Virtual Worlds Demand Innovative Roles and Skills from Medical

Librarians Patricia F. Anderson1, Emerging Technologies Librarian, <pfa@umich.edu>;

Jane Blumenthal1, Director; Carol Perryman2, PhD; Gillian Mayman1, Informatics Librarian; Anne Perorazio1, Infopoint;

1Health Sciences Libraries, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA2School of Library and Information Studies, Texas Woman's University, Denton,

Texas, United States

Background: What is Second Life?• What is SecondLife?• Buzzwords

– Virtual World– MUVE (Multi-User Virtual Environment)– Metaverse

• NOTE: Not a game, although may include game activities

• Major relevant activities– Education (“killer app”)– Social networks --> support groups– Professional meetings, presentations, seminar

series, discussion groups, etcetera– Providing information resources and references

consultations

Background: Why are we in Second Life?

• Vision– Ted Hanss, UM Medical School– Jane Blumenthal, UM Health

Sciences Libraries

• Timeline– March 2007 - purchase– Spring & Summer - planning – August 2007 - building– September 2007 - Wolverine

Island opens to select group of faculty and students

Phase One: Engagement• Context: Wolverine Island “a gleam in the eye” • Library develops team with Second Life (SL)

responsibilities– 1. Build SL skills– 2. Discover relevant SL locations & resources

• Libraries • Health & healthcare• Science • Education

– 3. Make connections in SL with possible mentors/partners– 4. Facilitate discovery and connection for our faculty and

University community.

SL: Libraries

SL: Health & healthcare

SL: Science

SLHealthy

• http://slhealthy.wetpaint.com/

Phase Two: Outreach

• Context: Wolverine Island in active development, portions open to restricted group, not open to campus community

• Library team members collaborate with health science schools – To promote Second Life opportunities– To inform interested faculty about SL– To disseminate Second Life skill base– To develop a campus cohort with skills & interest

• Initial outreach and collaboration focused on Medical School and School of Dentistry

Phase Two: Presentations

• What’s a Nice Library Like Yours Doing in a Place like This?: http://www.slideshare.net/umhealthscienceslibraries/whats-a-nice-library-20070731

Phase Two: Podcasts

• Why Work & Teach With Second Life: http://www.slideshare.net/umhealthscienceslibraries/why-work-teach-with-second-life

Phase Two: Orientations

• Getting Started in Second Life: http://www.slideshare.net/umhealthscienceslibraries/getting-started-in-second-life

Phase Two: Really the Real World

• Face-to-face• Consultations

– Private– On-demand– In offices– In Second Life

• Classes– Single sessions for faculty & staff– Student cohort class taught as four session

elective in Medical School

Phase Two: Video / Machinima

• Science Learning Opportunities in Second Life: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfsSGBraUhc

Phase Three: Interdisciplinary Learning Communities

• Context: Wolverine Island open to campus community, alumni, and invited guests– Wolverine Island highly secured, so access

must be requested even for authorized visitors

• Focus on community building & engagement

• Phase Two activities continue• Phase Three activities add to activity mix.

Phase 3: Dec 07 - Open

• Wolverine Island open for community events

Phase 3: Dec 07 - Brownbags Begin

• Every Friday at noon local time, 9am SLT

Phase 3: Events - Speakers• JJ Drinkwater - SL

Community Building

• Joop Zuhal - SL Teaching, Pros & Cons

• Jenny Levine @ ALA

• Caia Alter - Pharmacy Research Labs

Phase 3: Events - Tours• Dante Project • InfoIsland International• Nursing Education Simulator (NESIM)• Play2Train

Phase 3: Classes & Professional Presentations

• Basic Clothing Design Class: http://www.slideshare.net/umhealthscienceslibraries/basic-clothing-design-in-second-life

• Enriching Scholarship 2008• S’Lang Health event: http://www.slideshare.net/umhealthscienceslibraries/sl-healthy-slang• Virtual Worlds, Libraries, Education, Museums:

http://www.slideshare.net/umhealthscienceslibraries/whatcha-gonna-do-an-academic-health-sciences-library-in-second-life-embraces-new-roles-298438/

Phase 3: Opening the Library

• Ground Level: Freebies, Food Court• Main Level: Service Desk, Guides, Casual

Seating, Fireplace, Games• Mezzanine: Exhibits• Top Level:Small Group Study Space with

Public Slide Viewers / Social Space, Dance Floor

Phase 3: Outworld

• Community building with other social technology & media tools

– Flickr– Blogs– Wiki– Google Calendar

Phase 3: More Machinima

• http://www.lib.umich.edu/hsl/about/videos.html

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wDl5suE2Uo

Phase 3: More Presentations

• http://www.lib.umich.edu/hsl/about/videos.html

Phase 4: Connect RL to SL

• Core library functions – how do these translate into virtual worlds?

• Collaborations with our academic environment

• Grand Opening events and activities — “Wolverine Island Kickoff”

Real Life Patrons (est.)

Second Life Patrons (est.)

HSL - What do we do?

