It was with great excitement that I attended The Best Practices Exchange 2007: Libraries and Archives in the Digital Era on May 2nd-4th. The conference was hosted by the Arizona State Library, Archives, and Public Records and offered a forum for librarians, archivists, and records managers to discuss challenges and best practices when dealing with digital government information.
During the conference, I facilitated a discussion session on Web 2.0 Technologies. Specifically, I was interested in how State Archives and Libraries were using Web 2.0 to facilitate access to digital government information.
It was a very lively and dynamic discussion, and I learned quite a bit. Here is a brief overview of the talk:
Introduction to Web 2.0:
I basically gave an overview of the North Carolina Government Libraries--Web 2.0 brown bag lunches led by Michelle Czaikowsi and Beth Crist from the State Library of North Carolina. I emphasized how these brown bag lunches were based on the blog Learning 2.0: 23 Things created by Helene Blowers of the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.
Blogs:
Not surprisingly, the very first thing we discussed during this session was blogs.
Examples:
The Colorado State Publications Library has a blog maintained by reference staff. Posts cover a current topic or news story and then links to relevant state publications that offer more information about this topic. I thought this was an exciting and unique way of marketing a government documents collection. You can view their blog here: http://cospl.blogspot.com/
The Government Publications Library at the University of Colorado--Boulder also maintains a blog about government information. It can be viewed here: http://cubgovpubs.blogspot.com/
Wikis:
Wikis were another popular topic of discussion. Some attendees were adding links to their projects/programs into Wikipedia and Library Science wikis. They felt this was another access mechanism for patrons. A few attendees expressed great concern over how quickly and easily wiki content could be changed. How do you undertake digital preservation efforts on such a dynamic document?
Examples:
The user manual for Archive-IT (a service of the Internet Archive) is a wiki.
One attendee said their library had a wiki for department goals. The department heads could update these goals as needed and list how their goals were being met.
Social Tagging:
Next we discussed the ability for users to tag and create their own folksonomies in a library setting. None of the attendees worked at institutions where this is currently done. Most agreed that social tagging would work best as a supplement to traditional cataloging practices such as Library of Congress subject headings. No one believed that social tagging was a practice that should be used by itself, although an attendee wondered if social tagging would force the Library of Congress to adopt new and more flexible terminology.
Examples:
The University of Pennsylvania created their own social tagging folksonomy that offers some level of control. These are called PennTags and you can read more about them here: http://tags.library.upenn.edu/
Second Life:
Only a handful of attendees knew what Second Life was, but many were intrigued by the concept of this virtual reality game. Others found it silly and amusing, wondering why people were hesitant to visit a library in real life yet were all-too-eager to stop by a virtual reality library.
Examples:
Attendees noted that a talk by Brewster Kahle and several ALA presentations were broadcast over Second Life. Numerous virtual people were in attendence.
Social Bookmarking Sites:
I offered a brief introduction to the social bookmarking site del.icio.us. While there were several users of del.icio.us in attendance, they were all using it for their personal bookmarks rather than using it as a means of collaboration or sharing information.
Image Sharing Software:
We briefly touched on Flickr and other image sharing software.
Examples:
Certain libraries/archives are posting photos from their collections on Flickr and soliciting users to help them identify the photographs' content.
And Finally...
If you'd like to read more about the 2007 Best Practices Exchange, visit their messageboard, and also check out the Free Government Information (FGI) blog.
Showing posts with label Second Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Second Life. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Second Life for a Second Time
So, I get home from work yesterday, and my husband starts asking me about Second Life!! He works for a medical journal and is investigating ways to build a virtual community from the journal's reader base. As such, he is curious how Second Life actually works, how much it costs, and what is involved with implementing it.
I'm always happy to do a little research, so here is what I found out from the Second Life website.
About Second Life
I didn't really go into this much in my first post about this game, and I apologize. Here is a nice description of Second Life taken from their website:
Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by a total of 5,868,749 people from around the globe.
The most important thing about the world of Second Life is that it is constantly changing and growing. Here's why:
* Thousands of new residents join each day and Create an Avatar
* Those avatars Explore the World and Meet People
* These people discover the thousands of ways to Have Fun
* Some people decide to purchase Virtual Land, which allows them to open a business, build their own virtual paradise, and more!
Registration
Over 5 million users have signed up to play Second Life. Signing up involves registering with the following information:
1)your avatar name (you can choose your own first name, but must pick from a list of last names)
2) your birthdate
3) a valid e-mail address
4) selecting 1 of 8 basic avatar looks. Your look can be changed after your registration is complete
5) your real name
6) a password
7) a security question
8) what news/updates you wish to receive via e-mail
9) agreeing to the terms of service
Also, they will probably ask for credit card information even if you sign up for the free basic package.
