Rik Riel's Skating Tour of Info Island

Rik Riel of The Click Heard Round the World blog created the greatest video of a skating tour around Info Island. For those of you who have not tried Second Life yet, hopefully this will give you a feel for some of the things there. It is only 3 minutes long, gives a great overview and has some fantastic upbeat music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTQkzfz5osQ

Great program on Info Island by Jeff Barr, Amazon Technology Evangelist

Over 50 people attended a great program on Info Island tonight presented by Jeff Barr, Amazon Technology Evangelist. He talked about web services offered by Amazon and their activities in Second Life.

Fantastic art show opening by Bucky Barkley on Info Island

Congratulations to photographer Bucky Barkley on a fantastic art show on Info Island on Saturday, October 7! Almost 80 people attended the elegant event held from 6-8 pm sl at the Library Gallery. The show was called "Blurred Realities" and featured photographs by Bucky Barkley. This has been the most well-attended event at Info island and was a terrific kickoff for our grand opening week. Bucky's artwork was the first to be displayed on Info Island. For more information on Info Island art shows, contact Abbey Zenith.

New Library Search HUD by Damek Tretiak

Damek Tretiak in SL and Patrick Ward in RL has created a special search HUD(heads-up display) which can also reside on the user's screen for Second Life Library. Library users can ask a question via Question Point via chat or via email, search world-cat, wikipedia, google, view a map of the library, Amazon, Findarticles.com, and Second Life itself. According to Damek, this is only the beginning. Currently in Second Life, the only ways we are aware of to search the web is through other search mechanisms created by Hugo Dalgleigh and a 411 search engine. When finished searching, the user can minimize the small search screen on their Second Life screen. Users can get one of these free of charge in front of the library in the Second Life Library kiosk. If you have further suggestions for the HUD, contact Damek Tretiak or Lorelei Junot. The search engine is powered by slquery.com.

In real life, Damek is the CTO for a small, international company called TransWorld. He works with several European auto makers managing port operations and other activities related to the United States market. He also has several associated companies such as a marketing group and a new restaurant management group. Damek has been in the software industry for around 10 years now, building everything from real-time inventory management systems to e-commerce sites on the Internet. He joined Second Life mainly because he was curious about what the fuss was about, but quickly realized its potential. His mission soon became to find new ways to be creative with the information we have available in RL, and of course have a little fun! Again, the Search HUD is just the beginning. The library is thankful to Damek for creating such a wonderful tool which should help library users.

PLCMC partners with Alliance Library system to open cultural/creative space in virtual world

PLCMC partners with Alliance Library system to open cultural/creative space in virtual world



Charlotte, NC - Oct. 6, 2006 - The Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County (PLCMC) and the Alliance Library System are pleased to announce a partnership to collaborate on the "Eye4You Alliance," an island in Teen Second Life that will offer virtual library services to teens.

Teen Second Life is a 3-D, international gathering place on the Internet where teens 13-17 can make friends, play, learn and create. Teens create a digital version of themselves, called an avatar, that they use to travel around the "virtual world," meet new people and participate in a variety of activities.

The goal of "Eye4You Alliance" is to create an interactive and informative space for young adults within the Teen Second Life virtual world and to collaborate with other educators who serve youth and are already present in Teen Second Life and in real life.

"At a time when many libraries are offering collaborative spaces through social tools, a 3-D immersive environment is the next logical step to libraries remaining relevant to teenagers," said Helene Blowers, director of Information Technology at PLCMC. "This project is an opportunity to engage teens in services and activities that will excite them in a place they already are."

The project hopes to build teen developmental assets, encourage collaboration and promote active learning that will prepare teens for future learning. PLCMC and Alliance Library System leaders believe this environment has significant learning potential by being a Web interface that can challenge teen users to figure things out for themselves.

"We see this as an important service our libraries can collaborate on, and we are proud to team up with the library in Charlotte," said Kitty Pope, executive director of the Alliance Library System in Peoria, Ill. "We are excited to be offering new outreach programs, events and services to teens who might not otherwise come to the library."

Both library systems will provide the leadership and expertise in extending their outstanding real-life programs and services to the virtual world.

Founded in 1903 as a Carnegie Free Library, PLCMC has become one of the premiere libraries in the country with 24 locations, 1.6 million volumes, and 28,000 videos, DVDs and CDs. The library sponsors a variety of community-based programs - from computer- and Internet-education workshops to the award-winning Novello Festival of Reading, a celebration that accentuates the fun of reading and learning. As a public library, we are dedicated to our mission of expanding minds, empowering individuals and enriching our community.

Alliance Library System is one of the most innovative regional library systems in North America and is the lead agency on the Second Life Library project on Info Island in the adult version of Second Life. It is located in East Peoria, Illinois with 253 library members of all types. Alliance offers continuing education, consulting, resource sharing, and delivery service to members

For more information, contact Teen Second Life Project
Leaders Matt Gullett, mgullett@plcmc.org or Kelly Czarnecki,
kczarnecki@plcmc.org

Upcoming Programs for Info island and NMC Library

*On Tuesday, October 10, Jeff Barr (Jeff Batra in Second Life), Web Services Evangelist at Amazon.com, will discuss the
full line of Amazon's web services from a technical and business
perspective on Tuesday October 11 at 5 pm s. The presentation will
include a review of developer activity within Second Life and there
will be ample time for discussion and Q&A. Open air auditorium, Info island, 141,
81, 33

NMC library programs
i *On Wednesday,October 11 at 5 pm sl, Henry VIII will visit the NMC library to talk about his life and how biographers have villified him. Come and heckle Henry during his one hour program.

