Virtual world librarians share a project with the goal of connecting virtual world learning communities.

1. Metaverse Libraries:
Communities as Resources
Dr. Valerie Hill – Valibrarian Gregg
Dr. Marie Vans – amvans Lapis
Alyse Dunavant-Jones—Antemeridiem Diskjockey

2. History of Virtual World Librarianship

3. Librarianship in Second Life
• 2003 - Educators began to adopt virtual worlds for immersive learning and global connectivity.
• Librarians began using SL almost since SL went on line.
• 2006 - Alliance Library System looked at SL as way to provide library services to new
generation of users
• Users looking to internet for resources rather than utilizing physical library services.
• 2007- Info Archipelago (Second Life Library) was born -
• Almost 40 islands associated with it. (Bell, et. al, 2008)
• 2007-American Library Association (ALA), opened space in SL
• Unfortunately, space was closed four years later after Linden Labs eliminated the discount
educational institutions enjoyed
• ALA has maintained presence in SL by librarians who understand the importance of virtual
worlds in helping libraries to remain relevant in a digital world.
• The Community Virtual Library (CVL), which began as the Info Archipelago, in SL has

4. Librarians & Teaching
• Librarians also in forefront of using virtual worlds for teaching.
• Librarians at universities have created programs for teaching and learning
in virtual environments:
• University of Hawaii
• University of Sheffield
• Stanford
• San José State University
• When designed correctly, curriculum implementation allows students from
across the world to participate in a more dynamic environment than
traditional distance-based courses, a major benefit of these types of 3D
immersive environments.

6. MAIN BRANCH
Community Virtual Library

9. VCARA’s Mission:
Provide virtual space and resources for
those interested in any aspect of
information science including archives,
education, libraries, records, and special
collections in order to communicate,
collaborate, and exchange information;
showcase accomplishments; educate;
and innovate outside of the formal
classroom structure.
VCARA - Participate. Educate. Innovate.
➢ iSchool Island in Second Life - Est. May 16, 2007
➢ Three distinct areas: VCARA, VCARA Village, and Grant Space
➢ VCARA – Founded in 2009
Virtual Center for Archives and Records Administration

10. InWorldz
♣ Opened on March 23, 2009
♣ Total Users: 163644 (February 20, 2017)
♣ Total Regions: 1307 (down from 1525 1 year ago)
♣ Shopping mostly in-world, beta on-line market place opened August 7th, 2016
♣ Cost:
♣Mainland: $40.00 1st month, $60.00 per month recurring, 30,000 Prims Maximum
♣Private Region: $50.00 1st month, $75.00 recurring, 45,000 Prims Maximum
♣Scenic Region: $20.00 recurring, 5,000 Prims Maximum
♣ 2x2 Bundle: $60.00 1st month, $85.00 recurring, 12,000 Prims Maximum, 48,000
Prims total

11. Inworldz - Community Library for Artists

12. Seanchai Library
Storytelling in InWorldz, Kitely & Second Life
“The Seanchai ("Storyteller" in Irish) celebrates the Celtic
tradition of oral story sharing by bringing stories of all
kinds to life in virtual worlds.”

13. Kitely
• Largest commercial provider of OpenSim regions
• 14, 694 regions/13,140 Worlds (February 20, 2017)
• Beta opened in March 2011
• Opened on March 23, 2009
• Biggest difference between Inworldz & Second Life models is On-Demand
• Worlds are only loaded when needed, not running continuously
• Cost:
Starter World Standard World Advanced World
Max world size 1 Region 4 Regions 16 Regions
Max prims 15,000 60,000 120,000
Avatar capacity 10 40 80
Dedicated (RAM) 1024 MB 2048 MB 4096 MB
Price $14.95 / $19.95 / $39.95 /
month month month

14. Metaverse Libraries

15. Kitely – STEM4Girls
• An island for K-12 teachers to learn about why there are
so few girls in S(cience) T(echnology) E(ngineering) &
M(ath)
• Started with the OpenVCE OAR (OpenSim Archives)
• Headquarters for statistics and other information about
the issue
• Library with resources for learning as well as reading
recommendations for girls K-12
• Auditorium for live lectures
• Several smaller building for hands-on activities such as
physics experiments, learning to code, etc.
• Goal is to open at the end of the summer, 2017.

