What uses can you think of for virtual worlds within your own organization?

This is very wishy-washy of me, but I think that libraries should maybe participate in virtual worlds such as second life.

When they should:

Do you think that libraries should be in virtual worlds such as Second Life, why or why not?

I'm fairly new to Second Life and while I think it is fun, I wonder how many people actually attend meetings held by libraries and information organizations.  That said, Second Life is the type of social application that needs to be marketed to be successful.  I know the California Library Association held an event at their island in 2008 for which they sent email to their members. That type of notification probably guaranteed a well attended event.

Pros:

Do you think libraries should be in virtual worlds, such as second life, or not?

What uses can you think of for virtual works within your own organization?

I can think of two uses for virtual worlds such as SecondLife in a public library atmosphere. One use would be staff meetings, especially if staff are highly distributed across a large area. Staff that live hundreds of miles apart can log into a virtual world, access a pre-coordinated meeting place, and have their meeting in second life. This would be using it in sort of a video-conference style, because you can 'see' the person and talk with them in the virtual environment.

So, did we all have to go into Second Life and perform a mission for 203? When I did, I checked out a Fahrenheit 451 exhibit that was ... interesting. But underwhelming. Then, also, it was in-and-out -- get the task done, and move on.

Do you think that libraries should be in virtual worlds such as Second Life, why or why not?

As I took the Stanford Train on their tour through part of SL, I thought that SL really lends itself to design: Art students, architects, and web designers must love it there. But I can also see a place for libraries, especially academic and special libraries. Wherever there is a need and a use for information, a library should be involved.

In K-8 education I can see virtual worlds being very attractive and educational if properly created and used.  I really don't know if such a thing exists in a flitered environment.  On Elyssa's tour I could see young people creating building with those prims and practicing all kinds of math and critical thinking skills.  It's another way of looking at material.  A 6th grader at my school did a presentation about his perfect house last year using a program that made it look like the virtual world.  Everyone was fascinated and this by a kid who has difficulty with regular assignments.

Do you think libraries should be in virtual worlds such as Second Life, why or why not?

check this out if you are in doubt about the impact of virtual environments

So of all the things I learned here, and there were a lot, bloglines is my new favorite. I've been doing flickr and facebook for a while and they're both part of my routine. I've become re-aquainted with delicious, which I started on a while back but quit shortly after. I use it a lot more now.  Twitter is fun but I'm not sure how long I'll keep that up. But bloglines has changed my life (not really, but I do like it a lot). I used to use the RSS reader in mac mail which was nice but I couldn't access it from other computers. And, I don't know, it seemed constricting somehow.

Do you think that libraries should be in virtual worlds such as Second Life, why or why not?I think libraries and universities would benefit from being on second life because it is a creative way to collaborate with other librarians and patrons and it is a chance to reach a different set of users, but I think that it would be hard to set up a second life for a l

What uses can you think of for virtual worlds within your own organization?

I think one of the most promising uses for Second Life and other/future non-game virtual worlds is distance learning.  Like other programs, it provides geographically-diverse students the ability to convene and learn in a common environment. Unlike Elluminate, WIMBA, or chat rooms, SL offers users the visual feel of a classroom.  

Do you think that libraries should be in virtual worlds such as Second Life, why or why not?

I have to say, I don't know that I am sold on the need for libraries to have a presence in virtual worlds. I'm not sure the payoff is big enough for the time investment. I see virtual worlds as social sites -- not necessarily a place for people to go for information or books. We have the internet & kindle for both of those.

I do see a place for libraries in Second Life, to serve the people that use SL. These libraries would be special types, as opposed to public libraries. Right now, SL is popular with gamers and adults who enjoy leading alternative lives. So, how about a library that is specifically targeted at them? I don't see any library setting up a branch in SL unless they have a very specific niche that would also appeal to SL users. I can see SL a very appealing prospect for librarians who also like living second lives.

I took a class photo too -- here it is...  Anybody else hungover this morning? lol. My legs hurt from all that sitting.

If you just can't get enough of Web 2.0, you may be interested in this free online conference on Friday, August 14. Looking at the schedule, several of the sessions are 2.0 related.

OPALescence 2009: An Online Library Conference for Everyone

Pulled this off my reader this a.m.  Seems applicable to class, so I'm putting the link here for those not tweeting . . . :>)

Stats Confirm It: Teens Not Tweeting

Do you think that libraries should be in virtual worlds such as Second Life, why or why not?

Like the author of the "Library Matters" reading for this week, I think right now the value of Second Life is primarily for librarians, rather than library users. My experience with SL was fairly disappointing--apparently my Mac (a screaming dynamo of sheer computing force a mere four years ago) is too wimpy for Second Life. My avatar navigated like it had just taken a railroad spike in the forehead. Though I know a lotta folks have successfully immersed themselves in it, I fear it won't truly become a key player until these technical issues are resolved.

