Virtual Events in Second Life

New Introductory Video to Second Life by Torley

2009-09-02T05:49:00.000-07:00

Introduction to Virtual Worlds by GreylinF

2009-09-02T05:35:00.000-07:00

Introduction to Virtual Worlds video from Sun - amazing
technology and messaging in this video! Robin Williams from the Sun
Information Services: Digital Libraries & Research team created this
video.

New Videos by HVX Silverstar/ Bernadette Daly Swanson

2009-08-24T08:34:00.000-07:00

Ben/HVX has created some new videos on Second Life and posted them to YouTube. She has a blog which is also a great resource for students and faculty interested in learning about Second Life for the first time. One may visit her blog and see her videos by clicking on this link called Second Tours.

Other faculty members working with her on an introductory class to Second Life offered through the University Extension (UC Davis) are: Peter Yellowlees MD, Marty Leamon MD and James (Linden) Cook MD (who is one of the people working on the new viewer). Peter and James are the Virtual Hallucinations docs.

-Bernadette Daly Swanson
University of California Davis
Carlson Health Sciences Library
http://people.lib.ucdavis.edu/~bswanson/
HVX Silverstar in SL

Marcia Rodney Speaks on Security Issues in Social Media on August 25th

2009-08-19T06:56:00.000-07:00

Library Buzz: What Doors Did You Leave Open? a look at security issues in social media
Speaker: Marcia (Marcy) Rodney, Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.
When: August 25, 2009 - 6pm PT/SLT (9pm Eastern Time)
Where: Info Island Auditorium
SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Info%20Island/62/114/33

Social networking tools like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn are fabulous! However, what doors did you leave open? You'll see real examples, and we'll discuss issues and best practices around security and privacy when using these tools and also how to find information using these tools.

Marcia Rodney has been with Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. for more than six years, initially as senior analyst in library services reporting to strategic intelligence, and also supporting the scientific and engineering staff. She now works as an operations analyst, reporting to the Albuquerque office of Ball's Systems Engineering Solutions business unit. Marcia both tracks and teaches social networking for her team. Prior to her work with Ball, Marcia was part of the competitive intelligence team at Qwest, supported technical research at Maxtor (now Seagate), worked at the Earth Sciences and Maps Libraries at CU-Boulder, and in long ago chapters was librarian for Communication Arts and a researcher at CBS News. As principal analyst for her own firm, RSL Research Group, she works on survey design and analysis, primarily in the library field, as well as supporting small business clients. Marcia is looking forward to more time on her bike and a different kind of searching.

-Posted by Pat Alderman to alliancesecond listserve

Filmmaker Produces Virtual World Movie in Second Life

2009-08-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

Central Florida Memory in Second Life! – Video Tours Available

In the summer of 2008, the Orange County Library System (OCLS) brought the Central Florida Memory project (www.cfmemory.org) to a new audience through an interactive exhibit built within the virtual world of Second Life (www.secondlife.com).

OCLS has now produced two video tours to introduce, promote, and explain both the exhibit and the project. The videos utilize machinima, the art of producing computer animated films through pre-existing 3D environments, to tell the stories of historic Central Florida.

Viewers follow the adventures of Nik Mortenwold (real world OCLS employee Nick Martinolich) as he explores a turn of the century Florida homestead complete with cracker house, barn, school house, and more. Nick interacts with the residents of the exhibit to learn more about their daily lives and routines.

Nick, who holds a degree in film from the University of Central Florida, was excited to branch into a new medium of filmmaking. He comments, “It is exciting to think of all the innovations in film and video that have laid the groundwork for the freedom in creation we have today. The ability for a single individual with a computer to tell a complete story is one of the beauties of machinima and is providing independence to filmmakers like never before.”

Visitors to the virtual exhibit are treated to an interactive and immersive experience that allows them to witness history first hand in an open and free roaming environment. Visitors are also provided with resources on starting a digitization project, the types of documents included in Central Florida Memory, and much more.

Go to www.ocls.info/about/collaborations.asp
to find out more information about the exhibit and to view the videos.

Questions about the videos or machinima can be directed to martinolich.nicholas@ocls.info. *In World* questions can be sent to Nik Mortenwold. The exhibit and videos are available on an ongoing basis.

-Lori Bell

August Issue of RezLibris

2009-08-03T06:10:00.000-07:00

Available at: http://www.rezlibris.com!

ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS:
Second Life librarians at the ALA Chicago conference
Frank Lloyd Wright arrives in Second Life!
NASA events Celebrate 40th Anniversary of the Apollo Moon Mission
EDTECH Island: Boise University Offers Creative Education Resources for Learning in SL Venue of the Month: The Jazz Cat Dance club
Poetry Month’s Poetry Quest Machinima
Having fun at Prim Hearts! A Realistic Amusement Park
Performer Showcase: Juel Resistance
Editorial: Collaboration in Second life
Volunteers of the Month June/July: Alice Burgess & Adra Letov

Infoisland for Experimenting & Launching New Ideas

2009-07-21T10:05:00.000-07:00

The Alliance Virtual Library is preparing to launch Innovation Infoisland, a sim specifically designed as a base for those with the time and ideas - but perhaps not the infrastructure - for experimenting and launching new ideas. Alliance Virtual Library is aware that lack of access to space and prims can sometimes limit the exploration of new ideas.

The intent of Innovation Infoisland is to support and encourage the development of innovations and provide a showcase for the display of projects with application to educational or library use.

Parcels of varrying sizes are available at no cost to individuals looking for a place to work and display innovative projects This lovely sim will also be available for events. Some interior space, in buildings styled after the French Quarter of New Oreleans, is also available. The size of the parcel and the prim allowances vary depending on the needs of the project. Completed projects will be on display at the sim for up to six months.

A separate exhibit space will be available for the display of Cool Tools. Innovators will be encouraged to network and share, and will have access to an airy patio cafe. Sales will not be allowed. Parcels are not to serve as living or retail space. Rules and restrictions are few, in keeping with the role of the sim as a place for experimentation, exploration and innovation.

Those interested are asked to complete the following information and and return it to Lorelei Junot – lbell927@gmail.com by August 3, 2009. Submissions will be reviewed by a committee appointed by Alliance Virtual Library.

Avatar Name:
Real Name:
Email address:
Institution (if applicable) – not necessary
Your idea: (Describe in 250 words or less)
Are you interested in an interior space or an outside space?
Approximate number of prims needed:

-Lori Bell
Director of Innovation Alliance Library System
600 High Point Lane
East Peoria, IL 61611
(309)694-9200 ext. 2128
skype: lbell927
lbell@alliancelibrarysystem.com lbell927@gmail.com"
Virtual Worlds, Real Libraries"http://books.infotoday.com/books/VirtualWorlds.shtml

Castle Library Has New Free Books

2009-06-11T09:20:00.000-07:00

The Castle Library at Rachelville has 36 new titles on the first floor of the castle... all set to "free to copy." Each book contains a link to a gutenberg.org or archive.org web page with various options for viewing. Many of the books also have note cards with complete text of the book. All have colorful covers designed by a volunteer.
Soooo... if you'd like a nice collection of book linkers in your SL library or your personal parcel please stop by and "check out" some of our books.... for keeps! We also have a large collection of children's classics on the second floor donated by the Caledon Library. They are also "free to copy."

Here's a SLURL for both the Alphabet Garden and the Castle of Dreams.

Alphabet Garden:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Imagination%20Island/74/190/26

Recent additions to the Rachelville Castle LibraryMay 31, 2009

An Alphabet of Old Friends by Walter Crane http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/17282
The Baby's Bouquet by Walter Crane http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25432
The Baby's Opera by Walter Crane http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25418
Captain Boldheart & the Latin-Grammar Master, byCharles Dickens http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23765
Come Lasses and Lads http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18341
The Dumpy Books for Children; by Eden Coybee http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23302
The Faithless Parrot by Charles H. Bennett http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21884
The Farmer's Boy http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18360
The Fox Jumps Over the Parson's Gate http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19991
The Frog Prince and Other Stories by Walter Crane http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20437
Frog Who Would A Wooing Go by Charles H. Bennett http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20579
Fun & Nonsense by Willanrd Bonte http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11095
The Golden Goose Book by L. Leslie Brooke http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15661
Goody Two Shoes http://www.archive.org/stream/goodytwoshoes00newyiala
The Goop Directory by Gelett Burgess http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13035
The Great Panjandrum Himself by Samuel Foote http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18417
Hey Diddle Diddle and Baby Bunting by Randolph Caldecott http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19177
The house that Jack Built http://www.archive.org/stream/housethatjackbu00londiala
Johnny Crow's Garden by L. Leslie Brooke http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10469
Johnny Crow's Party by L. Leslie Brooke http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10557
The Jungle Baby, by G. E. Farrow http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20693
The Little People of the Snow by William Cullen Bryant http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22406
London Town by Felix Leigh http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21650
The Magic Fishbone by Charles Dickens http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23344
The Milkmaid by Randolph Caldecott http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19868
Max und Moritz by Wilhelm Busch (German) http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17161
More Goops and How Not to Be Them by Gelett Burgess http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13004
More Russian Picture Tales by Valery Carrick http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23462
The Pied Piper of Hamelin by Robert Browning http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18343
The Queen of Hearts, and Sing a Song for Sixpence by Randolph Caldecott http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10634
Ring O' Roses by L. Leslie Brooke http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20652
The Sleeping Beauty Picture Book http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23521
The Story of the Three Little Pigs http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18155
The Three Jovial Huntsmen by Randolph Caldecott http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14081
Young Frank's holidays, or, Doings out of school (1860) http://www.archive.org/details/youngfranksholid00coyniala
Zauberlinda, the wise witch; ([1901]) http://www.archive.org/details/zauberlindawisew00clap