16. the BIG picture
isn’t always easy to understand

17. Current & Future Needs and Services
What information needs can be
best served in a virtual world?
What can we offer virtually that
cannot be delivered physically?
• Global connectivity
• Sense of presence
• Navigation of information landscapes
• Content evaluation
• Creative programming
• Digital Citizenship

18. Future of Librarians in
Virtual Worlds

19. Digital Citizenship Exhibit

21. Pointing the way to information

22. Metaverse Libraries
New branches of the Community Virtual Library

23. Marie will add Metaverse
Library TOURS

24. CVL in Kitely

27. Hyergrid Train Station

30. Collaborating across worlds
• Whether one has an avatar or not…. we all live in
virtual worlds.
• We are all digital citizens with essential needs to
evaluate information and navigate within digital
culture.
• Virtual world librarians can provide help for digital
citizens.

31. Through the creation of an online database, CVL strives to raise
awareness of high quality educational information in virtual worlds and to
document librarians’ and educators’ efforts to create and share
educational communities and resources.
Virtual Worlds Database

32. High quality simulations have been built only to be on display then
disappear. It is difficult to know what’s out there in virtual worlds, and
individuals and communities continuously reinvent the wheel because
there is not a searchable catalog of educational resources.
◆ Previous Attempts
◆ No other searchable database has
been published to date
◆ Isolated lists and spreadsheets of
landmarks and simulations
◆ In-world browse-only collections
◆ Online commercial and individual
blogs, wikis, and websites
◆ Background
◆ Lack of tools for searching and
retrieving landmarks/communities
◆ Virtual worlds are ever-changing
◆ Lists and spreadsheets are
difficult to maintain
◆ Vital to document what we
are doing for future
generations
A Librarian’s Dilemma

34. ◆ Virtual World Communities
◆ 12 entries (and growing!)
◆ Actively building
◆ Virtual World Landmarks
◆ 598 entries
◆ Searchable and maintained, but
not actively building
What’s the Difference?
◆ Landmarks represent a specific space and/or object while communities can span many
spaces and are more activity and citizen-focused
◆ Overlap occurs when landmarks are important to/maintained by communities
Future Goals:
◆ Interlink these collections within the database
◆ Add more collections representing other aspects of virtual worlds (retired sims/projects,
biographies, multimedia, research, conferences)
Virtual Worlds Database: Current Progress

35. ◆ Community Name (*Required)
◆ Community Website URL
◆ Parent Organization
◆ (if any)
◆ Parent Organization Website
URL
◆ Community Founder(s) –
◆ Real life and/or avatar names
◆ Date Founded
◆ (MM/DD/YYYY)
Database Categories
◆ Current Community
Owner(s)/Leader(s)
◆ Brief Community Description
◆ Community Focus:
◆ Education, Libraries/Information
Science, Architecture, Arts, Genealogy,
Health, History, Humanities, Music,
Social Sciences, STEM, Other
◆ Maturity Rating:
◆ Not Rated, Adult, General, Moderate,
Other

36. ◆ Target Audience:
◆ Educators, Adult Learners, Higher
Education/Secondary Education, K-
12/Primary Education, Everyone, Other
◆ Platform(s):
◆ OpenSim, Web Browser, Other
◆ Virtual World(s):
◆ Second Life, Kitely, InWorldz, Other
◆ Virtual World of Main
Community Branch (*Required):
◆ Second Life, Kitely, InWorldz, Other
◆ Community's Main Branch
In-World URL (*Required)
Database Categories (Cont.)
◆ Audio/Visual Requirements
◆ (Do users need speakers or other
technology to participate in the
community? Are there accommodations
for disabilities?)
◆ Language(s):
◆ English, Other
◆ Usage Rights/Permissions
◆ (Are there copyright or other
permissions issues visitors should be
aware of?)
◆ Restrictions/Limitations
◆ (Is there any other information visitors
should be aware of?)