*On Monday, October 16 at 7 pm SLT/PST, Lorelei Junot and Maxito Ricardo will host an informal discussion in the NMC library on “Digital Media and how it is Affecting Libraries.” There are now downloadable audio books, ebooks, and video. Libraries are stretching their budgets on new media to keep students engaged. Lorelei and Maxito will discuss current trends and open up the topic for discussion. The program will last approximately one hour and will be held at the NMC library.

*On Saturday October 21 at 12 noon sl, Troy McLuham, from the International Space and Flight Museum will present a program on “Life on Mars?” at the NMC library which begins with a 14-slide presentation, including prepared notes (chat text). He encourages interruptions for questions, comments, and discussion… that’s what makes it fun and interesting! It’s a historical overview of humanity’s knowledge about life existing on Mars, now or in the past. he usually allow san hour for it… the exact duration depends on the size of the audience and how much discussion arises. Come and catch a surprise!

Blog moving to http://www.infoisland.org

As of October 11, this blog is moving to the Info Island website at http://www.infoisland.org. (The new RSS feed is at http://infoisland.org/feed/) Check it out. Between now and then posts will be made at both sites.

You're Invited! Grand Opening of Second Life Library/Info Island

Alliance Library System and Second Life Library/Info Island Pleased to Announce Official Opening

The Alliance Library System and the Second Life Library/Info Island collaborative group of librarians are pleased to announce the grand opening and a host of activities planned for Second Life residents scheduled October 12-14, 2006. All events will be held in Second Life and are free to residents.

“We have been working on this project with partners from around the world for six months,” stated Kitty Pope, Executive Director of the Alliance Library System. “We are grateful to all the librarians and others who have put in huge amounts of time to make this happen and we are pleased with the reception the library has received in Second Life.”

Gonzo Mandelbrot, Coordinator of Grand Opening Activities said, “We have a variety of activities, events and tours that people can pick and choose from or they may attend everything. The goal is to highlight all the different aspects of the library and Info Island and all that is available there.”

A detailed schedule of events is provided below. If attendees have questions about specific locations, come to Info Island. We will have tour guides there who can show people to the event location.

Thursday, October 12 – Virtual Worlds and Education: The Cutting Edge – 4 pm sl – 6 pm sl – Speakers: Pathfinder Linden, Kitty Paul, Puglet Dancer, Professor Beliveau, Lorelei Junot and Maxito Ricardo – Puglet Dancer and Kitty Paul will cut the ribbon to begin grand opening ceremonies at Info Island open air auditorium (Info Island 143, 82, 34)
Friday, October 13 - Virtual Worlds and Alternate Realities – Where Do Libraries Fit In? – 7:30 a.m. sl – 1:30 pm. sl – A variety of wonderful speakers with keynote by Pathfinder Linden - Info Island open air auditorium(Info Island 143, 82, 34)
Friday, October 13 – 5:00-6:00 p.m. sl – Scary Movies at Second Life Pantheon Picture House (Info Island II, 98,71,24)
6:00-8:00 p.m. sl – Costume Ball at Info Island Mystery Manor – prizes for best costumes! (Info Island, 214, 163,33)
Saturday October 14 – 8:00 a.m. sl – Opening of Caledon Branch – 19th century library (Caledon Tamrannoch (211,31,22)
9:30 a.m. sl – Grand Opening of Second Life Library Medical Library – special events (Info Island 165, 204, 33) – Bioterrorism demonstration
Speakers: Moriz Gupta and Sojourner Truth
12:00 p.m. sl – Second Ribbon Cutting and special speaker – Info island Open Air Auditorium (Info Island 143, 82, 34) – Katt Kongo, editor, Metaverse Messenger
3:00 p.m. sl – Talis SciFi & Fantasy Portal Opening – special events (Info Island 29, 62, 33)
5:00 – 8:00 p.m. sl – TX950 Beach party and celebration – dancing refreshments, fun (Info Island 85, 33, 23)
Throughout the day – Tours, scavenger hunts, information kiosks – come and have fun!

For further information, please contact Gonzo Mandelbrot or Lorelei Junot.

Book Making

Today I taught the first class I wrote specifically for the Second Life Library. It met with great success, as the participants learned both about prim editing but also the features of notecards. I am glad that the class went well, and none of the students became lost, all though I did at times :). I will repeat this class again, and develop new ones. In the mean time we all prepare for the great events happening in October. I hope to see you at the library.

Reuters health trial at medical library

The Second Life Medical Library now offers a three months trial access to Reuters Health News Services. Anybody with an SL account can get access! Details are available at the Reuters health display in the SL Medical Library and at the New Consumer Health Library

Reuters Health offers Health E-line, health related news for the general public interested in wellness, healthcare and the latest treatments for medical conditions. Health eLine offers accurate, readable and informative news reports every day. Reuters Health eLine is available in English, Spanish and Portuguese.


Reuters Medical News for health professionals
With content selected for relevance and newsworthiness, the daily Medical News is a convenient way for physicians, researchers and other medical professionals to stay informed of developments in their field. This service is available in English and Spanish.

Reuters Health Industry Briefing
Offering up-to-the-minute news on the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, Industry Briefing delivers a fast, accurate business information service for the healthcare community.

Come and have a look! Things are moving faster and faster. More breaking news soon about the Second Life Medical Library

Info Island This week: Halloween Haven of Horror to Science Center

The Library Gallery opens with "Blurred Realities" October 7th!

A new gallery opens on Info Island on October 7th! The
initial show is entitled "Blurred Realities", which explores
the zoom blur photography technique of Bucky Barkley. Bucky
explains: "A Zoom Blur is a bit like an impressionistic painting,
done completely in-camera in a half second. It's also a wonderful
way to wear out a lens!". Come see the photos, the 3 story space,
see old friends, and make new ones. Opening event is on
Saturday, October 7th - 6-8 pm SL time. The gallery is located
at Info Island (24, 125, 33).




