Do we remove all the walls? Second Life librarianship
VALA 2008 CONCURRENT SESSION 1: Library 2.0
Tuesday 5 February 2008, 11:20 – 11:50
Persistent URL: http://www.vala.org.au/vala2008-proceedings/vala2008-session-1-greenhill
Kathryn Greenhill
Reference Librarian, Murdoch University Library
http://librariansmatter.com
Please tag your comments, tweets, and blob posts about this session: #VALA2008
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Abstract
Over five hundred librarians worldwide are experimenting with providing library services in the Multi User Virtual Environment (MUVE) called Second Life, including a small group of Australian librarians who constructed the Australian Libraries Building. This paper describes the interface and capabilities of a MUVE, the evolution of the Australian Libraries Building and the library objects built and scripted within it. It suggests some professional advantages for librarians who experiment within Second Life and the technical and managerial considerations of setting up a library presence there. It concludes by describing how Second Life library services have evolved, as librarians better understood the potential of the MUVE interface.