Internet Librarian - Second Life

In the name of "going to where the users are," presenters at the Internet Librarian conference frequently mentioned the virtual world called Second Life. Users "play" in the Second Life environment, but it is not quite accurate to say that SL is a game, since there is no real goal. Rather, Second Life is an online world where people represented by cartoon-like figures called "avatars") can do many of the same things people do in real life, including shopping, gambling and having illicit encounters. Second Life even has its own form of currency (called Linden Dollars, after Linden, the company that created and runs Second Life). You can spend your real-life currency to buy Linden Dollars, then use Linden Dollars to buy items or even develop virtual "real estate".

Since its inception in April 2006, Second Life has grown from 180,000 participants to over a million. People from all over the world participate, and many describe it as "addicting." As it is described, SL sounds like a chance to take part in risky behaviors without consequences. Not only can one's avatar do things many wouldn't dare to do in real life, users can change their identities and avatars at will. So, their behaviors never catch up with them.

Users do have to have a high end computer system or else they are likely to be very frustrated, and their are fees for registration and participation.

Presenters encouraged librarians to volunteer to staff Info Island, a library-like space in the Second Life milieu. The Alliance Library System (which serves Southern and Western Illinois) has really gotten involved in Second Life. In a press release, they detail the many activities they plan to celebrate the official grand opening of Info Island; all of these events will take place in the virtual world. Librarians who are active in SL say that it gives them an opportunity to implement Library 2.0 concepts and to think through the role of the library in the both the virtual setting and the real world.