A Day in the Life… Second Life

This blog focuses on the question, “how has technology impacted libraries?” While some technologies transform libraries and library professionals, others, like Second Life, illustrate the adage that “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

According to its website, “Second Life is a free 3D virtual world where users can socialize, connect and create using free voice and text chat.”¹ It’s an immersive environment where participants create “avatars”— forms that allow them to travel and interact. There are now at least one million registered users and approximately 10,000 of them are online in Second Life at any given time.² A population this large must have information needs.

As a Library and Information Science student, I wondered if the Second Life reference desk would be different from any other. To answer that question I first turned to Bill Sowers, who runs the reference desk at the State Library of Kansas branch in Second Life. He kindly agreed to share his experiences through a telephone interview conducted on Friday, June 4, 2010.

Mary Claire: What is your background and how did you become a reference desk librarian on Second Life?

Bill: I’m a cataloger by training. Prior to August 2006 my world was working with OPACs and OCLC. I had a subscription to AutoCat and absolutely no Instant Messaging (IM) or virtual world experience. In August 2006 my Director asked the staff to give Second Life a try. I went into Second Life with my wife [Diana] and we volunteered on the Second Life library sims starting with the government documents collection. Both of us eventually began our own libraries in Second Life, a State Library of Kansas Virtual Branch and a Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library Virtual Branch.

Mary Claire: How did that go?

Bill: It was frustrating at first, because I had no knowledge of IM or texting, which is a basic communication tool in Second Life. But gradually I learned. Diana had some experience with it, so she helped me learn the basics.

Mary Claire: It seems like the Second Life community would be really young and tech-savvy.

Bill: Actually many inhabitants are older—40 and up and highly educated. Younger gaming types aren’t drawn to it. There’s no reward system, no mission to carry out, points aren’t rewarded for certain activities. The attraction is the social networking and creativity.

Mary Claire: And I recall you mentioning that you had a special PC, one equipped for gaming. Is hardware a barrier?

Bill: Yes, users need a fast internet connection and enough processing power to run graphics-rich programs. There are rural areas in Kansas that do not have connections fast enough to handle it.

Mary Claire: What are your duties as a Second Life Librarian?

Bill: My presence is twofold: to update and assist the State Library of Kansas virtual branch, and Diana and I also do larger work at the Community Virtual Library on Second Life. Just as a public library serves its community, Second Life libraries serve the Second Life community. I get questions like “How do I buy hair?” and “Where are the interesting landmarks?”

I use the same tools as any reference desk: pathfinders and handouts. I built a catalog of references. I keep stats on how many questions are answered, by type and by visitor. I do some tours of the library and Second Life. I try to dispel the stereotypical views of Kansas with the collection I’ve set up at the State Library of Kansas Virtual Branch.

Mary Claire: Do you provide your management with reports, average number of questions answered, etc?

Bill: Yes, just like any branch; and I always point out the Second Life branch has no facilities expenses! We do have visitor statistics, too, which I supply to my administration at the State Library of Kansas.

Mary Claire: What are you working on now?

Bill: I’m working on a book fair for July and August. We’ll have authors reading excerpts from their work. an author discussing how to write in a virtual environment, another on how to publish your own manscript. I am setting up a display on "The History of Printed Text in Communication". We found a digital Guttenberg Press that someone had already built in Second Life and it will be featured in the display.

Mary Claire: Are other libraries or colleges using Second Life?

Bill: Some that I’m aware of: the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Nursing Program is using Second Life for its distance learners to demonstrate procedures. San Jose State University, University of Hawaii and Mexico State University use the environment for class assignments.

Mary Claire: How has the experience changed you or shaped your career?

Bill: It’s broadened my social network far beyond Kansas. I’m sensitive to the fact that only about 40% of Second Life inhabitants are from the U.S. One of my first projects was to set up a document collection on Info Island. A Canadian techie called me out on its U.S.-centered focus. I’ve connected with many library professionals from around the world that I would have never met before.

Professionally, I became interested in blogging, and now manage two blogs for the State Library of Kansas on government information. I read a broader range of topics. I tweet and use FaceBook… seemingly small things but big steps for me.

Mary Claire: Where is all this going?

Bill: Libraries in Second Life and other virtual worlds are in their infancy. There are so many ways we can evolve I really cannot predict. One interesting area is exhibits. There have been some effective exhibits focusing on the recent events in Haiti and confronting the topic of human trafficking. These have leveraged the 3rd and 4th dimension properties of Second Life with some really interesting, high impact results. We’ll just have to wait and see where it goes from here.

* * *

(B. Sowers, personal communication, June 4, 2010)

Thanks, Bill for sharing some of your experiences as a Second Life Reference Librarian!

After my call to Bill I scanned the programming listed on the Info Island page,³ (http://www.infoisland.org/), and noted that it could be from any public library: Community Virtual Library Summer Book Club, Exercise & Fitness @ Community Virtual Library, and a Virtual World Landmark Center.

While Second Life is a world apart from the “brick and mortar” world we inhabit, some needs are very much the same. Participants need information and a library is still a venue for providing it. Yes, there is a learning curve for walking, flying, and teleporting, but the essence of the reference interview remains.

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¹For more information see http://www.secondlife.com/

²Reena J. & McConnon, A. (2006, November). Second Life Lessons. Business Week, (4011), 17. Retrieved from Research Library. doi:1166572491

³For more information see http://www.infoisland.org/