New Wave Library

Research Paper Abstract
Virtual worlds are computer generated environments that simulate the ‘real’ world. They are inhabited by avatars, graphical representations of users. Many different virtual worlds exist. Some of them are built to closely resemble the real world while others depict fantasy worlds. The research paper focuses on Second Life, an extremely popular virtual world that has recently attracted attention of many outside the traditional gaming community, librarians among others. The paper explores the current presence of libraries and librarians in Second Life and the potential and challenges of providing library services in virtual environments.

About Second Life
Second Life is a massively populated virtual world created by Linden Research, Inc. and launched in 2003. According to the information on the Second Life website the number of Second Life users, that are called residents, is currently 12,833,029. The world in Second Life is completely built and owned by its residents. Residents can buy land, build buildings, and even start their own business. Second Life has its own economy since residents retain the rights to their digital creations and thus they can buy, sell, and trade those with other residents.

Links
Second Life – http://secondlife.com/
Teen Second Life – http://teen.secondlife.com/
Second Life Library – http://infoisland.org/
Second Life on Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life

You say you want a revolution
Well you know
We all want to change the world*

Web 2.0 has been this buzz word; buzzing around and delivering the sensation of something new and exciting, and promising: things are going to change, the Internet is going to change, the world is going to change, nothing is going to be the same again. Now, when Web 2.0 has been around for a while the question ought to be asked: how radically did the Internet (and the world) indeed change? Did we see a revolution happen right in front of our eyes? Or have we been witnessing a more subtle evolution?
The heart of Web 2.0 is its participatory nature. The sheer amount of a user created content that exists in today’s online environment is unprecedented. Web 2.0 utterly succeeded in enabling virtually anyone (with a computer and an internet connection) to publish their ideas and creations online. But when we look some years back into the stone age of the Internet we still can find people sharing their ideas via the means of the Internet. Yes, on a much smaller scale and in a much more cumbersome way. But still, users created their own websites to share themselves with the world (I used to have one too) and communicated with others via email.
Of course, blogs, instant messaging, social networking software epitomize another level of online participation. And I admit I simply cannot get enough of some of the cool applications Web 2.0 gave to us. (Recently, I discovered del.icio.us. So much better than ancient bookmarks. And so much easier to share.) Still, it is my personal belief that Web 2.0 perfected (albeit, in a very impressive way) what the Internet has always been about: connection.

* John Lennon/Paul McCartney

It is cold and dark outside. The wind is blowing and it seems that it is never going to stop snowing. I am sitting at the kitchen table. There is no light on, only the screen of my laptop illuminates the room. Nobody is outside in the street. Nobody is in the house. But I don’t know it. I am playing volleyball on a sunny beach with a group of my friends. We play, we talk, we laugh. I am happy. Then I notice the time. I part with my friends, log off, and close my laptop. After my eyes adjust to the darkness of the room I get up from the table and find the switch. I turn the light on.