A meeting for planning the new Science Center headed up by Hayduke Ebisu was held on Info Island II Thursday night and attended by 8 people. If you would like to participate and join the Science Center group, contact Hayduke Ebisu.








Info Island I will be decorating the libraries for Halloween during the next few weeks. One of the exhibits is Halloween Haven of Horror: Stephen Kind Reads Here." If you are looking for good scary horror books, this is the place to go - to our mausoleum of good scary reads.





Stop by Info island to play a game of giant checkers created by Librarian Eiseldora Reisman.





Chris Reitveld has build a Victorian bookshop which is on Info Island II for Halloween and Christmas.

Activities this week at Info island - "the Early Years of Elizabeth I"

Info Island/Second Life Library is pleased to be working in collaboration with the New Media Consortium on library services and resources for their beautiful library. Watch this column and the NMC Campus Observer for updates. The libraries will work together to provide a variety of services, events, training and resources for students and residents of Second Life.

Approximately 20 people attended an excellent program given by author Greyfox Book (Jon Klements in real life) about his writings on superheroes.

"The Early Years of Elizabeth I" will be presented at the Second Life Library open air auditorium on Wednesday September 27 at 5 pm sl. The young Elizabeth I herself will visit Info Island to share the story of her early years before taking the throne of England at age 25, Elizabeth I is thought to be one of the greatest monarchs of English history. Come and hear her story and ask her questions.

Reference librarians on Info island are staffing the welcome/reference desk several hours per day to help visitors and answer reference questions. Terminals have benn placed around the island so visitors can ask questions via email or text chat with a librarian via Question Point software. Soon, we hope to place these in other educational locations. If you have informational questions, visit Info island for help from librarians.

There is a new exhibits building built by Shadow Fugazi on Info Island II. It currently displays the Library of Congress Declaration of Independence and will feature new displays from Library of Congress and other places every few months.

Info Island II has a new movie theater and events area called the SL Pantheon Picture House. The building was constructed by Nubian Bliss. Old movies and other types of entertainment will be offered here. Watch the Second Life events calendar! The building was purchased with funds from the second prize in the Talis Library Mashup contest.

Hayduke Ebisu is Founder of a Science Center which is being built on Info Island II. If you are interested in science, and would like to become involved, please contact Hayduke Ebisu.

Experience the magic and mystery of Xibalba inside and outside. Usu Ventura has just finished building the first stage of Xibalba, an evocation of the Maya Otherworld. It features a Second Life version of
the Temple of the Inscriptions in Palenque, Mexico. Inside the temple
is a gallery of Maya art and architecture. Donations will benefit the
Hospitalito in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala, which is rebuilding after
a mudslide destroyed it in 2005. You can visit at Info island II
41,217, 24. For more information, contact Usu Ventura.

October is Charles Dickens month at the Caledon branch library. On October 19, there will be a discussion of Dicken's novel "Hard Times" and on Halloween, Dickens' ghost stores will be shared. For more information on the Caledon branch, contact JJ Drinkwater, Head of the Caledon branch.

The grand opening for the Alliance Second Life Library/Info Island is scheduled for October 13 and 14. On Friday, the 13th, Mystery Manor will show horror films at the new theater and host a costume ball with prizes for the best costumes. On October 14, a variety of fun activities and tours of the library will be available. More details will be provided closer to that time. Put the date on your calendars!

If you have ideas for programs, training , or materials you would like to see offered by Second Life Library, please contact Lorelei Junot or Abbey Zenith. If you have a class or a group that would like a tour, do not hesitate to contact us.

This week at Info island: a glimpse of Info Island II

Author Greyfox Book, Jon Klements in real life, gave a program on his writing on superheroes at the Second Life Library. Approximately 25 people attended.





Reference librarians on Info island are staffing the welcome/reference desk several hours per day to help visitors and answer reference questions. Terminals like these have benn placed around the island so visitors can also ask questions via email or text chat with a librarian via Question Point software. Soon, we hope to place these in other educational locations.





This is new new exhibits building built by Shadow Fugazi on Info Island II. It currently displays the Library of Congress Declaration of Independence and will feature new displays from Library of Congress and other places every few months.









This is the new SL Pantheon Picture House built with funds from Talis Mashing the Library Compeititon prize money. This theater, managed by Thea Donovan will regularly show old time movies and will host other events too. This beautiful building was built by Nubian Bliss. Opening soon. Watch the SL events calendar for events coming up. The last picture is an interior of the lobby of the theater decorated by Abbey Zenith.





Come to the exquisite pyramid of XIBALBA. Drop inside and see the treasures awaiting you built by Usu Venura.


What else is coming for Info Island II?


We are currently working on a Science Center, headed by Hayduke Ebisu. He has assembled a great team of people to bring science information to Second Life.


Our grand opening is October 13-14; more information and a schedule out this week on that. It will be fun.


We hope to have some announcements of some other exciting developments we are working on too to improve library services. If you want to become involved, please contact me- lbell927@gmail.com.

MAYA Avatars in the Underworld - XIBALBA

MAYA AVATARS IN THE UNDERWORLD – XIBALBA

First SL Maya Museum opens on Info Island II

Usu Ventura has just finished building the first stage of Xibalba, an
evocation of the Maya Otherworld. It features a Second Life version of
the Temple of the Inscriptions in Palenque, Mexico. Inside the temple
is a gallery of Maya art and architecture. Donations will benefit the
Hospitalito in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala, which is rebuilding after
a mudslide destroyed it in 2005. You can visit at Info island II
41,217, 24

"After years of visiting the Maya region and working with
archaeologists, I wanted to convey some of the mystery and beauty of
the ancient Maya civilization" Usu says. "And the themes in the
artwork, showing avatars of mythic characters battling and tricking
the gods of the Otherworld, certainly have resonance here in Second
Life."