RezLibris Magazine releases June 2009 Issue

2009-06-11T08:51:00.000-07:00

RezLibris is proud to announce the release of a new issue available at: http://www.rezlibris.com!

ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS:

AVL Celebrates Three Years in SL!
Eye Spy a Library contest – Find the Library – Win Linden!
Library Career Fair Draws Students
Illumination Island Makes a Move
Opening of MacArthur Island
Poetry Month’s Poetry Quest Machinima

ALA Island Offers Help to New Second Life Visitors

2009-06-01T10:21:00.000-07:00

The ALA Island is the Second Life virtual world presence of the American Library Association. ALA Island doesn’t have traditional library resources, but is more of a special library focused on dispensing information about ALA, along with being a kind of community information center, helping people become more familiar with navigating the Second Life virtual world and demonstrating its capabilities to bring together people from all over the country (and all over the world) to inform them in a variety of ways, including through audiovisual media, about various aspects of librarianship, including literacy and reading, and censorship and intellectual freedom, thereby expanding and extending what libraries are and what libraries can do.

Virtually Speaking

2009-05-22T05:13:00.000-07:00

Virtually Speaking with Jimbo Hoyer is a regular public affairs program of Inworld Studios, featuring live, in-depth, intelligent conversations with opinion leaders before a virtual studio audience. Programs are simulcast on Blog Talk Radio. Writer CS Kappler is the alternative show host. Widget Whiteberry dresses the set and promotes Virtually Speaking on the net. Pebea Quandary creates guest avatars. Bookem Streeter stocks the books at Jackson Street Books online <http://tinyurl.com/df6r7h>, Pb Recrean provides tech support - and DJs afterwards - and Dire Lobo manages tech and the site.

Help us spread the word -
1. Follow the schedule and post pictures, questions/comments to the forum at http://virtuallyspeaking.ning.com/
2. Join the Virtually Speaking group inworld and on FaceBookhttp://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6626186145&ref=ts
3. Follow Jay on Twitterhttp://twitter.com/jayackroyd

Using Social Media to Promote Digital Photos with ATLAS

2009-05-20T06:39:00.000-07:00

"Welcome to ATLAS! Using Social Media to Promote Digital Photos"
Alliance Library System(ALS) and LearningTimes are pleased to announce an online conference to debut ATLAS, a new set of social media tools to promote history and digital photographs. The conference will be held online using Adobe Connect.

Date & Time: Monday June 29 from 9:00 A.M. – 11:00 A.M (12 am to 2pm eastern time).

There is no charge for this exciting conference. Register below. ATLAS (Alliance’s Trail to Learning-Casts and Syndicated Sites) is a new set of social media tools ALS is using to promote information and photographs about Illinois history. ATLAS features a podmap of Illinois where the user can click on a city or geographic area to see what information is available. One of the sites for Peoria contains a videocast, podcast, and text about Lydia Bradley, the founder of Bradley University. A user can enjoy the video and audio on a computer or download to a handheld device. The products will also be available on I-tunes and users can subscribe to the topics of interest to them. In addition to the podmap, there will be an online community around the podmap for users to contribute resources, comments, and experiences. Learning Times is also using this technology with the Smithsonian Museum and the National Air Force Museum.

