forging a second life: my reality in a virtual world

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This article was downloaded by: [Tufts University] On: 09 October 2014, At: 12:23 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Journal of Web Librarianship Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wjwl20 Forging a Second Life: My Reality in a Virtual World Brian S. Mathews a a Georgia Tech Library , Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, GA E-mail: http:// theubiquitouslibrarian.typepad.com/ Published online: 12 Oct 2008. To cite this article: Brian S. Mathews (2007) Forging a Second Life: My Reality in a Virtual World, Journal of Web Librarianship, 1:4, 91-94, DOI: 10.1080/19322900802111460 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19322900802111460 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http:// www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

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Page 1: Forging a Second Life: My Reality in a Virtual World

This article was downloaded by: [Tufts University]On: 09 October 2014, At: 12:23Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House,37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Journal of Web LibrarianshipPublication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wjwl20

Forging a Second Life: My Reality in a Virtual WorldBrian S. Mathews aa Georgia Tech Library , Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, GA E-mail: http://theubiquitouslibrarian.typepad.com/Published online: 12 Oct 2008.

To cite this article: Brian S. Mathews (2007) Forging a Second Life: My Reality in a Virtual World, Journal of WebLibrarianship, 1:4, 91-94, DOI: 10.1080/19322900802111460

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19322900802111460

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) containedin the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make norepresentations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of theContent. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, andare not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon andshould be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable forany losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoeveror howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use ofthe Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematicreproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in anyform to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Page 2: Forging a Second Life: My Reality in a Virtual World

SOCIAL EYES

Forging a Second Life:My Reality in a Virtual World

Brian S. Mathews

The first time I logged into Second Life was a disaster.Having previously played multiplayer online games such as

EverQuest and World of Warcraft, I was confident I would be able tonavigate this virtual world with relative ease.

I greatly overestimated my ability. There I was, semi-clothed and dis-oriented, on a crowded island with clueless citizens in this massive 3Dvirtual world. We were all lost and had no idea what we were doing. De-spite all the hype, the positive press, and the millions of members, theentrance process was intimidating. After struggling those first few fran-tic minutes, I had enough. It would be over six months before I logged inagain.

Brian S. Mathews is Distance Learning Services Coordinator, Georgia Tech Li-brary, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (E-mail: [email protected]). His blog is http://theubiquitouslibrarian.typepad.com/.

Journal of Web Librarianship, Vol. 1(4) 2007Available online at http://jwl.haworthpress.com

© 2007 by The Haworth Press. All rights reserved.doi:10.1080/19322900802111460 91

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Page 3: Forging a Second Life: My Reality in a Virtual World

That’s how it began for me, and unfortunately, I have heard similarexperiences from others who had ventured into this alternate reality. Forthose unfamiliar with Second Life, it is an online world created for usersby users. Members craft a character, buy property, interact with eachother, and establish an online identity. Unlike most Web-based fantasygames that enable members to team up on quests, explore lands, andsolve mysteries together, Second Life more closely resembles our ownexistence. There are shopping malls and casinos, golf courses and skiresorts. Anything and everything is possible. It is a highly stylizedconsumerist society in which residents spend real money on virtual ex-periences and accessories. While Second Life has received rave reviewsfrom Wired Magazine and the New York Times and is regularly men-tioned favorably on blogs and Webcasts, I just didn’t get it.

The next time I logged in, I was there for nearly six hours. A col-league pulled me aside and provided a quick overview. She also gaveme a new account that included a modest bankroll, a closet filled withclothing, and customized gestures, expressions, and dance moves.These accoutrements are vital for fitting in with the natives. Once I un-derstood the search and mapping navigation, Second Life became anamazing spectacle. Imagine hundreds of islands filled with unique andcreative places to explore and visit: museums, art galleries, concerts,stadiums, and sporting events. It was a cultural wonderland. Gardens,sculptures, performance stages, and memorials–everywhere I turnedthere was more to see.

Over the next two weeks, I wandered aimlessly: beach resorts, Victo-rian cities, safari adventures, farms, night clubs, and college campuses.Everything was beautiful. The buildings were remarkable. The land-scaping was impressive. All the people were alluring. It was a dreamyutopian society filled with supermodels and movie stars. Yet despite thewondrous surroundings, it was strangely quiet. On a scenic train ride Iwas the only one onboard. At a Yankees-Red Sox game, I was the solefan in the ballpark. Sitting alone in a large mall, I began to question ev-erything and wondered if libraries belonged here at all.

There has been a great migration of librarians into Second Life. Is-lands are filled with library colonies, with new buildings popping upregularly. These outposts are not designed to replicate physical counter-parts but to extend the reach of services into a new environment. Just ase-mail, instant messaging, and social networking sites like MySpacehave become common methods of providing assistance and communi-cations, Second Life offers an interactive virtual world. Think of it as a3D experience of your library’s Web site. Appealing possibilities

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abound: video and podcasting, slideshows, self-paced instructionalmodules, group and individual instruction sessions, catalog and data-base searching, subject guides, and other information such as policiesand privileges. This virtual environment is a chance to move beyond thelimitations of our physical space and Web browsers and to offer some-thing new and unique.

Unfortunately, what is emerging is a community of libraries with thetraditional architectural motif of massive marble buildings that resem-ble imposing fortresses. While many Web 2.0 tools can make us moreaccessible, it feels like we are simply recreating an idealized first-lifeexperience within the Second Life framework. What I find most dis-turbing is the emptiness of our buildings. The only people I ever run intoare other librarians or library-science students. Despite our good inten-tions, we’re creating ghost towns. In fact, much of Second Life is filledwith large empty structures. I have to question the “be where our usersare” philosophy. Is just simply being there enough? Second Life is amindscape, an alternate reality fantasy experience, and while I can ap-preciate and understand the attraction, I’m not sure that libraries fit in asservice providers.

VIRTUAL WORLD BRAINSTORMING

A recent conversation with Debbie Holmes, a librarian at GeorgiaHighlands College, sparked some ideas on what virtual world libraryservices could become. Georgia’s GALILEO consortium caters to pa-trons in higher education, K-12, and public libraries. It’s challenging tomeet these diverse needs and to promote resources effectively. Debbie’sidea is to give all users a virtual space that could be personalized. Thisweb space would serve as a representative “room” into which userscould invite others to collaborate, conduct searches, and to store share-able files, notes, images, and papers. Expanding this framework into thevirtual world concept, it would be interesting to see how students usedthis space throughout their educational development. This systemwould enable us to push specific resources in a timely and incrementalmanner, at the point of need based on coursework or interests. Further-more, instead of forcing them to seek us out, users could summon alibrarian, a writing assistant, or another advisor to help them in theirspace.

Instead of simply repackaging content into new environments, weshould aim to do something different in these spaces. What incentive

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Page 5: Forging a Second Life: My Reality in a Virtual World

are we giving visitors, other than novelty? Second Life and MySpaceare great building blocks for librarians to network and to engage in 2.0technologies; however, simply copying and pasting our current modelinto virtual worlds is not effective. Rather than idealizing what we wishlibraries could be, we need to build what our patrons actually need.

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