The exhibit will also offer information on the living Maya, who
maintain their traditional culture, art, and languages in Mexico,
Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras. In addition it will support a
campaign to protect the Usumacinta River, the watershed at the heart
of the Maya civilization, from a planned hydroelectric dam.

In real life, Usu (Dave Pentecost) is a freelance TV and web video
producer, and technical director of the Lower Eastside Girls Club, a
non-profit in New York City. This summer, with help from Techsoup, he
started using Second Life in science, math, and design programs with
the girls. Usu quickly found an ally in Rain Noonan, of Second Life
Library and Info Island II. Rain also encouraged him to begin
developing the Maya museum.

"We are very excited to have this wonderful exhibit on Info Island
II," said Rain Noonan of the Second Life Library.

Usu notes that the museum is a collaboration with FAMSI, the
Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc.
(famsi.org). FAMSI supports archaeological research and maintains a
large archive of study materials. In particular, Xibalba's exhibits
will feature the photography of Justin Kerr, and the drawings of Linda
Schele, who sparked a revolution in Maya studies – the breaking of the
Maya code.

"Palenque was ground zero for the deciphering of the Maya glyphs" says
Usu. "I'd like to show both the work done by scholars over the last 30
years and by the Maya over 1000 years ago. The immersive environment
of SL should inspire people to visit the Maya sites in real life."

The exhibit is open now but is still evolving. Future plans include
scuba diving from dugout canoes in the nearby lake, to retrieve
artifacts for the museum.

The real launch will happen on Day of the Dead, November 1, 2006, with
the opening of the first show, "Maya Avatars in the Otherworld."

IM Usu Ventura for more information.

Author Jon Klement to Speak on Superhero Writings

Author Greyfox Book (Jon Klement) in real life will present a program
at the Info island open auditorium at 6 pm sl on Thursday September
21.
"Rush and the Grey Fox" is a series of super-hero novels published by Coscom
Entertainment. Volume One was released in November 2005 and Volume Two is
scheduled to release January 2007. Come and meet the author. Jon Klement is a
high school science educator and is passionately interested in encouraging
young people to read and reach their potential as well as crafting highly
entertaining super-hero/sci-fi stories for ALL ages.
For more information about Rush and the Grey Fox, visit
http://www.rushandthegreyfox.com

Book Discussion on Wednesday
Join the Second Life Library book discussion group on Wednesday at 7
pm sl in the main meeting room of the library for a discussion of
"Rusty Nail" lead by Maxito Ricardo.

Rock-A-Hula at Library Beach Club on Friday
Who said Elvis was dead? Join us at the TX950 Library Beach Club from
6-8 pm sl for fun in the surf and sand, dancing, music, and Elvis of
course. Librarians are a fun bunch and we want to meet you. (Info
Island 94, 49,22)

Info Island Orientation
There will be a tour of Info Island on Thursday September 21 at 5 pm
sl for 45 minutes.

For more information please contact Lorelei Junot.

Info island this week

Monday 9/18 at 9 a.m. sl - Info Island orientation - meet at main library
Wed. 9/20 at 9 pm. sl - Book discussion of Rusty Nail at main library meeting room
Thursday 9/21 at 8 pm sl - Author Greyfox Book (Jon Clements in rl) at open air auditorium
Friday 9/22 at 8 pm sl - Rock a Hula Beach party at TX950 Beach Club - Prizes for best costumes
Sunday 9/24 at 7 pm sl - Info Island Orientation meets at main library
Sunday 9/24 at 8 pm sl - All staff meeting at main library meeting room

September 11 program draws 30 people

The September 11 commemorative program drew about 30 people who shared their experiences of that day and how it affected their lives. Everyone held candles and people continued to talk after the program ended. Several added their artwork to the September 11 display on Info Island. This display will be available into mid-October if you have not had a chance to see it.

Talis announces winners of International Mashing the Library Up 2006: Alliance Second Life Library Project Wins Second Place!

This information taken from theTalis website:

Talis is delighted to announce the winners of the first competition intended to openly encourage innovation in the display, use, and reuse of data from and about libraries - Mashing Up The Library 2006.

First Prize

The First prize of £1,000 was awarded to John Blyberg of Ann Arbor District Library in Ann Arbor, MI. His entry, Go-Go-Google-Gadget, shows how simply library information can be integrated into the personalised home page offered by Google, and is described by competition sponsor and member of the judging panel, Talis’ Paul Miller, as “an excellent example of taking information previously locked inside the library catalogue and making it available to patrons in other contexts where they may spend more time than they do in their catalogue.” Available information includes new and the most popular material in the library, and patron-specific information on checked-out and requested items. ‘Superpatron’ Ed Vielmetti applauded the simplicity of this entry, remarking in a clear invitation for others to follow John’s lead that “the visible source code is very tiny and easily hackable.” Vanderbilt University’s Marshall Breeding concluded, “I like this entry’s spirit of opening up information in the library system and putting it under the control of the user."

In recognition of the current exchange rate, the sum of $2,000 has been paid to John.

Second Prize

The Second prize of £500 was awarded to the Alliance Library System in East Peoria, IL, and their global partners in the Second Life Library. Their entry, the Alliance Second Life Library 2.0, was described by Talis’ Miller as “both a testament to international co-operation amongst libraries and a compelling demonstration of the ways in which traditional library functions can be extended into cyberspace, reaching new audiences in ways exciting and relevant to them as they live their lives.”

In recognition of the current exchange rate, the sum of $1,000 has been paid to the Alliance Library System, and they intend to use the funds to extend their work within Second Life.

For all those users of libraries who have ever wished they could bring information from their library to life outside the virtual walls of its web site, this competition presented an ideal opportunity to see some of what the future might hold.

