SL
This is now
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The main library at CVL shares an “old wooden card catalog” with links to landmarks for immersive learning or artistic simulations in Second Life.  In addition, the Community Virtual Library shares library programs: speakers, exhibits, events, book discussions, displays and many of the same things you would find in a physical world library (such as librarians on duty to help).
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Now, through exploring other worlds, CVL is expanding to include additional “branch libraries” in Kitely, Inworldz and other worlds as potential spaces in the near future.  Not every person is interested in navigating to numerous virtual worlds!  Librarians can help people connect with the right communities of interest with special collections available in particular worlds.  Check the Community VirtualLibrary calendar for information about a virtual world field trip to “Metaverse Libraries” in Kitely on October 2, 2016 or join the group in Second Life called “Librarians of Second Life” for notifications. Our homepage is http://www.infoisland.org/.
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Certainly, we cannot predict how technology will evolve as virtual reality and augmented reality apps seem to appear nearly every day.  We can, however, agree that learning and keeping up with the virtual spaces is impossible to do alone in isolation.  Consider how librarians can help in the future.  Consider how a virtual community might be considered a resource, just like a book. 
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Currently, the Community Virtual Library is exhibiting “Art in Virtual Worlds” and sponsoring a “Prim Poetry Contest”.  The selected poems will be published in a virtual world ebook.  These exhibits and displays highlight the talents of artists and writers and help people utilize new media.  Only through collaborative community networks can the talented works of artists, writers, and creators of immersive content, such as historical simulations, be experienced and appreciated.
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Whether or not one enters a virtual world as an avatar, we all live in virtual communities with networked culture connecting us across the globe.  Searching the “sea of chaos” that one finds online may be less overwhelming when we have help from information professionals who value the core traditions of librarianship: high quality, accuracy, authenticity, intellectual freedom, respect for intellectual property, cyber safety, privacy, security and ethical use of information. Embedding those values into our virtual communities for learning is something librarians can provide to help the next generation and people of all ages become successful digital citizens.

Communities in the Virtual Worlds


Related


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News and Notes

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    The Hypergrid WIP Show

    The Hypergrid WIP is a one hour "show & tell" of works in progress or recently completed. All builders from beginner to pro are invited.  Presentations are in voice and text.  For text presentations, best bring the text in a notecard and paste it into chat.  Voice presentations may be captured in video.  Stills and videos from the show may appear in this blog and elsewhere.

    Next WIP show 

    • Next WIP show: Sun. Aug 28, Noon SLT 
    • Cookie II location (fourth Sunday of the month)
    • HG address below: paste into the World Map next to Find. Click Find, TP
    • grid.kitely.com:8002:Cookie II 
    • in Kitely: paste into Nav (top) bar of Firestorm, Enter.
    • hop://grid.kitely.com:8002/Cookie II/68/369/22
    • Narasnook  location (second Sunday of the month)
    • Pandora allows presenters to run high threat OSSL functions.
    • world.narasnook.com:8900
    • Put the line above in your World Map next to Find.  Click Find. TP
    • At Narasnook, use World Map to search for Pandora
    • Cookie II location (fourth Sunday of the month)
    • HG address below: paste into the World Map next to Find. Click Find, TP
    • grid.kitely.com:8002:Cookie II 
    • in Kitely: paste into Nav (top) bar of Firestorm, Enter.
    • hop://grid.kitely.com:8002/Cookie II/68/369/22

      Previous Articles from the WIP show 

      HG links-- depending on your interests 

      Radio in the virtual world

      Metaverse beginner help

      Schools in virtual worlds

      • I publish 5 or 6 days a week, skipping 1 or 2 days in midweek
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      • For more on topics like this, follow Selby Evans in Google+ 
      • What do we do in Virtual Worlds? 
      • Google search this blog: Search bar, upper left--or:
      • Put site:virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com at the end of the search terms 
      • Annotated screen shots made with Jing
      • All original content on this blog is Creative Commons License, attribution only. 
      • Second Life, Linden, SLurl, and SL are trademarks of Linden Research Inc. 
      • This blog is not affiliated with Second Life or anything else. 
      • Ads are from Google.


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