Register at http://www.learningtimes.net/atlas

Introductions – Kitty Pope, ALS Executive Director ATLAS project/background/history – Lori Bell, ALS Director of Innovation Meet Albert Cashier, one of the historical figures on ATLAS – Angie Green, ALS Library Development Consultant Meet Lydia Bradley on ATLAS – Valerie Brandon, ALS Innovation Administrator Podcast training – Jonathan Finkelstein, Learning Times

Introduction to and overview of ATLAS – John Walber, Learning Times Project evaluation – Tom Peters, TAP Information Services, and Eric Questions – all “We are thrilled to introduce this exciting new tool to the library community and we hope Illinois libraries will participate to make information available statewide.” -- Kitty Pope, ALS Executive Director.“We think this will begin a new trend in digital imaging sites and collections to make them more interactive using these exciting social media tools.” -- John Walber, LearningTimes

For more information on the project, please contact Lori Bell at lbell@alliancelibrarysystem.com or 309-694-9200 ext. 2128. This project was funded by an LSTA grant from the Illinois State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.

May Issue of RezLibris is Out

2009-05-06T05:31:00.000-07:00

Here is the May issue of RezLibris, http://rezlibris.com.

ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS:
- ALA Hosts Second National Library Week
- May Marks Three Years for AVL
- Volunteers Strengthen the Volunteer Orientation Program
- Eye Spy a Library contest – Find the Library – Win Linden! - Virtual Ability co-winner of Linden Prize
- Rainbow Gardens Goes Orange for Anniversary Celebration
- Rachelville: Children's Literature Inspired by the Mind of a Child
- Virtual Worlds Education Museum and Libraries Conference review
- Abbey Zenith reports on the 24th Annual Computers in Libraries
conference

This publication is for SL Librarians, and we want to help you in your SL
endeavors!

You can reach us at rezlibris@gmail,com

Vienna James
Public Relations Director
RezLibris Magazine
REZLibris: *To inform, share, inspire and encourage the SL Library
Community.*For information on advertising in the online or print editions, contact
Sifriya Devin, Ad Manager, by IM or at sifriya.de...@gmail.com.

Torley Linden on Changing Your Avatar's Appearance

2009-04-29T05:22:00.000-07:00

Torley Linden's new video on changing your avatar's appearance is very detailed and will give you more ideas on customizing your avatar. Follow this link to his YouTube video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqbuMi5N97c.

Want to Get Involved in Second Life?

2009-04-28T16:52:00.000-07:00

Message below from Abbey Zenith

We have a few regular events we do at Alliance Virtual Library that could use someone to adopt them :) I'd like to encourage people that aren't already heavily involved but would like to make a significant contribution to what we do at AVL to consider managing or helping with these. They are a great way to meet people and network!

RL Librarian Chat - a monthly discussion series that features real life librarians talking about their RL jobs. They are a great way for us to hear about what others are doing and of great interest to students and new librarians. You could manage these discussions alone or with a partner or group. You'd find speakers; schedule the event; add it to our shared Google Doc for monthly events and report the number of attendees there; promote the event, and be on hand during the event to introduce the speaker and participate in the discussion where possible. Managing this event may take 1-3 hours a month.

Library Buzz Sessions - not a regularly scheduled event, the Buzz sessions take place whenever we can find someone who wants to share a presentation, lead a panel or discussion on a library topic (RL or SL), etc. The person managing this event could make it into a monthly discussion (or more often) if they like. You could manage these discussions alone or with a partner or group. You'd find speakers; schedule the event; add it to our shared Google Doc for monthly events and report the number of attendees there; promote the event, and be on hand during the event to introduce the speaker and participate in the discussion where possible. Managing these events may take 1-5 hours a month, depending on event frequency.

Peace Park - Peace Park is a religious resource area that provides information on major religions and philosophies. We strive to do book discussions on all religions there and would like to start a new series of discussions - "Hot Topics in Religion". You could manage these discussions alone or with a partner or group. You'd find speakers; schedule the event; promote the event, and be on hand during the event to introduce the speaker and participate in the discussion where possible. Managing this event may take 1-3 hours a month. For this group it is important that the person that manages be open to discussions on any religion or philosophy - the mission for Peace Park is to provide resources, and encourage tolerance and the sharing of information.

Please contact Abbey Zenith if you are interested in managing or working with a group on any of these events.