From Jon Udell's early work with LibraryLookup to the current fashion for Greasemonkey plug-ins and the more structured exposure of Web Services by Talis, Amazon, Google and others, there are significant advances being made in the ways in which libraries offer their services to the outside world. At least as important is the revolution occurring outside the library, as those beyond the walls take and manipulate library data on their own.

Modern approaches to thinking about provision of library data and services online create opportunities for numerous applications beyond the traditionally defined library management system. By adhering to standards from the wider Web community, by considering the library system as an interlocking set of functional components rather than a monolithic black box, and by taking a bold new approach to defining the ways in which information from and about libraries are ‘owned’ and exposed to others, we make it straightforward for information from the library to find its way to other places online.

Rather than being locked inside the library system, your data can add value to the experience of your users wherever they are, whether it’s Google, Amazon, the institutional portal, or one of the social networking sites such as MySpace or Facebook. By unlocking data and the services that make use of it, the possibilities are literally endless, and it is here that efforts such as those around the Talis Library Platform become important.

One very early example of combining library data with other sources in order to add value to both is the whole area of the ‘Mashup’. Mashups are not only found in the library world, but are proving increasingly prevalent in association with a whole host of Web 2.0 companies and ideas. Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, defines a Mashup as;

“... a website or web application that uses content from more than one source to create a completely new service.”

This competition was for anyone in the community that had harbored a yearning to see information from or about libraries put to best use and displayed to best effect alongside information or services from other sources. The Mashing Up The Library competition was open to all, and carried a first prize of £1,000 for the best entry.

This competition is intended to celebrate and showcase all that is best in these efforts to push library information out to existing audiences in new ways, or to reach totally new audiences with compelling and captivating applications. The 2006 competition marks a beginning, and we look forward to watching the sector grow in coming years.

Announcement of the Mashing Up The Library competition in June generated great enthusiasm amongst diverse groups across the world. Tim Spalding of LibraryThing commented “LibraryThing draws on libraries for its data, so I'm well aware how rich this is, and how relatively unexploited by programmers in general. I'm looking forward to seeing what creative mashers do”.

Helene Blowers, Public Service Technology Director, Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County Charlotte, North Carolina commented, “I think it's exciting to see a major library automation company like Talis take the lead in encouraging and rewarding library innovation from the user community. What really sets this competition apart in my mind is that Talis has defined the user community as anybody, not just their customer base. And to raise the innovation bar even higher, potential developers or contest participants don't even have to use or interface with Talis' products to create an entry. That speaks volumes in my book! I'm looking forward to see the entries - and winner too! Thanks again for taking the lead here. It truly is exciting”.

Darlene Fichter, Data Library Co-ordinator for the University of Saskatchewan encouraged, “Love books? Love libraries? Love programming? Here's your chance to dive in and make a mashup with library stuff. It's sure to kick start the creation of several mashups using library data which will benefit everyone”.

At Talis, we recently announced the first set of our Talis Platform Web Services, and we fully expect to see growing awareness of their capabilities leading to a veritable explosion in the ways in which library information can be ‘mashed up’, and a significant lowering of the current barriers to participation and sharing by ordinary libraries around the world. This year’s competition marks a beginning. Improved tools, improved access to data from and about libraries, and increased awareness mean that libraries are in for an exciting and challenging journey.




What’s Next?

The Mashing Up The Library competition marks an important step forward in encouraging open and inclusive innovation from libraries around the world, regardless of their consortial memberships or vendor allegiance. As we move forward and traditional library groupings become less appropriate and sustainable in today’s rapidly changing environment, it becomes increasingly important to encourage open approaches such as these. Talis is committed to helping libraries to reach out to existing and new markets for their capabilities, and the ongoing support of this competition is one aspect of that strategy.

Rather than re-run the same competition again next year, we wish to encourage innovative work on an ongoing basis. As such, the competition web site reopens today, and will accept new entries. We will periodically assemble a team of judges to select the best submissions since the last time entries were judged. In addition, we will seek to reward particularly innovative or compelling examples on an ad hoc basis, outside the normal cycle of judging.

We welcome approaches from library systems vendors and other interested parties willing and able to join us in celebrating and rewarding all that is best in innovating around the display, delivery and use of library information, today and into the future.

The Entries

A total of eighteen entries were received for the competition, spanning everything from very simple enhancements to existing library functions right through to a collaborative effort to provide library services inside the Second Life 3D online digital world. Entries came in from public and academic libraries, as well as from the commercial sector. As is the trend with Mashups more generally, map-based Mashups proved common.

All eighteen entries are described in detail at www.talis.com/tdn/forum/84, and comprise;

Alliance Second Life Library 2.0, submitted by the Alliance Library System in East Peoria, Illinois, on behalf of the gobal staff of the Second Life Library;
Amazon2OU Library Pivot Browsing, submitted by Tony Hirst of the Open University;
BiblioPage.com, submitted by Aaron Huber of the Broward County Library System in Broward County, Florida;
Book Cover Browser, submitted by Mike Cunningham of Cambridge Libraries in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada;
Book Trackr, submitted by Jim Robertson of the New Jersey Institute of Technology;
Consuming Library New Book Feeds, submitted by Tony Hirst of the Open University;
Danish contribution, submitted by Jens Hofman Hansen of the State and University Library, Aarhus, Denmark, on behalf of the summa development team;
Feed Based Library Interface, submitted by Tony Hirst of the Open University;
Go-Go-Google-Gadget, submitted by John F. Blyberg of the Ann Arbor District Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan;
Lib 2.0 library toolbar, submitted by Casey Durfee of the Seattle Public Library, Washington;
The Library Catalogue in Google Desktop, submitted by Art Rhyno of the University of Windsor and Ross Singer of Georgia Tech Library;
LibMap, submitted by Tim Hodson of Herefordshire Libraries;
Library Map Mashup, submitted by Michael McDonnell on behalf of ‘the Bruncherati’, members of a library interest group in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada;
Library Patrons Who Borrow Create, submitted by Michael L. Johnson;
Lillian - A Virtual Librarian, submitted by David Burden of DADEN Ltd in Birmingham, UK;
Maps of Place of Publication, submitted by ‘MMcM’;
OU Traveller, submitted by Tony Hirst of the Open University;
NJIT catalog, submitted by Jim Robertson of the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