Do you think that libraries should be in virtual worlds such as Second Life, why or why not?

Do you think that libraries should be in virtual worlds such as Second Life, why or why not?

I have been on SL a couple times and have rarely encountered other users in library or academic islands.  SJSU SLIS is a virtual ghost town.  I visited on a Sunday around noon and was hard pressed to find anyone there (maybe summer break?).  I then went to some islands that I suspected I would find other users and I found them.  Where are all the people in SL?  The busy places were probably along the lines of what I found on this websites.

Hello All,

Hi Class,

Here is the YouTube Channel for the Summer Lovin' Library.

Our fictitious library has resources that will enable you to have an interesting, safe, and fun summer.

Enjoy!

Screencast Group Members: Amy Rogers, Mary Smartt, Claire Sharifi, Mark Mabbett, and Sarah Naumann

Better late than never. I used Google's custom search tool to create a single search engine for 28 consumer review sites for products and services, including some listed in the Librarian's Internet Index.

Consumer Reviews of Products & Services

This engine does not cover automobile review sites.

I had always wondered why no one created one before. : ) 

Amy

I think it is more the rare exception than the rule that libraries should have a virtual branch in SL.

Just read a really interesting article in Wired magazine which talks about Facebook's attempt to nudge aside Google in online search.  Facebook founder talks about wanting to create a personal, intimate internet instead of Google's cold math-based search algorithms, but the article illuminates some of the disturbing ways personal information could be used and sold.

Who do you trust to be the keeper of your online info?   Big Brother Google or Big Brother Facebook?

I believe libraries should be involved based on their patron population and economic standing. For example, on the more controversial side, the library may be located in an area of older generation adults without computer savy skills or perhaps funding would prohibit the library from using SecondLife due to staff time restraints. Another important issue is if the library computers are able to support SL usage.

FauxArts Library's YouTube Channel features screencast tutorials of art databases for the faculty and students of the Art and Art History Department of Faux University.

Group Project by Lynn and CJ.

Here is my rollyo profile:

http://rollyo.com/islcteacherlibrarian

Here is my LibraryThing profile:

http://www.librarything.com/profile/islcteacherlibrarian

What are some innovative ways that libraries and librarians could use custom search engines?

What are some innovative ways that libraries and librarians could use custom search engines?

A custom search engine could be useful on many levels. One way that it could be implemented is for high school research projects. Kids today often think of Google as a place to begin their research, but, as we all know, not all the information found on Google is authoritative or even factual. A librarian could create a custom search engine built of authoritative sources and the student could conduct their research using the custom search engine.

I'm amazed and fascinated by LibraryThing.  I've only added a few titles but, already, it's fun to see how many other people have the same books as me.

http://www.librarything/profile/mpoupart

Because I love to search for information about the history of art and artists, I created a search engine for art history in Rollyo.

http://rollyo.com/mpoupart/art_history

What types of custom search engines would you like to create and why?

In what ways could you see your library using social cataloging websites such as LibraryThing?

I aggregated and added some new information from other Anthropology search widgets.

o    What do you think some of the challenges might be in adopting a social cataloging application?For using social search engines the libraries would have to check the sites to make sure the links still worked every so often.  I ag

This is a custom search that I created to help Korean students that I used to tutor in American History. Like most middle school and high school students, they had a hard time telling the difference between reliable and not reliable websites when they were searching the web. This search engine was really helpful because it limited the amount of hits and brought back a more manageable list of resources.

http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=015017487894589994270%3Aeoohvlrrtoe

Social Cataloging websites, particularly LibraryThing for libraries, could be a great way for libraries to add functionality to their catalogs. One of the best enhancements is the recommendations feature. Library catalogs work pretty well for people who have a specific title in mind, but a lot of people go to the library to simply find a good book. This might be easy for people with time and a small enough library to physically browse, but sites like Amazon are increasing the expectations of patrons for immediacy and convenience in online browsing.

Here is my social cataloging profile.   I used Library Thing.

http://www.librarything.com/profile/mmabbett

Rex, Michael, Jenna and I did the flickr site as our group project and thought we'd share. In order to keep it off the regular flickr radar we limited access to contacts but this link should work.

http://flickr.com/gp/40044088@N03/454791

If not let me know and I'll try a different way.  Thanks for looking. 

Hello fellow LIBR246'ers!

On behalf of the Ning Group Project Team, I am happy to present the final/official version of our teen social network on Ning, the SPL MyBrary.  The link should let you in no problem, but if you do have any trouble, please let us know here.

Thanks!

The Ning Group

SPL MyBrary

Here are my profiles for:

MyAnimeList: http://myanimelist.net/mangalist/kanderson77

Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/kanderson77/shelf

Relaxing in SL

Web 2.0 technologies have allowed anyone with a connection to the net to be far more independent in their searches.  Online databases used to be the purview of libraries it did not matter whether they were special, academic, legal or public and were the sources for searching.  That has changed and will continue to change the way libraries are used.  This means that libraries should create custom search engines that inserts or adds this service into the OPACs.  This might be done by creating search engines for particular subjects and ensuring that those results appear in the OPAC.