Renaissance Island Welcomes Students to Work on Various Projects

2009-04-15T05:51:00.000-07:00

Renaissance Island is always open to welcome students. We have various projects that need completed and would work with students to fulfill thier assignment. Reniassance is an immersed educational role playing16th century. Our projects include: furnishing of the school and placing notecards with information of clothes, daily roles of children; creating tombs of famous knights under our manor; expand our Wharf to include another port; recreate the Spanish Armanda. We also wish to involve students in our London Globe if they so choose to try their hand at acting. We are planning a celebration when our King Henry accended to his throne (500th anniversay) and will welcome him when he travels thru our village in June.

Any organization that has students who want a mature educational environment are welcome to contact us for a list of projects.

Warmest regards......

Duchess Diamond Coronet ( Susan Rushing)diamond.coronet@yahoo.com

Lady Korrigan Keynes (Mary- Carol Lindbloom)

pleiades416@hotmail.com

RezLibris releases April Issue!

2009-04-07T05:04:00.000-07:00

RezLibris magazine is proud to announce the release of a new information-rich issue available at: http://www.rezlibris.com

ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS: Shakespeare's Twelfth Night @ Blackfriar Theatre
Storytelling Day with Tales and a Quest
Machinimista Extraordinaire
Sci Fi Photo contest winners
LIS Student Union St. Patricks Day Party
Adventure in Childrens Literature
RL Librarian Spotlight – Honoria Paine

This publication is for SL Librarians and we want to help you in your SL endeavors!
So please share with us your:
Grand Openings·
Special Events·
Book Readings·
Exhibitions ·
Best Practices·

Tell us your Stories! Even if it is last minute! We will do our best to post your event quickly and spread the word about what is happening throughout the SL Library Community! And of course, we welcome your feedback! Let us know if you would like a representative to come speak at your next meeting!

You can reach us at rezlibris@gmail.com
Vienna James Public Relations DirectorRezLibris Magazine

April is National Poetry Month in the U.S. and Canada.

2009-04-04T20:44:00.000-07:00

April is National Poetry Month in the U.S. and Canada. We've set out a nice little display on Info Island in the Special Display Room inthe AVL-West building with information on poetry in general, resources for those who teach poetry, the poetry of China, India and Japan, cowboy poetry and some goodies you can take with you in SL. We also have a landmark to an interesting game in Second Life called "15 Seconds of Poetry." So come on down to Info Island and take a look.

The SLURL to the display is:http://slurl.com/secondlife/Info%20Island/83/56/34/

Many thanks to JJ Drinkwater and the volunteers of the Caledon Library project for some of the poetry resources. Also thanks to Janette Courier of Rachelville for the multi-volume set of pre-1924 children's poems on notecards. Janette Courier (who works with me in SL) is one of those unsung heroes of AVL and I'm happy to have an opportunity to thank her publicly for all that she does.

Destination Station: Blog Entry by Nika

2009-03-12T06:23:00.000-07:00

Destination Station is a place in Second Life that lets you visit/teleport to different SIMS within SL. The following link takes you to a blog that explains Destination Station in more detail. http://nikadreamscape.wordpress.com/2009/03/02/destination-station/

To visit Destination Station click on the following slurl after you login to Second life
SLurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Corona%20Cay/127/98/26

I Am Library, 2nd Edition by HVX Silverstar

2009-03-09T11:58:00.000-07:00

The video below explores the libraries implemented in Second Life by different institutions, both public and academic. This video and others I've posted are by HVX Silverstar one of the few individuals in SL creating video and recording the evolution of Second Life. You may view more of her videos on YouTube.com.

Someone recently asked me how I keep up with the new technologies. One way is by subscribing to individuals who post on YouTube. People such as HVX Silverstar. When I find a librarian, professional or academic I admire, I click on the yellow subscribe button next to the video player. I select google email as my delivery method and from that point on I receive links to their latest videos.

Announcing a new community-managed database for educational resources in Second Life!

2009-03-04T10:19:00.000-08:00

Check out this new Resource Database for Second Life Educators, hosted on SimTeach at this URL: http://simteach.com/sled/db/.

Beth Kraemer (SL: Alice Burgess) has put it together with Jeremy Kemp* and is encouraging others to make their recommendations for Second Life locations and websites.
*Jeremy Kemp is hosting and collaborating on this resource.

You may contact Beth for more information on this project. Thank you Beth and Jeremy for your time and effort in putting it together!