The Judging Panel

For this first competition, we assembled a team of judges who offered many valuable insights during the judging process. These judges were:

Jeff Barr, Web Services Evangelist for Amazon.com;
Marshall Breeding, Director for Innovative Technologies & Research at Vanderbilt University;
Jenny Levine, well established library blogger as The Shifted Librarian and newly of the American Library Association (ALA);
Paul Miller, Talis;
Andrew Pace, Head of Information Technology at North Carolina State University Libraries;
Chris Pirillo, Lockergnome;
Gary Price, Director of Online Information Resources at Ask.com and Publisher of ResourceShelf.com;
Tim Spalding, founder of LibraryThing;
Jon Udell, InfoWorld;
Ed Vielmetti, Superpatron.com.
We certainly owe all of them our thanks for their hard work throughout the competition.


The TDN

The competition Web site is hosted as part of the TDN; a Talis-supported initiative to support those developing and working with library systems. Like the competition, the TDN is open to anyone, anywhere, regardless of the library system with which they work.

Areas of the TDN support discussion between developers, the sharing of scripts and knowledge, and the provision of access to web services from Talis and others.

Membership of the TDN is free of charge, and more information is available from the TDN site.

Supporting Images

An archive file containing supporting imagery is available for download. This archive comprises;

Portrait of John F. Blyberg of Ann Arbor District Library (AADL), winner of the competition’s first prize;
An image, by John Blyberg, of his winning entry. This image was taken from Flickr, where other versions are also available at www.flickr.com/photos/jblyberg/218459782/ ;
A logo for the Second Life Library 2.0, winner of the competition’s second prize;
A screenshot from Second Life (www.secondlife.com/) depicting the outside of the Second Life Library 2.0, and the ‘avatars’ of Talis’ Paul Miller and library technology consultant, Phil Bradley;
Talis logo;
Mashing up the Library competition logo;
Portrait of Dr Paul Miller of Talis, competition organiser and sponsor, and member of the judging panel.

Talis

Talis is an established provider of library and information management software to public and academic libraries and has a long history as a technology innovator, a pioneer for open standards, and as a partner for its customers. Working closely with world standards bodies such as World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative, and NISO, ongoing research activities include Web Services, Services Oriented Architectures, RDF based metadata and RSS.

Talis has recently announced a new Talis Library Platform which is an open, extensible, Web 2.0 based software platform which will be the foundation upon which next generation applications will be developed. The Talis Platform incorporates semantic content management, a global collections directory, with a Service Oriented Architecture that enables low cost institutional integration.

Through the Talis Developer Network, Talis welcomes developers to join its development community and build the next generation of applications and services on a shared platform.

For more information, visit www.talis.com, where you can find detailed information, read our blogs, join our discussion forums, and listen to our industry podcasts.


Further Details

For further details, please contact:

Ceri McCall, Senior Manager, Corporate Marketing. ceri.mccall@talis.com, +44 (0)870 400 5029

Paul Miller, Technology Evangelist; paul.miller@talis.com, +44 (0)776 974 0083

New SciFi Fantasy Center; Science Center; more orientations

Info Island now has a new scifi/fantasy center built by Vincent Parvenu. It has three floors and will offer a variety of information, exhibits and programs on science fiction and fantasy literature. Leaders on this project are Michael Maitland and Floria Hand.



Hayduke Ebisu is beginning a Science Center on Info Island II. He is looking for people who would like to get involved in the Science Center to make science easier to understand and to create displays and exhibits on the history of science. Contact Hayduke Ebisu if this interests you.



Info Island will offer two orientations this week, one on Tuesday, September 12 a 4 pm sl and one on Thursday September 14 at 4 pm sl. Everyone is welcome. Contact Abbey Zenith or Lorelei Junot for a tour for your group.

Tour for CMSU Writing Students; Library Beach Club

Maxito Ricardo and Lorelei Juno gave tours of Info Island and the CMSU resource center to approximately 20 students in Dr. Bryan Carter's writing class on Friday. Working with CMSU, Second Life Library will provide library support and assistance to these students whose class meets in Second Life.




Friday night, Second Life Library sponsored a Good-Bye to Summer party at the new beach club to help new librarians and educators get to meet one another. Approximately 25-30 people attended. A fun time was had by all. The library will continue to sponsor social events for librarians, educators, and residents.

Upcoming Info Island Orientations for Librarians and Others

We continue to get new librarians exploring the island, so welcome. I
have set up some Info Island orientation times open to librarians and
others. These are in the immediate future and I will continue to set
them up. If others would like to do some, let me know. We will meet in
front of the library and these last about one hour.
Friday, 9/8 at 8 a.m sl, 10 a.m central, 11 a.m. eastern
Sunday, 9/10 at 4 pm sl, 6 pm central, 7 pm eastern
Sunday, 9/10 at 5 pm sl, 7 pm central, 8 pm eastern

September 11 - Libraries Remember Display and Program

Here are some photos of the September 11 - Libraries Remember display on Info Island. Stop by to see a replica of the twin towers, a photo montage, and books you can read about what happened that day. Brackish Ludwig designed and built the towers and Lorelei Junot designed the photo montage. Join us on Info Island in the main library meeting room on Monday September 11 at 6 pm sl for an open discussion for attendees to share what happened to them that day and how it affected their lives, and the lives of everyone around the world.


















