This is the first post for my IMLS fellowship work at the University of Iowa School of Library and Information Science. This semester I am working on research and development of the Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game called Second Life (SL). The mentor for this work is Jon Winet, director of the Intermedia program at UI.
SL is a virtual world comprised of avatars. Avatars are virtual characters you control in order to search around SL. The program has the look and feel of a video game. However, various educational institutions (such as Harvard and Stanford) have used SL as an outlet for recruiting new students and holding lectures. Mutliple libraries have also established their presence within SL. Virtual library users are able to interact with reference librarians as well as browse online library catalogs.
SL is developed by its users. Its open source model allows its users to create any sort of structures they wish. One clear weakness of this program is its rather unintuitive control panel and lackluster graphics. Another weakness is SL's fairly steep learning/patience curve for users wanting to build their own world in SL. SL has resisted strong commercial influence. It is not just one big shopping mall. However it does cost real-life money to use many of its special services. Some of these services include 1) purchasing special devices that make the SL more exciting (clothes, mythical looking avatars, a magic wand that animates whatever dialogue is occuring between you and others in SL) 2) own or rent land in order to build your own SL home.
I have compiled a rather brief bibliography of articles related to SL. Additionally, I have included some pertinent links that are helpful for academic institutions interesting in establishing a presence in SL.
Second Life Preliminary Research Bibliography:
Abram, Stephen. “At Second Life, Info Pros will Find Much to See, Do, Learn,
Play with, Try out.” Information Outlook. Apr2007, Vol. 11 Issue 4, p34-36, 3p, 2c.
- 400 Librarians in SL on nine different “islands”
American Libraries. “ALA Washington Opens Virtual Office.” Mar2007, Vol. 38 Issue 3, p11-12, 2p
- Traditional library services, such as collection building,
reference and community gathering, have all been incorporated into this virtual world.
American Libraries. “Second Life Adds a Library Space.” Jan2007, Vol. 38
Issue 1, p31-31, 1/5p.
- Talis Information Ltd. and Alliance Library System
Bell, Lori. “Digital Libraries on the MUVE: A Virtual Adventure.” Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science & Technology. Apr/May2007, Vol. 33 Issue 4, p2-2, 1p
- analyzes SL as platform for a digital library
Blumenstein, Lynn. “San Jose SLIS Embraces Second Life.” Library Journal.
6/15/2007, Vol. 132 Issue 11, p17-17, 1/2p
- Libsci school has presence on SL
Capps, Brooke. “How to Succeed in Second Life.” Advertising Age. 5/28/2007, Vol. 78 Issue 22, p6-6, 1p, 2c
- measurement of SL’s advertising value not in sales, but
brand loyalty. Warns against builing a presence “just to be there’
Carnevale, Dan. “Colleges Find they Must Police Online Worlds.” Chronicle of Higher Education. 7/13/2007, Vol. 53 Issue 45, pA22-24, 1/4p
- use of second life as a novel way to provide information about a school. A user went to Ohio University and shot other avatars in the area.
Davis, Ben. “First-Rate Art in ‘Second Life.’” < http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/news/artnetnews/artnetnews1-23-07.asp > Jan. 23, 2007.
- dubbed Slart (SL-art), kinetic artworks that can only exist in
virtual space, and public domain art. Sculptures of StarAx Statosky- a SL megastar created a ‘magic wand’ that can translate in-world dialogue into animations.
Erdman, Jacquelyn. “Reference in a 3-D Virtual World: Preliminary Observations on Library Outreach in SL.” Reference Librarian. 2007,
Vol. 47 Issue 2, p29-39, 11p
- anaylzes pros/cons of reference librarianship in SL
Glover, Charlotte L. “No Point to Second Life.” American Libraries. May2007, Vol. 38 Issue 5, p6-6, 1/3p
- Opinion of a youth librarian. States that library work in SL is useless
Kugel, Seth. “A House that’s just Unreal.” New York Times. 8/9/2007, Vol. 156 Issue 54031, pF1-F8, 2p, 12c.
- use of second life for experimenting in interior design
Piesing, Mark. “It’s Life, Jim, but not as we Know it.” Times Educational Supplement. 5/25/2007 Issue 4738, special section p58-59, 2p
- tips for using SL in educational environment
Timm, Jordan. “When Your Virtual Bank Fails for Real.” Maclean’s. 9/3/2007, Vol. 120 Issue 34, p47-47, 1/3p, 1c
- Ginko Financial’s loss of revenue after ban on gambling in SL
“Top 20 Educational Locations in Second Life.” < http://www.simteach.com/wiki/index.php?title=Top_20_Educational_Loca tions_in_Second_Life >
Wheaton, Ken. “Not even Second Life can Make a Press Conference Cool.” Advertising Age. 8/20/2007, Vol. 78 Issue 33, p24-24, 2/5p.
- followed a Coca-Cola press conference – technical issues
Young, Jeffery R. “Case Western Reserve U. Builds Virtual Campus to Woo Prospective Students.” Times Educational Supplement. 5/18/2007, Vol. 53 Issue 37, pA29-A29, 1/3p, 1c
- Univ. re-constructed their buildings in SL. This enables prospective students to talk to current students without admissions officials around.
Additional Links:
- Where to go when setting up a presence in SL (non-profit & education):
http://secondlifegrid.net/programs/education+
- List of existing non-profit organizations
http://simteach.com/wiki/index.php?title=Institutions_and_Organizations_in_SL#EDUCATIONAL_ORGANIZATIONS_.28Non-Profit_.2F_Not_For_profit.29
- SL Land pricing:
http://secondlife.com/whatis/landpricing.php
- $9.95 membership fee (monthly)
- additional ‘Land Use Fee’ (monthly – varies on amount of land owned)
Premium accounts are granted a 512 m2 bonus lease before land use fees are applied. The chart below shows the fees for all land you hold or tier you donate beyond the 512 m2 bonus.
Examples:
You hold 512 m2 of land -- or donate 512 m2 of tier to a group. Your monthly land use fee is US$0. You will need to buy the land, however.
You hold 1024 m2 of land and donate 512 m2 to a group. Subtract your 512 m2 bonus lease, and your monthly land use fee is US$8.
Your total land holdings and group donations equal 4612 m2. You subtract the 512 m2 bonus lease and see that your billable square meters are 4100 m2. This amount is over the 4096 m2 tier level, so your monthly land use fee will be the next level: US$40.
- must purchase an island to receive a non-profit discount
o http://secondlife.com/community/land-getyours.php
• tips to buying land
o Islands are $1,675 for 65, 536 square meters, 16 acres.
• Monthly land fees $295
• 50% discount for academic institutions
o Group Land -
“In order for the group to own land, it must have land contributions, which are donations members make from their own personal land allocation. The group can own a total amount of land whose size in square meters equals 110% or less of the sum of all group contributions.”
o https://secure-web13.secondlife.com/auctions/
• Land Auctions
• Ex: This is an auction to reserve regions. The winner of the auction will hold the reservation for 3 Months. Reservations include the right to renew the reservation at the end of the reservation period. ($30)
