1. The 3rd Web
WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE
LIBRARIES DOING IN VIRTUAL
WORLDS?

2. What are virtual worlds?

3. Examples of virtual worlds
 Second Life
 Teen Second Life
 Whyville
 There.com
 QWAQ
 Club Penguin
 Forterra
 Many more

4. What is Second Life?
 A 3-d virtual world
 Populated by over 14 million avatars
 Complete community with society,
culture/programs, economy, buildings,
services, shops
 Seen as the next distance learning platform
 Over 250 higher education groups

5. Overview of Alliance Virtual
Library project
 Started in April 2006 to see if Second Life
residents wanted library service
 180,000 accounts at that time – now over 14
million
 Started in a small rental plot
 Now almost 50 library and partner islands
 Over 1000 self-identified librarians in SL
 Over 6000 reference questions per year
 Almost 2000 “Friends of the Library” in world

6. One of first libraries on
Info Island

7. Now, no walls, ceilings, fly
in!

8. Why are librarians in Second
Life?
 Virtual worlds are the new 3d web
 Gartner group predicts by 2011, 80 percent of
Internet users will be in virtual worlds
 To investigate library services in virtual worlds
 To meet some of our public who may or may
not use the traditional library
 To shape the future of library services

9. How it all started
 April 2006 – rental of first plot of land and
building
 May 2006 – first island donated – Info Island
 August 2006 – second island donated – Info
Island II
 October 2006 – grand opening of Info Island I
 October 2006 – Eye4You Alliance opens in Teen
Second Life
 December 2006 – Eduisland built for educators
who want to rent land and be near educators

10. More on how it started
 December 2006 - Cybrary City provided by
Talis for libraries to get a start
 December 2006 – HealthInfo Island started
with a grant from NLM/GMR
 February 2007 – Imagination Island with
Rachelville
 200 8 – almost 50 library and partner islands;
1000 librarians in world; almost 200 friends of
the library ; 5-8 events per week

11. Services offered:
 Reference – 80 hours of in-avatar service per
week
 Programs and events – book discussions,
genealogy programs, continuing education,
speakers
 Exhibits
 Collections grouped by topic
 Training – for librarians and Second Life
residents

12. Challenges to virtual world
libraries
 Staffed by volunteers on their own time –
burnout
 Funding and sustainability
 What types of library services do virtual world
users want?
 Digital divide – hardware, software and
bandwidth needed
 Highly addictive
 Not everyone understands virtual worlds

13. What we have learned
 Virtual world residents do use the library
 Collaboration is key
 Events and exhibits draw people
 SL is fun – the fun factor is important
 Networking is awesome! You meet people
from all over the world you would not
otherwise meet
 People still want books – many of our
programs promote reading

14. Open air auditorium on Cybrary City, Info Island
For continuing education events and programs

15. HealthInfo Island Medical Library
ALS has received 4 grants from the National Library of Medicine – 1) to build a consumer health
library; 2) to create an accessibility center; 3) to create an orientation center for people with
disabilities and chronic health; 4) to create an AIDS community resource center

16. Immersive education and history
ALS built Renaissance Island in February 2007 – a Globe Theater, Elizabethan era housing
and shops – second life residents can role play, participate or attend events like
Renaissance fairs, jousting, and talks by Henry VIII

17. Stepping Into History conference – June 2008
ALS and Learning Times began offering Stepping Into Virtual World conferences beginning
in June 2008 to help educators realize the potential of virtual worlds.

18. Land of Lincoln
To celebrate the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, ALS built a Land of Lincoln in
Second Life and in Teen Second Life. The Second Life place includes a Lincoln-era White
House, a typical plantation, a Lincoln Memorial, a 19th century village, and various displays.

19. Only Yesterday
ALS has a 1930s era sim called “Only Yesterday.” Period shops, photography, homes, and
other displays give visitors a feel for life in that period.

20. Library education
San Jose State University Graduate School of Library and Information Science built the first library
school campus in Second Life with credit classes. University of Illinois Graduate School of Library
and Information Science offers non-credit classes in virtual world librarianship.

21. Bradburyville
The Illinois State Library received a BIG READ grant from NEH. Funds were used to build
Bradburyville, an island with a walk-in book of Fahrenheit 451, a carnival from “Something
Wicked this Way Comes,” a theater, and a multimedia museum.

22. Eduislands
There are now 6 Eduislands for universities, non-profits, educators and libraries to rent
space near other educators. This is Literature Alive headquarters on Eduisland 2.

23. Commonwealth 1,2,3,4
Commonwealth Islands provide spaces for non-profits in Second Life.

24. Stanford University Libraries

25. Cleveland Public Library

26. Cybrary City, Cybrary City 2, Talis Cybrary Island
These islands provide space for libraries getting started in Second Life. They can create
their own presence and work with other libraries.

27. Museum Isles
Learning Times has 5 museum isles to help museums get started in Second Life

28. American Library Association
In 2007, graduate students from the SJSU Library School worked with Jeremy Kemp to
build ALA Island.