Brack Ludwig, Designer and Bulder of Twin Towers

September11 - Libraries Remember

The Second Life Library will honor September 11 through a national library program which has existed for four years started by the Bensenville Public Library - September 11 - Libraries Remember. There may be nothing more antithetical to terrorism, hatred, bigotry, and fanaticism than the American Public Library. Libraries all over the world are commemorating September 11 by staying open 24 hours and sponsoring special programs. To pay tribute to September 11, the library will have a display designed by Brackish Ludwig with a photo montage and replicas of the twin towers before and after September 11, 2001. The display will be open later this week. Most people can remember what they were doing on Pearl Harbor Day and on September 11, 2001. On Monday night, September 11, at 6 pm sl, the library will have a program where anyone who wishes to come can share their memories of September 11 and how it has affected life around the world. The program will be open mic and everyone is welcome to share.

The Second Life Library on Info Island is pleased to welcome a new non-profit partner: The Lower Eastside Girls Club. The Lower Eastside Girls Club of New York has built a kiosk on Info Island to give SL residents a look at the programs and the future ofthe club. In the fall of 2006 they will begin establishing a presence
on the Teen Grid and will be using Second Life in their science, math
and technology programs. They also plan to extend their current RL
fashion and design classes into Second Life, designing and selling
clothes for SL residents.

The Girls Club was founded ten years ago to address the lack of girls
clubs in the East Village of New York. That neighborhood was the only
place in the country where Boys Clubs of America did not merge with
Girls Clubs, choosing to maintain boys only facilities. Several
mothers decided to establish a girls club, and worked toward building
a full facility and community center on Avenue D, across from the
housing projects. In spring of 2007 they will break ground on their
building, with help from public and private donations.

Their programs include digital photography, video, blogging and
podcasting; farmers market, nutrition and environmental projects;
entrepreneurship training and commercial bakery; and social activism.
A book of photographs documenting an exchange with Maya women
photographers of Chiapas, Mexico, was published in the spring of 2006.
The kiosk in Second Life will present a featured video or animation
produced by the girls, as well as photos and Girls Club links on a
notecard. The small kiosk will be expanded in the next few months to
show more work by girls.

With help from Info Island and Teen Island, the Girls Club will create
homes in both real life and Second Life. Please stop by the kiosk at
Info Island (19, 158, 33) for more information, or IM LESGC technology
director Usu Ventura in-world.

On Friday, September 8, library staff will give Bryan Mnemonic's English class from Central Missouri State University a tour of Info Island and resources available. If you would like a tour for your class or group, please contact Lorelei Junot or Abbey Zenith.

Aura Lily and Ancient Egypt in Second Life

Aura Lily has built a wonderful display on Info Island and has built an
immersive environment of Egyptian artifacts in Second Life. On Monday,
September 4 at 8 pm sl time the libary will sponsor a program beginning
at her exhibit on Info Island and progressing to a tour of her
wonderful work. as an example of an immersive environment experience. We will
meet at the main library, visit her exhibit on Info Island and then
tour her place.

Program on Academic Library Collaboration in Second Life

Collaboration Opportunities for Academic Libraries in Second Life

Join Lori Bell, Tom Peters, and other librarians for a roundtable discussion of the opportunities for worthwhile collaboration among academic libraries in Second Life, a 3-dimensional virtual reality environment.

This fall over 50 institutions of higher education are offering (or preparing to offer) courses in Second Life. Learn what libraries of all types involved in the Alliance Second Life Library 2.0 project are doing to meet the teaching, learning and research needs of these courses being held in Second Life. Explore how academic libraries can collaborate while still providing access to local resources and services, and thus avoid re-inventing the wheel. Second Life Library is also collaborating with tne New Media Consortium (NMC) to provide library services in Second Life.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006 beginning at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 1:00 Central, Noon Mountain, 11:00 a.m. Pacific, and 6:00 p.m. GMT

Sponsor: Alliance Library System.
Location: OPAL Auditorium.

URL to enter the online meeting room:

http://67.19.231.218/v4/login.asp?r=67955673&p=0

Libary of Congress American Memory Exhibit at Second Life Library Parvenu Towers; Anne Boleyn-Beloved and Beheaded

Welcome to the Second Life Library's American Memory Exhibit at Info Island Parvenu Towers, second floor. Please visit and enjoy audio, documents, and graphics of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This display will be up through the end of September and was compiled by Second Life Librarian Shadow Fugazi.

The Library of Congress' American Memory division provides free and
open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound
recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps and sheet music that
document the American experience. It is a digital record of American
History and creativity. These materials, from the collections of the
Library of Congress and other institutions, chronicle historic events,
people, places and ideas that continue to shape America, serving the
public as a resource for education and lifelong learning.

Our exhibit focuses on documents from the Continental Congress and the
Constitutional Convention, highlighting the Declaration of
Independence.

The Library of Congress' Continental Congress and Constitutional
Convention Broadside Collection contains 277 documents relating to the
work of Congress and the drafting and ratification of the
Constitution. Items include extracts of the journals of Congress,
resolutions, proclamations, committee reports, treaties, and early
printed versions of the United States Constitution and the Declaration
of Independence.

This exhibit displays only a few items from the collection. We have
made available full texts to documents such as the Declaration of
Independence, a 12-part timeline of "America During the Age of
Revolution, 1964-1789", as well as links to audio materials that can
be downloaded and listened to at the user's leisure.

We hope that you enjoy this exhibit. To visit the American Memory web
site, go to http://memory.loc.gov/ammem

Activities this week
Sunday, August 27, 5 pm sl - Info island orientation for new librarians - meet at main library
Sunday, August 28, 6 pm sl - Library staff meeting
Tuesday, August 30, 6 pm sl - SL VR practice session with Maxito Ricardo
If you need to practice chat this week contact Maxito or Lorelei Junot. Our chat form should be up this weekend.
Thursday, August 31, 5 pm sl - "Anne Boleyn: Beloved and Beheaded" - Participate in an interactive conversation with Anne Boleyn, the controversial second wife of Henry VIII of England, She will talk about her journey to the throne and the price she had to pay to obtain it. This will be held in the Info Island open air auditorium.

