Do libraries have any use for virtual worlds?
As part of CILIP’s bi-annual conference, Umbrella 2007, library professionals met online in a virtual conference session to discuss the potential value of Second Life to library services.
Second Life is a rapidly growing online virtual environment and is pioneering new ways of communicating, interacting and remotely collaborating through the internet. Users, who can build buildings, landscapes, furniture, machines etc., create the majority of content.
Representatives at the virtual conference were positive about the potential Second Life holds for library services, “at present Second Life really reminds me of the net in the mid-90s. It needs some time to develop as a reliable platform, but once it does, its potential is enormous!”
Specific benefits include the potential for hard to reach readers, “distance learners, shy students, busy students,” or those conscious of disability, race or gender to communicate more confidently and effectively than they might be able to in real life.
Networking between organisations was also seen as important, “we have made contact with many institutions that we would not have otherwise. The Reference Desk is a great place to meet other librarians for all over the world”.
A number of Universities are using Second Life to run virtual classrooms, including the Open University, University College Dublin, Harvard and Stanford. The InfoIsland includes a library containing books, audio books, and other media available in Second Life. Politicians, such as Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, have used it as a virtual platform. Banks, including ING, Saxo and ABN AMRO, have an online presence and Sweden even has an embassy.
Future sessions on the value of Second Life to library services are planned and a virtual office for CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals will open at 12.00pm on the 19 July. Anyone with an interest in libraries on Second Life who wants to find out more should contact Rheinallt Jones on rheinallt.jones@wales.gsi.gov.uk or by searching his online name ‘Welshman Humphreys’ through Second Life.
Press Contact: Rheinallt Jones, CILIP’s Programme Manager for the Welsh Assembly’s Libraries for Life Project
Tel: 07760 235730
e-mail: rheinallt.jones@wales.gsi.gov.uk
Press Contact: Mark Taylor, Marketing Executive, CILIP
Tel: 020 7255 0654
e-mail: mark.taylor@cilip.org.uk
Screen-shots are available on request.
Notes to Editors
CILIP: The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals is the leading professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers. It forms a community of around 40,000 people engaged in library and information work, of whom around 22,000 are CILIP members, about 15,000 are customers of CILIP Enterprises, and the remainder are online subscribers. Website:
www.cilip.org.uk
Second Life started initially in 2003, there are now over 7 million registered users and growing at a rate of 10,000 new members per day. It is expected to reach a staggering 25 million by March 2008. Sometimes referred to as the Metaverse, investors behind Linden Labs, creators of Second Life, include the founders of Amazon.com and eBay.
In 2006, real world 'bricks & mortar' businesses started moving into Second Life. Initially these were companies such as Adidas and Dell Computers, who generated brand awareness by marketing virtual representations of their products. Then companies started to drive real world business as diverse as fast food establishments and professional services such as lawyers and tax advisors. Some companies used Second Life for product launches like Calvin Klein and Warner Brothers. IBM is an example of an organisation that has embraced Second Life as a means of collaborating with staff and customers.
With so much business activity going on within and around Second Life, Reuters have even set up an 'in-world' news agency with a full time correspondent.
By the end of 2011, 80 percent of active Internet users (and Fortune 500 enterprises) will have a “second life”, but not necessarily in Second Life, according to Gartner, Inc. (Business and technology Analysts)
Second Life has its own economy and a currency referred to as Linden Dollars (L$). Though the exchange rate fluctuates, as of February 2007 it is reasonably stable at around L$ 500 to one £1.
One of the distinguishing characteristics of Second Life is that the Residents, not Linden Lab, create most of the content of the world. The Resident avatars are one example of such user-generated content.
-Ends-
5 July 2007
Updated: 24 January 2008