What types of custom search engines would you like to create and why?

I look at this question in two ways-for use in the library and for my own home use.

Here is the link to my social search engine at Rollyo.com

http://rollyo.com/jessicallyson/

My search engine is called 'Cute Cats'. I would not recommend using it because it will suck all your free time away as you play kitten wars and look for ever-increasingly-cute cats. Something that should not have taken me very long ended up taking half a day because I kept looking at the cute kitty cat pictures. You have been warned.

Boy am I ever relieved to have finally figured out how to give you my facebook link that actually works! 

Better late than never:

http://www.facebook.com/SarahNaumann?p

Cheers!

What a fun exercise for a lazy Sunday...thinking about books! My LibraryThing has just a few selections so far, and not many tags yet: http://www.librarything.com/profile/jamglam

What do you think some of the challenges might be in adopting a social cataloging application?

What are some of the ways you could see a library using social cataloging?

Public libraries could use social cataloging sites to create reader advisory lists. Librarians could create a librarything account and tag and review books so readers could search by genre, or find authors who are similar to other authors they like. Users could then add these books to their own account, and find out what others with similar tastes are reading. 

Here is my LibraryThing account:

 www.librarything.com/catalog/jessicallyson

Although I have quite a large volume of books in my home, I have never added any content to LibraryThing before. It might be an interesting, but daunting, task!

I created a Rollyo search engine for book reviews. This link will take you to my profile, where you can find my search engine. 

I also created a Librarthing and Goodreads account. I had a lot of fun with GoodReads, I really like the social networking aspect of it. 

Greetings Everyone –

On behalf of my group members – Adrienne
Walker, Jodi Levin and Mary Poupart – I would like to extend an
invitation to you all to view our group project.

Posing as
library staff at a fictitious public university in northern California,
we created a lifestream of library content on FriendFeed.  Our goal was

I used the google custom search to make several search engines for teachers this year.  It just saves a lot of time for students.  Here is one I made for the 6th grade Civil War study, where the kids write their own novellas.  I did not know about rollyo and will explore it too. http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=005992630611301309456:dat2uzidjce 

Social Cataloging is a great asset for libraries.  I can certainly see it in both school libraries and public ones, like the examples in the videos.  I would use it at school to highlight new books and have kids write reviews.  It seems to make the whole system so much more friendly and approachable for users. The tag clouds are attractive and interesting.  More users will come back to the library pages if they are constantly updated by being social.  The combination with the opac makes the whole system stronger, I think.

http://www.rollyo.com/jennapbird/

here is my public Rollyo site. i did a search roll on traveling, since i love to travel. I added the sites of the places i have most recently traveled to also.

Virtual worlds such as Second Life represent "another channel" (E. Kroski, personal communication, July, 2009). And while Second Life with its more mature audiences may not be for every library, with at least 50 virtual worlds out there, patrons representing a wide swath of demographics are active in some form of virtual world. So virtual worlds of some form most likely are here to stay.

Okay, somehow time got away from me, and it is after midnight -- after hours playing on Library Thing.  Must stop...now.

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/cunninghaml

And, here iis my Rollyo search engine.  I created a search on Visual Resources blogs.

Let's meet up in Second Life next week! I've posted the lesson early, so it's available today, so hopefully everyone can have a chance to watch the lecture, other tutorial videos, etc. and set up an account in Second Life. When you first sign in you end up on Orientation Island, or other orientation area, depending on the choices you make when you sign up.  Once there, you need to go through some tutorials before you leave, so be sure to set up your account and go in before our meeting. Please feel free to email me if you're having problems before our meetup. By the way, this meetup is OPTIONAL. Here are the details:

"What types of custom search engines would you like to create and why?"

Perhaps this has already been done by someone else in a more efficient way than using custom social search engines, but the aspect I like most about them is their exclusivity--the ability to NOT include non-pertinent or non-desirable sites.

Searching images has always been a little problematic in my mind. I've found myself on different occasions wanting to find an image that I knew a little about, the photographer, maybe the title or a bit of the subject matter. If it's a historic or fine art image you can pretty much rule out flickr so you end up going to google or something similar, which typically yields way too many results to be useful. So what you need is the ability to search several known databases of images to find those sorts of images which, as far as I know, don't really exist.

Here's my LibraryThing account: http://www.librarything.com/home/bookamy

It contains a very small percentage of books I have. As much as I love the concept of LibraryThing, I'm not really into cataloguing and use the service only occasionally, usually to find recommended books to check out. Instead, on Twitter I follow Tim Spalding (twitter.com/librarythingtim) who is the founder of LibraryThink.com. Tim usually has very interesting things to say about the book industry in general.