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Slides with text given at Internet Librarian 2009.
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Fictioneurs, Versifiers, Thinkers & Tinkerers:
Managing Virtual Collections and Services Across Platforms
in the Web 2.0 Era
JJ Jacobson, Danielle Kane, Karmon Runquist, Jennifer Hamilton, and Sarah Clark
D204 – Managing Virtual Collections & Services, Across Platforms
Nuts and Bolts of Developing and Maintaining a Virtual Library
The Caledon Library (specifically)• Main library and 8 branches in the virtual world of Second Life• Supplemented by resources on library website• Collections defined by Victorian/steampunk theme of Caledon • Community is active partner in library development
Virtual libraries (in general)• Still in their infancy• Continually evolving tools and shifting information environment• Must balance known needs of patrons with emerging possibilities
presented by new Web 2.0 tools
Community Collaboration
Culture as an extended community conversation• Second Life is Very Social Software• Interaction: Socializing and communicating synchronously
and asynchronously • Library facilitates the conversation
o Vetting and reflecting interests collections, reference, exhibitions, events
• Institutional personality: branding• Speak with the local accent
o Take the civic life, values, and modes of expression seriously
• Library woven into community life
Real Costs
Data Storage • Monthly tier for main library and 8 branches ($150 US)
• Hosting fees for blog/website
Collections, Exhibits, Programs, and Miscellaneous
• Upload of images for book covers, exhibition objects, and marketing of events (10 lindens/ $.04 US each)
• Special purchases for library furnishings, etc.
Volunteer and Free Resources
• Free software ("free" like a puppy, not like beer)
• Volunteer labor (~200 hours per month)
Real Costs
Data Storage
Real Costs
Collections, Exhibits, Programs, and Miscellaneous
Real Costs
Volunteer and Free Resources
Volunteer Coordination
Unique challenges• Coordinating volunteers in many time zones requires tools and
creativity• Steep learning curve, including communication skills and effectively
presenting information in a 3-D virtual environment• Volunteers must be particularly self-motivated, and cope with SL's
inherent distractions• "First Life" takes priority, leading to turnover issues and challenges
in retaining institutional memory and assets
Unique Opportunities• Collaboration with information professionals, library students, and
historians around the world• More opportunities for creativity and innovation than are possible in
an RL Library
Volunteer Coordination
Unique challenges
• Coordinating volunteers in many time zones requires tools and creativity• Steep learning curve, including communication skills and effectively presenting information in a 3-D virtual environment• Volunteers must be particularly self-motivated, and cope with SL's inherent distractions• "First Life" takes priority, leading to turnover issues and challenges in retaining institutional memory and assets
Community Collaboration
Culture as an extended community conversation
• Second Life is Very Social Software• Interaction: Socializing and communicating synchronously
and asynchronously • Library facilitates the conversation
o Vetting and reflecting interests collections, reference, exhibitions, events
• Institutional personality: branding• Speak with the local accent
o Take the civic life, values, and modes of expression seriously
• Library woven into community life
Volunteer Coordination
Unique Opportunities
• Collaboration with information professionals, library students, and historians around the world• More opportunities for creativity and innovation than are possible in an RL Library
Choices and Challenges Related to Digital Collections Management
(1) Determining the best tool for the job
(2) "What does the library do?" (3) Scope creep (4) How much is too much? (5) Copyright and open access materials
Cross Platform Collection Development
Management• Managing and linking collections in the 3-D virtual and the internet • Determining what can be done with existing resources
Metadata Scheme • Formats and genres• Educated guess at community needs
Size of Collection• What looks huge in SL looks puny in the Aether
Keeping up-to-date• New workflows being explored
Collection Development and Management
Across Platforms
Metadata Collected
Second Life On-line Original • Resource (Full-Text
Volume, Full-Text Set, Weblog/Linker)
• Format (Notecard, Aetheric, Prim/Texture)
• Creator/Contributor• Collection• Type of Literature• Location
• URL• Source Location
• Language• Author• Title (inventory based
on SL object title)• Editor• Translator• Publication Year
Colliding Spaces...
Caledon Subject Headings
Caledon Heading Topics Included
Chroniclers Biographies, History, Travel, Anthropology, Sociology, etc.
Dramaturgists Dramatic works, whether or not intended for performance
Fictioneurs Fiction, Novels and Short Stories
Odds & Ends Miscellaneous non-fiction, fashion, women's lives, gardening, cooking, and everything not covered by other subject headings
Thinkers Philosophy, Political Science, Sociology, Religion, Science, Economics, Politics, etc.
Tinkerers Science & Engineering, Technology of any kind, Architecture, Gizmos
Versifiers Poetry
Fabulists Fairytales, folklore, myths, legends
Arbiters Etiquette
Steampunks Steampunk, Steampunk Precursor Works
Vital Web 2.0 tools Technology... as a Framework for Community
Internal Communication
• Google products (Calendar, Chat, Gmail, Google Docs, Google Site for volunteer wiki)
• Flickr, YouTube, and the Library Militant website
External Communication
• Google Calendar• Flickr, YouTube, and the Library Militant website• Caledon Forums/Steamlander™
Access to Collections
• Custom Search Enginge (CSE)• CMS features and tag clouds• Browsable reference collection arranged by subject
on Library Militant website• IN DEVELOPMENT: Searchable collections
database on LM site
Patchwork Approach: SL tools (IM, chat, notecards) PLUS
Technology...
as a Framework for Community
Multiple platforms not a goal – inevitable consequence• Working to save the time of the user• Meeting volunteers and patrons on the multiple platforms where they live, work,
play
Tools should serve, not drive • Known needs of users always the priority• New tools evaluated critically, adopted as they serve clearly identified needs
Invaluable opportunity for professional development• Collaborating in this entirely virtual environment is an opportunity in a low-stakes
setting to become more adept at choosing and using Web 2.0 tools• Cross-platform experience makes us better able to serve our patrons in both
Second and "First" lives.
Can’t just kick the tires• Web 2.0 tools = communication/collaboration• Even the most tech adept can only get a sense of them from behind the wheel
Thank YouDanielle KaneResearch Librarian for Emerging Technologies and Service Innovation University of California, Irvine
JJ JacobsonAssociate Curator for American Culinary HistoryWilliam L. Clements Library, University of Michigan
Karmon RunquistWeb Content ManagerWentworth Institute of Technology
Jennifer HamiltonGraduate Student, School of Library and Information Science, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
Sarah ClarkAccess Services and Distance Learning LibrarianRogers State University, Claremore, OK