System Requirements
Minimum PC Requirements
* Internet Connection: Cable or DSL
* Operating System: Windows XP (Service Pack 2)OR Windows 2000 (Service Pack 4)
NOTE: Second Life does NOT currently support Windows Vista
* Computer Processor: 800MHz Pentium III or Athlon, or better
* Computer Memory: 256MB or better
* Video/Graphics Card:
o nVidia GeForce 2, GeForce 4mx, or better
o OR ATI Radeon 8500, 9250, or better
Preferred PC Requirements
* Internet Connection: Cable or DSL
* Operating System: Windows XP (Service Pack 2)OR Windows 2000 (Service Pack 4)
NOTE: Second Life does NOT currently support Windows Vista
* Computer Processor: 1.6GHz Pentium 4 or Athlon 2000+ or better
* Computer Memory: 512MB or better
* Video/Graphics Card:
o nVidia GeForce FX 5600, GeForce 6600, or better
o OR ATI Radeon 9600, X600, or better
Price/Fee Structure
There are 3 levels of registration. They are explained below:
First Basic Registration
Free! No monthly fee involved. This first level of registration gives you a customizable avatar, a sign-up bonus of $250 of "Linden dollars" or virtual money that you can use in-game (you have to enter a valid credit card number to get the virtual money), and the ability to build objects in "sandbox" areas (free temporary building zones).
Additional Basic Registration
One-time fee of $9.95. The second level of registration offers everything the first level does, so I'm not really clear on the difference between the two.
Premium Registration
Pay a monthly fee of $9.95 + land use fees or island billing fees. (I'll get to the land use and island billing fees in a minute). This third level of registration offers everything from the Basic Registration as well a sign-up bonus of $1,000 Linden dollars plus a $300 Linden dollar weekly stipend, 512 square meters of land for no additional charge, and the ability to build, store, and display projects on your land.
LAND USE FEES:
As a premium account user, you can have 512 square meters of land for $0 of land use fees. Anything over and above those 512 square meters require you to pay a monthly fee. The fee is based on how much land you have (not counting your free 512 square meters):
Amount of land (per square meters):
512: $5 a month
1024: $8 a month
2048: $15 a month
4096: $25 a month
8192: $40 a month
16,384: $75 a month
32,768: $125 a month
65,536: $195 a month
ISLAND BILLING:
Rather than just buying a parcel of land on Second Life, you can purchase a 65,536 square meter island which is ideal for huge projects needing lots of space. Once you own an island, you can give a rating to it (e.g. PG or Mature), customize it using your own terrain, buy several islands and group them to make a demi-continent, and even limit access to the island so that only certain users can visit. The pricing structure for islands appears below:
For typical users: $1675 one time fee + $295 of monthly land use fees
For educators or non-profits: $980 one time fee + $150 of monthly land use fees
However, educators and non-profits are required to pay for at least 6 months in advance when purchasing an island.
Conclusion
Well, that's Second Life in a REALLY big nutshell, folks!! Now that you all know a little more about this, what do you think?
I'm always happy to do a little research, so here is what I found out from the Second Life website.
About Second Life
I didn't really go into this much in my first post about this game, and I apologize. Here is a nice description of Second Life taken from their website:
Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by a total of 5,868,749 people from around the globe.
The most important thing about the world of Second Life is that it is constantly changing and growing. Here's why:
* Thousands of new residents join each day and Create an Avatar
* Those avatars Explore the World and Meet People
* These people discover the thousands of ways to Have Fun
* Some people decide to purchase Virtual Land, which allows them to open a business, build their own virtual paradise, and more!
Registration
Over 5 million users have signed up to play Second Life. Signing up involves registering with the following information:
1)your avatar name (you can choose your own first name, but must pick from a list of last names)
2) your birthdate
3) a valid e-mail address
4) selecting 1 of 8 basic avatar looks. Your look can be changed after your registration is complete
5) your real name
6) a password
7) a security question
8) what news/updates you wish to receive via e-mail
9) agreeing to the terms of service
Also, they will probably ask for credit card information even if you sign up for the free basic package.