• Pics of circulation, reference desk, stacks, new journals, and patrons at computers

HSL - What do we do?

RL SL

Circulation X

Collections X

Document Delivery X

Reference desk hours X

Reserves X

SL - Why not?

• Other libraries offer reference and reading collections in SL

• Not enough trained staff• Not enough demand

HSL - What else do we do?

RL SL

Instruction X X

Liaison services X X

Resource guides X X

Troubleshooting X X

Instruction in RL

Instruction in SL

SL guides & handouts

SL Troubleshooting

• Installation, updates, permissions• Local tech support• Highly secure tech

environments• Teleporting requires

network access to adjacent “pipes”

• Voice/video/versions• Videocards• Who ya gonna call?

HSL - What else do we do?

RL SL

Community space X X

Events & speakers X X

Exhibits X X

Research & grants X ?

Small group working spaces

X X

Events

• Pics from events for the SLUM Brown Bag series - Demo of Play2Train space; self-guided tour of Genome Island; putting on school colors for a winter tour of Wolverine Island, a gaming event, invited speaker JJ Drinkwater

Exhibits

HSL - What else do we do?

RL SL

Library tours X X

World tours X

Tools – Information X X

Tools – Building, coding X

Vendors & ‘sales’ X

Tours

Tools

Vendors

HSL - What else do we do?

RL SL

Free clothes, hair, skin, and a food court, too!

X

Game days X

Maize & Blue (“Spirit”) Shop

X

Parties & Dance floor X

Patient support group X

Other

• Food court and patient support group

Who we are

• Volunteers from the HSL staff– Liaisons– Infopoint

(Reference)– More than

shown here

Our Library

Ground Level

• Casual seating (“Mysti” tables)• Food court• Freebie vendors• Maize & Blue “Spirit” Shop• SL tools & utilities

vendors

Main Floor

• Welcome signs and library desk• Fireplace & chess table• Comfortable seating• Tutorials• Staff SL

presentation archive

Mezzanine

• Exhibits and displays

Roof

• Small group work space• Open whiteboards• Dancefloor• Event space

Example skills used• Editing furniture & scripts• Making freebie givers• Event planning and coordination• Recruiting speakers• Mixing sit poses for seating areas• Graphic design• Setting up vendors• Doing slide presentations • Clothing design• Orientation Island, again & again

Campus Communities in Collaboration

• Health programs– Medical School (SL/RL)– School of Dentistry (SL/RL)– Department of Kinesiology (SL/RL)– School of Public Health (SL/RL)– College of Pharmacy (SL/RL)– School of Nursing (RL)

• Non-health programs– Computer Sciences– Dearborn Campus– Distance Learning– Literature, Sciences & Arts (Foreign Languages, Writing)– Libraries– School of Information– Unspecified

Wolverine Island Kickoff

• Flyer

Wolverine Kickoff

• Ted Hanss• Gus Rosania• Sharon Murphy• Sheri Jaffurs

Off-Campus Communities & Collaborations

• Healthcare Education• Ohio State University• Pathfinder Linden

• Healthinfo Island, part of the Alliance Library System based in Illinois

• Carolina Keats

• Virtual Abilities Inc, a SL community of persons with special needs

• Abilities Commons• Gentle Heron

• Organizing for America• Siri Vita

Rewards

• Collegial activities with other campuses and institutions (Ann Arbor + Dearborn)

• Awareness & visibility• Learning & engagement• Collaboration & sharing • Costs ($$) borne by others (mostly)• Identified as community leaders• Second Life is its own reward

Lessons learned 1

• The power of the freebie• The essential goodness of human nature

– (but one bad apple can spoil a lot of people’s day)• There is no limit to imagination

– (but there is to time and ability)• Presence first, then space• The importance of being flexible and responsive

– Ask what is most needed – Don’t make plans before you build skills– When you do make plans, make backup plans

Lessons learned 2

• “No man is an island” – especially in SL!– Team building– Team playing– Neighbors– Friends– Colleagues– Community– Strangers

Whatcha gonna do?

• Strip to your underwear to teach a class• Do Tai Chi on the roof • Make a dance floor

from pics of human cells• Become a skeleton,

then a “muscle” man• Who knows?

When all else fails … dance

Contact Information

• Patricia F. Anderson, pfa@umich.edu, Perplexity Peccable

• Jane Blumenthal, janeblum@umich.edu, Wrenaissance Jewell

Health Sciences Libraries Resources

• Web: http://www.lib.umich.edu/hsl/• Slides:

http://www.slideshare.net/umhealthscienceslibraries/slideshows/

• Blog: – http://mblog.lib.umich.edu/hsl/– http://healthscienceandlibraries.info

Wolverine Island Resources

• Blog: http://mblog.lib.umich.edu/slum/ • Pics: http://flickr.com/groups/slum/• Wiki: http://slum.wetpaint.com/• NOTE: Wolverine Island is not currently

open to the public.

Presentation Resources

• These slides are available at:– http://www.slideshare.net/

umhealthscienceslibraries/

• Video: – http://www.lib.umich.edu/hsl/about/

videos.html