Second Life for a School Library?
As we begin to look towards the end of this school year and start planning for the next, it occurs to me that we REALLY need to consider adding some of the appeal of a virtual environment like Second Life. We need something with the three “C’s” of Capability, Creativity and “Cool” to draw kids in so that we can better connect them with all the resources and services available through our library. Oh, we have lots of HS “visitors” (over 1000 visits a day), but effective use of available research and reference tools plays a distant third to (H)omework and (S)ocializing.
I’m still ambivalent about providing kids access to the full Second Life world through the library, but it’s in the “adult” SL where I can most effectively learn the skills I need to navigate around it, and to begin to do something “real” there (building an access portal, developing a promotional vehicle for my library, etc.), so I’m developing a proposal to;
- open for extented hours (say, from 4:30 (current closing time) to 6:30 for general use
- request additional bandwidth during this time (we have a bandwidth “shaper” which would allow this for selected IP address during specified times)
- allow Second Life and approved gaming sites during the extended hours on selected laptops (and perhaps in a specified area - like the enclosed conference room)
- encourage students to become the architects and builders of a SL presence for our school (library?)
- use the momentum created by a SL project to promote access to other library resources
I’m interested in other HS experiences with either offering gaming (and interactive virtual environments) or just offering extended hours. What problems have I not considered? What are the payoffs? What’s the operational cost of such a venture (e.g. in Bangkok, it costs around $30/hour to aircondition the library). Total REAL cost (not including any compensation for librarians).
Looking forward to other librarians thoughts and experiences. It’s a jungle out there!
Rob R
Bangkok