System Requirements
Minimum PC Requirements
* Internet Connection: Cable or DSL
* Operating System: Windows XP (Service Pack 2)OR Windows 2000 (Service Pack 4)
NOTE: Second Life does NOT currently support Windows Vista
* Computer Processor: 800MHz Pentium III or Athlon, or better
* Computer Memory: 256MB or better
* Video/Graphics Card:
o nVidia GeForce 2, GeForce 4mx, or better
o OR ATI Radeon 8500, 9250, or better
Preferred PC Requirements
* Internet Connection: Cable or DSL
* Operating System: Windows XP (Service Pack 2)OR Windows 2000 (Service Pack 4)
NOTE: Second Life does NOT currently support Windows Vista
* Computer Processor: 1.6GHz Pentium 4 or Athlon 2000+ or better
* Computer Memory: 512MB or better
* Video/Graphics Card:
o nVidia GeForce FX 5600, GeForce 6600, or better
o OR ATI Radeon 9600, X600, or better
Price/Fee Structure
There are 3 levels of registration. They are explained below:
First Basic Registration
Free! No monthly fee involved. This first level of registration gives you a customizable avatar, a sign-up bonus of $250 of "Linden dollars" or virtual money that you can use in-game (you have to enter a valid credit card number to get the virtual money), and the ability to build objects in "sandbox" areas (free temporary building zones).
Additional Basic Registration
One-time fee of $9.95. The second level of registration offers everything the first level does, so I'm not really clear on the difference between the two.
Premium Registration
Pay a monthly fee of $9.95 + land use fees or island billing fees. (I'll get to the land use and island billing fees in a minute). This third level of registration offers everything from the Basic Registration as well a sign-up bonus of $1,000 Linden dollars plus a $300 Linden dollar weekly stipend, 512 square meters of land for no additional charge, and the ability to build, store, and display projects on your land.
LAND USE FEES:
As a premium account user, you can have 512 square meters of land for $0 of land use fees. Anything over and above those 512 square meters require you to pay a monthly fee. The fee is based on how much land you have (not counting your free 512 square meters):
Amount of land (per square meters):
512: $5 a month
1024: $8 a month
2048: $15 a month
4096: $25 a month
8192: $40 a month
16,384: $75 a month
32,768: $125 a month
65,536: $195 a month
ISLAND BILLING:
Rather than just buying a parcel of land on Second Life, you can purchase a 65,536 square meter island which is ideal for huge projects needing lots of space. Once you own an island, you can give a rating to it (e.g. PG or Mature), customize it using your own terrain, buy several islands and group them to make a demi-continent, and even limit access to the island so that only certain users can visit. The pricing structure for islands appears below:
For typical users: $1675 one time fee + $295 of monthly land use fees
For educators or non-profits: $980 one time fee + $150 of monthly land use fees
However, educators and non-profits are required to pay for at least 6 months in advance when purchasing an island.
Conclusion
Well, that's Second Life in a REALLY big nutshell, folks!! Now that you all know a little more about this, what do you think?
Monday, April 23, 2007
Second Life at Libraries
It seems like over the past couple days, I keep hearing about Second Life and how it's being used by libraries to offer services and programs in a Web 2.0 environment. This led me to wonder "What exactly ARE libraries building in Second Life?" Here are a couple of things that I've stumbled across:
State Library of Kansas: Daniel Cornwall from the Alaska State Library explains how the State Library of Kansas is using Second Life to create a virtual library branch and to dispense reference services including government information such as maps, and statistical information.
Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County: Jill Hurst-Wahl discusses the "Alliance Information Archipelago" which is a group of islands on Second Life dedicated to supplying library services. PLCMC owns one such island called "Eye4You" which focuses on offering public library services to teenagers playing the online game. To learn more about Eye4You click here.
I also discovered a nifty Photo Pool on Flickr that displays images of virtual libraries on Second Life. You can browse the photos here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/secondlifelibrary/
Finally, I found a "tour" of Info. Island/Second Life Libraries on You Tube. The graphics are a little jerky and require some getting used to, but it does offer a really nice intro. to the look and feel of the game. To learn more about Info. Island, click here.
State Library of Kansas: Daniel Cornwall from the Alaska State Library explains how the State Library of Kansas is using Second Life to create a virtual library branch and to dispense reference services including government information such as maps, and statistical information.
Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County: Jill Hurst-Wahl discusses the "Alliance Information Archipelago" which is a group of islands on Second Life dedicated to supplying library services. PLCMC owns one such island called "Eye4You" which focuses on offering public library services to teenagers playing the online game. To learn more about Eye4You click here.
I also discovered a nifty Photo Pool on Flickr that displays images of virtual libraries on Second Life. You can browse the photos here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/secondlifelibrary/
Finally, I found a "tour" of Info. Island/Second Life Libraries on You Tube. The graphics are a little jerky and require some getting used to, but it does offer a really nice intro. to the look and feel of the game. To learn more about Info. Island, click here.
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