MLC%20Open%20House%20In%20Second%20Life

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MLC Open House In Second Life Report by
Rosie Kidd July 2007
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Background Information behind the Event
MLC sent a notice to Michigan libraries notifying
them that they had developed and implemented a
virtual site in Second Life. The open house
celebration was held on July 12th, 2007. Sara
Martin, Associate Dean from the University of
Detroit Mercy, attended the event representing
DALNET. Saras Second Life avatar is named Rosie
Kidd.
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Learning about your Second Life
Second Life is a relatively new software
program created by Linden Lab out of California.
Its being
used by the education community to communicate
with both individuals and groups, to provide
remote access to information and to teach
distance education classes. What makes this
product unique, is that you are using a 3
dimensional environment with figures (called
avatars) that represent people. Not only can you
give patrons access to textual information,
images and sound you can actually demonstrate
how to do things.
Water moves, wind blows, trees sway, avatars
walk, talk, dance and fly.
Rosie, doing a demonstration.
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Second Life Membership and Software are Free
The Second Life software is free to anyone.
Using your web browser, go to the URL listed.
There you can register for your free membership
and download the software. Once the software
has been loaded, a new icon will appear on your
Desktop. Click on it to connect to Second Life.
(http//www.secondlife.com)
To run Second Life, you will need a good network
connection and a newer computer with plenty of
memory. Over 6 million people world wide are
currently using Second Life. The age restriction
for the site is 18 and older. A Teen Second Life
allows teenagers 13 through 17 years old.
Currently there is no site for children.
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What makes this different?
A key feature of Second Life is that this virtual
world is being created by users. This
means. that schools, libraries and organizations
use Second Life to create their own content.
Second Life Reference Desk
University of North Carolina
Rosie, visiting Mohawk College
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Getting to the Event
Second Life is built on the idea of virtual
land. Land is actually space on a computer
server. MLC has acquired space on the server
housing the Second Life Island called Cybrary
City II. Residents of Second Life find
information by moving from one location to
another. They move through the use of an
interactive map. The MLC press release gave the
name of the Second Life Island and
ground coordinates where their new building Is
located.
Acting as Rosie, I opened my map, typed in
Cybrary City II and the Coordinates 167,51,21.
Then I pressed the enter key. The map system
transported Me to the MLC site.
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The MLC Garden
In front of the MLC building is a lovely garden
with a pond and fountain. As I landed, MLC staff
arrived to greet visitors.
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The New MLC Building
The new facility boasts a unique design of metal
and glass. The first two floors of the building
are used for public and office space with a
reception area on the third floor. If you look
closely at the picture, you can see Randy
Dykhuis and Ruth Dukelows heads spinning in the
background.
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A side view of the MLC Building
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Contacting MLC Staff
The MLC staff can be contacted via e-mail by
clicking on the floating book located in front of
the MLC building.
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The MLC Lobby
As I walked into the lobby, I saw a wall with
pictures of all the MLC avatars.
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MLC Membership Desk
Just to the left of the front doors lies the MLC
Membership Desk. I clicked on the stack of papers
and was given a note card with membership
information. Next I clicked on the computer
screen which caused my web browser to open up to
the MLC website. Then I clicked on the Moose and
it gave me a free MLC T-shirt for my avatar to
wear.
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The Party!
As I walked through the lobby, I heard
music playing. I ventured up to the 3rd floor
where I found a party in full swing.
Each one of the Avatars in this picture
represents a librarian. Some of these people
were from Kansas and Nebraska. Second Life
provided them with the ability to attend a
Michigan event.
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Networking
I did a little networking and met Patricia
Anderson, a librarian from the University of
Michigan. Patricia has named her avatar
Perplexity Peccable. Perplexity shared some great
online health resources with me.
(Yes thats a pool in the background.)
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The Tour
A short time later Evie, (Evette Atkin in real
life) offered to give us a tour of the new
facility. About 6 or 7 of us happily accepted and
gathered around Evie near the buffet table.
Evie
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First Stop Lecture Bowl
The first stop on the tour was the Lecture Bowl.
This area allows MLC Staff to hold online group
meetings. Theres no need to leave work, spend
hours on the road and have to pay for Gas and
parking.
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Online Databases
The next stop on our tour was a room that held
several computer monitors. Evie showed us how
to click on a monitor to get access to the
online databases.
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Michigan e-Library
Next, Evie showed us their e-library section.
The computers work in a similar way as the
other room.
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Second Floor Slide Show
Evie took our group to the 2nd floor where a
large interactive slide show was displayed. MLC
was using the equipment to highlight their
program offerings.
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Contact Desk
Across the room from the slide show is the
reference desk. Evie commented that there
have been several instances where she has met
with an avatar in Second Life to make
arrangements for real life events.
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Outdoor Auditorium
The educational institutions located on Cybrary
City II Island share an outdoor auditorium with
seating for over 40 people and two screens for
presenting.
Live audio is available in Second Life via voice
over IP. This works very well when presenting to
large groups.
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Saying Goodbye
When the tour was over, I said my goodbyes and
headed home.
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What Does All This Mean For DALNET?
A growing number of Universities, Colleges,
Public Schools, Public Libraries, Art Galleries
and Health related organizations are utilizing
Second Life for promotion, communication and
education. Major companies are buying into
Second Life as a new way to reach
consumers. Second Life Reference Librarians are
already in place providing service to a large
number of patrons.
Its time to become familiar with this new
technology and to begin discussing how it can
benefit DALNET.
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