So as part of my upcoming project presentation, it looks like I’ll be enrolling and learning how to operate the immersive online environment of Second Life. I wrote an earlier blog for L500 on the use of Second Life to promote library services (which seems to have vanished from WordPress), however I’d never actually signed up for SL – this has been largely due to the fact that my computer can’t handle the minimum system requirements in order to operate the program properly. From the videos I’ve seen on YouTube introducing newbies to Second Life, this seems to be a common problem – if you don’t have a worthwhile graphics card and a proper CPU, then Second Life is relatively off limits. This issue makes its use in library interactions somewhat dubious, as transferring services here ostracizes anyone who doesn’t meet what seem to be relatively high standards, and does so in a way that other SNS programs (such as Twitter and Facebook) don’t. This said, the number of users is growing at a fantastic rate, and virtual SL spaces such as Cybrary City contain the online presence of many academic, public, special and government libraries.
With the computer system that I have, however, I was at least able to create an identity and log in; on the world of Second Life, I’m now known as Scottt Marshdevil, something similar enough to my real life name that I’ll be able to remember it (can’t get away from reality enough I guess). I can’t move more than a frame every few seconds, close windows I open, alter my appearance or see anything other than the most basic of shapes, but at least this is a start. I was, however, able to chat with another noob (who was from Nigeria, interestingly) and was immediately convinced of the potentials of this space in facilitating interaction on a global scale. Hopefully my ability to participate in this space and practice in SL will improve soon, though – I’m writing this on my coal-powered, 5-year-old laptop right now since I took my computer to the shop for upgrades, including a new graphics card and shiny new motherboard and CPU. This is why I’ve named this post ‘part one,’ as by part two I’m sure I’ll have been able to interact with the world a little bit better.
It certainly seems worthwhile, however, as looking at many of the YouTube posts dedicated to introducing SL to users, many of them come from MLIS students and involve libraries. Lists of libraries currently participating have been constructed, and with good reason – library consortia such as ALA and the California Library Association are staples of the environment, as well as specific islands operated by large information organizations such as the CDC.
Susan Smith has constructed a very useful list of affordances for libraries on Second Life, including social learning, affiliation, self determination, self efficacy, engagement to prior learning, simulation of real-world environments and cultural diversity. Beyond these, I can think of a few others: lack of reticence in approaching a reference librarian about an information need, accessibility for those who may not be able to make it into a branch, and the ability to access a vast number of institutions in a single setting.
Smith also, however, provides a list of disadvantages. These include my aforementioned issue of technological difficulties, the steep learning curve of Second Life participation, social pressures on new residents and “cognitive overload / distractions.” Overall, however, these problems seem to pale in comparison to the possibilities and potentials of Second Life as a learning environment and a site for libraries to access their patrons in a viable way. It also gets to what I’ve mentioned earlier in my blog, being the fact that libraries need to be competitive given the paradigm shift in information sharing and actively participate in an aggressive way if they are to remain useful and stay in the public consciousness – the increased visibility offered by SL is something that is potentially harder to achieve for strictly physical environments.
When I get my desktop computer back (which I’m told will be in a couple of days), I’ll be able to comment more on my own interactions in the spaces where the libraries seem to be corralled (Cybrary Cities One and Two) and report on my first steps into these forums – after I learn the basic interacting skills and figure out how to give my avatar a beard, however.
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