Beth Kraemer
Information Technology
2-1 William T. Young Library
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40506-0456
phone: (859)257-0500 x 2115
fax: (859)257-0505
kraemer@email.uky.edu
SL: Alice Burgess

Companies Meeting in Second Life-NBC News Report

2009-03-02T09:02:00.001-08:00

Adobe Unveils New Island in Second Life

2009-01-27T07:19:00.000-08:00

The creator of many of our favorite software titles, has entered Second Life
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Adobe%20eLearning/171/68/42

This information comes from an Adobe Press release on Monday, Jan 26, 2009

Videos That Introduce Second Life Recommended by Bernadette Daly Swanson, University of California

2009-01-26T07:51:00.000-08:00

Introducing Second Life: The magnificent works by Robbie Dingo (Watch the World(s)): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxVDVggLqsA&fmt=18

Global Kids (A Child's War)Better Life: http://secondlife.com/community/media.php

Greylin's (SJSU/Sun). She answers the question & handles some of the nay-sayers: Her channel on YouTube is: http://www.youtube.com/user/GreylinF

What is Second Life? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt5YVG4n2bA&fmt=18
(two parts).

I am Library: an Ode to Self-discovery and Collective Creativity in Second Life® (HD 720p)
it can be watched in HD and then full screen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQCoy6MABQM&fmt=22

My channel is: http://www.youtube.com/user/HVXSilverstar
Education: works by Joe Sanchez (North Lamar) and his students:http://educatorscoop.org/blog/?tag=machinima

Pia Klaar (RezLibris) has done some wonderful work on the teen grid...http://www.youtube.com/user/majenh

Sheila Webber & Infolit iSchool http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg6OuQmWefg&fmt=18

Stolvano has some great ones.. the rushing to the reference desk... sure to hit home with librarians... http://www.youtube.com/user/srharris19

There are many others such as Torley Linden's videos that are a good detailed introduction to various aspects of SL.

Bernadette Daly Swanson
University of California Davis
HVX Silverstar in SLSecond Life: Machinima Institute Island (218, 114)
On YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/hvxsilverstar
On Blip.tv: http://libraryfamous.blip.tv
Blog: http://machinimalibrarians.blogspot.comMachinima Workflow on Flickr:http://www.flickr.com/photos/photolibraries/sets/72157606675009781/On Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/hvxsilverstarOn Facebook: Bernadette Daly Swanson

Plans of Teen Grid Merging with Adult Grid in SL...Comments by Linden Employee

2009-01-26T07:39:00.001-08:00

Metanomics transcript: http://www.raulcrimson.com/2009/01/20/the-merging-of-the-grids-teen-and-main-all-in-one/

ROBERT BLOOMFIELD: ... So what are your plans with the Teen Grid at this point?

PHILIP ROSEDALE: Generally, I think that the future of Second Life needs to be one where people of all ages can use Second Life together, and that's the direction that we're taking in our planning and our work. I think that the educational opportunities for Second Life are so great for all ages that we need to make it as available as we possibly can to people. If you look at what we've done with the Teen Grid, I think we've done a good job, as a small company, of being inclusive and creating an environment in which teenagers were able to use Second Life, I think, perhaps earlier than, I don't know, we might have been able to. We pushed hard to get that working.

But, if you look at the problems with having a teenaged area, which is itself so isolated from the rest of the World, they're substantial. There's an inability for educators to easily interact with people in there because we've made it an exclusively teen only area. Parents can't join their kids in Second Life so problems like that are ones that we think are pretty fundamental and need to be fixed. We need to stop creating isolated areas that are age specific and, instead, look at how we can make the overall experience appropriately safe and controlled for everybody. So that's the general direction that we're taking there.

ROBERT BLOOMFIELD: Do you expect any official action or public notice on this anytime soon? And is the idea am I hearing you right that it would basically be to allow people of any age to come into at least some parts of Second Life? Is that what I'm hearing?

PHILIP ROSEDALE: Definitely. From my perspective, our long term strategy is that but I won't make any specific "this is what's coming next and that's where you can expect it," in that regard. We're still working on how to do that and what to do next.