37. Check Out the Virtual Worlds Database
◆ Other Ways to Access the Database
◆ Responsive Web Design for mobile
devices/tablets
◆ Future CVL website integration – stay
tuned!
◆ https://communityvirtuallibrary.wordpress.com
◆ Apps for catalogers (must log in to
access)
◆ Mac and Windows desktop apps
◆ iOS and Android mobile apps
To view or search the Virtual Worlds Database, please visit:
http://tinyurl.com/virtualworldsdatabase

38. Main View
Virtual Worlds Database: View Options
Gallery
View

39. Filter
◆Narrow/search by field
Search
◆Find by keyword
Browse
◆Sort/group by field
Using the Database: Browse, Filter, Search

40. ◆ Website Integration Specialist
◆ Embed database and form into
CVL’s website
◆ XML Backup Creator
◆ XML/coding experience; Create and
maintain XML version of database
◆ IT Support for Database
Growth/Migration
◆ Coding experience; Experience
implementing open source
database solutions
To volunteer, contact CVL President Val (CVL President; valibrarian@gmail.com; Valibrarian Gregg in SL, InWorldz,
Kitely, OpenSim) or Alyse (Virtual Worlds Database Coordinator; alyse.dunavant-jones@sjsu.edu;
alysedunavantjones in SL; AnteMeridiem DiscJockey in InWorldz, Kitely)
Help Needed: Specialized Skills/Commitment
◆ Fact Checkers
◆ Investigate initial entries for
accuracy, fill in gaps
◆ Catalogers
◆ MLIS/equivalent; Edit and add
entries to database
◆ Glossary/Controlled Vocabulary
Researchers
◆ MLIS/equivalent; Research existing
relevant controlled vocabularies;
Create glossary

41. ◆ Enter Communities
◆
http://tinyurl.com/virtualworldsdatabase
form
◆ Critique/Suggest Improvements
◆ Contact Val or Alyse
◆ Spread the Word
◆ Advertise the database in groups,
listservs, social media, etc.
◆ Use the Database!
◆ Are you or someone you know looking
for a community to join/explore? To
interview/feature? To volunteer, contact CVL President Val (CVL President;
valibrarian@gmail.com; Valibrarian Gregg in SL,
InWorldz, Kitely, OpenSim) or Alyse (Virtual Worlds
Database Coordinator; alyse.dunavant-jones@sjsu.edu;
◆ Collaborate
◆ Do you have your own virtual worlds
database/spreadsheet? Let’s work together!
Help Needed: Tasks Open to Everyone
Gysler, M. (2011). Social media [Image]. Retrieved and modified from
https://www.flickr.com/photos/martingysler/
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/)

42. To contribute your favorite educational virtual world communities to
the Virtual Worlds Database, complete our Google Form:
http://tinyurl.com/virtualworldsdatabaseform
Hands-On SL MOOC 2017 Session: Contribute a Community Today!
◆ Required items: Your Email, Your Avatar,
Community Name, Virtual World of Main
Community Branch, Community's Main Branch In-
World URL
◆ CVL Volunteers will double-check,
complete, and edit your entries
◆ CVL Librarians will add the completed
entries to the database
◆ average turnaround = 1 week
◆ Follow Val’s instructions as she hosts this
hands-on exercise now!
◆ Open the Virtual Worlds Database Google
Form (link above)
◆ Think of at least one education-oriented
community in the Metaverse
◆ Add as much information on the community
as you can in the next 5-10 minutes
Help Us Catalog Virtual Worlds

43. Thank You!
Valerie Hill
● Valibrarian Gregg in SL & Kitely
Marie Vans
● amvans.lapis in SL, amvans Lapis
in Kitely
Alyse Dunavant-Jones
● alysedunavantjones in SL,
AnteMeridiem DiskJockey in
Kitely