Second Life Video by Alliance Virtual Institute Members Using Machinima

2009-01-14T06:31:00.000-08:00

This video/machinima, filmed in 2007, was created for the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) 2007Conference in Baltimore, March 29-April 1, 2007. Abbey Zenith, Puglet Dancer and HVX Silverstar collaborated on this video project.
It was filmed on location in the very beautiful Second Life®. Visit us at the Alliance Virtual Library blog for more information: http://www.infoisland.org
Drop by the Machinima Institute 218, 114 to pick up 'do-it-yourself' instructional materials at Machinima Institute Island.

Orientation for Virtual Ability Island by Gentle Heron

2009-01-05T08:22:00.000-08:00

Gentle Heron's video/machinima introduces us to the orientation for Virtual Ability Island focusing on SL instruction for people using assistive technologies. Here is her link to her YouTube videos on Virtual Ability Island. I have spoken briefly with her and she is very kind and approachable. She knows a lot about the medical and nursing communities in Second Life and has offered to help people here, at CSTCC to get connected with events and projects in SL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAjG4Tv6LvU&fmt=22(click the square icon at lower right of the youtube viewer to watch in full screen).

Bernadette Daly Swanson
University of California Davis
HVX Silverstar in SL Second Life: Machinima Institute Island (218, 114)
On YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/hvxsilverstar
On Blip.tv: http://libraryfamous.blip.tv
Blog: http://machinimalibrarians.blogspot.com
Machinima Workflow on
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/photolibraries/sets/72157606675009781/
On Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/hvxsilverstar
On Facebook: Bernadette Daly Swanson

Library in SL Moves to New Location

2008-12-22T07:42:00.001-08:00

The Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library in SL has moved to Cybrary City II. We've enjoyed our stay on Cybray City but our new location will allow more space and prims and put us closer to two other Kansas libraries in Second Life, the State Libary of Kansas and Olathe Public Library.
We invite you to come see us at our new location! A SLURL appears at the bottom of this email. Cindy Elkhart / Diana Sowers,

TSCPL SL http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cybrary%20City%20II/177/201/22/

Help Plan SL Events with Experienced SL Volunteers!

2008-12-10T09:20:00.000-08:00

Please let Marimar Berchot marimar.berchot@gmail.com know if you are interested in taking the lead on one of these upcoming events to bring people to AVL and to also make money to support the library sims.

You can form a group to help you with the plan and the events. You'll have able advisers from those of us who have planned large events before. We are also interested in volunteers to help with these events! There are many elements to each - promotion, coordinating events, speakers, parties, evaluations, etc. If you want to contact me to ask questions, please do!

March 2009 - Science Fair - Speakers, exhibits, etc. We have several members of the scientific community active in our group of volunteers and this will be a chance for us to build on that and reach out to this community in Second Life.

April 2009 - Literary Festival - This year's Literary Festival will feature young adult literature. Teo and her group managed last year's with great success and she has agreed to act as an advisor for producing this year's event. Last year we had several speakers, exhibits, and parties.

May 2009 - Third Anniversary Celebration - THREE YEARS! This celebration will be spread across Info, Info International, Infotainment, Imagination, and Illumination Islands. We could use someone from each island to work with a committee to coordinate the celebration.

-- RhondaSL: Abbey Zenith
http://books.infotoday.com/books/VirtualWorlds.shtml

Second Life President Elect Obama Appoints Two SL Innovators to his Team!

2008-12-02T08:47:00.000-08:00

According to New World Notes posted minutes ago, President Elect Barak Obama has appointed two experts on virtual environments to his real world team for creating an “Innovation Agenda,” a promising innovation in and of itself!According to Au (citing a news item in the Washington Post), New York Law School professor Beth Noveck and Irving Wladawsky-Berger, a Chairman Emeritus of IBM, have been announced as key members of the newly appointed group.

Rensaissance Island

2008-12-02T08:19:00.000-08:00

Renaissance Island welcomes all travellers who pass through our village. Please stop in for a pint of ale and rest your feet for a spell at our Rose and Crown. You might even hear the latest gossip of the village. Maybe the London Globe draws your interest when strolling through our commons. The Globe is a beautiful replica of the original before she perished and hosts rehearsals in preparation of a play. For those Battle Thirsty Warriors, we have a training arena that holds Joust practices and tourney, along with fencing, and archery. Join the groups for updates on events held all over second life. And be sure to stop by our Merchant row to pick up your very own (free) period clothing as a courtesy from our village. There is plenty to do and see at this wonderful sim. Please contact Korrigan Keynes or Diamond Coronet if you have questions about holding students classes or holding an event.

SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Renaissance%20Island/25/84/27