New Egyptian Exhibit by Aura Lily; This week at Info Island

Visit Info Island to see a new exhibit by Aura Lily, a build similar to the Kiosk of Trajan. Info Island 24, 42, 33)


This is a build similar to the Kiosk of Trajan found on the Island of Philae. The Kiosk was also known as the "Pharoah's Bed". The Kiosk was one of the landings for people visiting the island.

The Emperor Trajan lived around 100 AD

Below is a pictrure of the Kiosk as it stands today on the Island of Agilkia northwest of Philae Island in Upper Egypt.






Aura Lily has a much more extensive collection of her work at her villa at
Amazon Land, Themiskyra, Themiskyra (52, 241, 36), her treausre room of Egyptian artifacts at Eros (123, 185, 146).

Go and visit her immersirve Egyptian exhibit. Many thanks to Aura for her beautiful display. If you have questions you can IM Aura on second life.



Search Central is now here. Next to Parvenu Towers, you can search World Cat with holdings for books all over the world and google from within Second Life. You can also do with from within the main library. Next to the weclcome area, visitors can search Amazon and get stock prices. These are developed by Hugo Dalgleish and Tabataha Hegel, owner of Life2Life Bookstore.

Other Activites at Second Life Library this week
Monday 9 a.m sl , 11 a.m . central - Tour for Informaion Commons group

Monday 2 pm al, 4 p.m. central - Tour
6 pm sl - 8 pm central - SLL VR meeting in main room of central library

Tuesday - 4 pm sl - Meeting of SL Business communicators group at open air auditorium - Abbey Zenith and Lori Bell will provide a tour of business resources
Tuesday - 6 pm sl - Meeting of the Kuurian Expedition group - contact Poinky Malaprop for more information
Wed - 7 pm sl - Program by Troy McLuhan of the Internatianal Space and Science Museum followed by a tour

Watch this blog and the events calendar for more events. Eiseldora Reisman is back and will be providing a variety of events and activities on Info Island.

Medical Librarian Namro Orman has just returned from holiday and is moving into his new medical library quarters. If you want to help out hwere, contact Namro.

Abbey Zenith and Kari Meadowbrook continue to work on the science and technology area on fifth floor of Parvenu Towers and Lorelei Junot is working on humanities and social sciences. If any of these areas interest you,please contact us.

Education in Second Life in Boston Phoenix

A great article on education in Second Life appeared in today's Boston Phoenix.

Here is the link:

http://thephoenix.com/article_ektid20561.aspx

I have had trouble getting in. If you would like a copy of the full story let me know and I will send it. There was some great coverage of the library I will put here:


"Expanding in-world resources
In-world, there are offerings that are open to the public, from lectures with NASA engineers to presentations hosted by The Infinite Mind public-radio show, which was the first live-broadcast program to have a presence in SL. There is also Info Island, home to the Second Life Library 2.0, a collaboration between the Alliance Library System and Online Programming for All Libraries (OPAL).

"More and more educators see Second Life as a way to engage students," says ALS director of innovation Lori Bell. "We wanted to see what role a library could play."

A group of about 35 librarians have volunteered their time to build structures and stock the collection, which includes searchable indexes, audio and video clips, and books, many of which are public domain and available to own. "I see this as a great way to promote reading," says Bell. The library also offers live help at certain hours of the day, for the typical real-life reference questions that inevitably come up, and it will hold live events like authors' chats and tours.

The library is also exploring ways to offer learning experiences that simply would not be possible in real life. It is working with the Library of Congress to build a Declaration of Independence room, where a larger-than-life-size copy of the document will be on display along with additional readings, audio files, and period furniture. There's also a library in the works on Caledon, the exclusively 19th-century island where avatars wear period dress. "

Search Central, Henry VIII, and Librarian's Night Out

Next week Second Life Library will introduce "Search Central" developed by Hugo Dalgleish. There will be a Search Central near Parvenu Towers and one in the main library. Visitors will be able to search within Second Life by speaking their search for google, wikipedia, or OCLC Open World Cat where they can see where books are located all over the world. More on this exciting development soon.






On Friday night, August 11, about twenty people attended a program at the open air auditorium by Henry VIII who talked about his life and wives. Although he died in 1547, noted by many, he is now excited to have a Second Life. The picture shows pictures of Henry and his six wives. Several wanted him to return again to talk about his political achievements.





Librarians have been working hard all summer on Info island. Librarian Abbey Zenith planned a Librarian's Night out at the Alquimia Club where everyone danced and had a great time. Abbey won the prize for Best Dressed Female, Percival Ogg won for best dressed male, and Lorelei Junot won a prize for Wildest librarian.

Two Exciting Upcoming Mixed Reality Events: Virtual Worlds, Education and Libraries

Alliance Library System is pleased to announce Innovation Days: 2006 - "Virtual Worlds and Alternate Realities: Where Do Education and Libraries Fit In?"

There are two events, both which will be held at Alliance in East Peoria in person, on OPAL via audiocast, and at the Second Life Library Open Auditorium using OPAL for Audio.

Thursday, October 12- Virtual Worlds and Education - The Cutting Edge
In-person - $10 per person for dinner, register on CLEO on ALS Website
OPAL and Second Life - email me at lbell927@gmail.com to indicate you are coming so I can send audio link- no fee
Welcome and Introdcutions - Kitty Pope, Executive Director, Alliance Library System
4:00 pm sl, 6:00 p.m. central - Overview of Higher Education Activities in Second Life - John Lester, Community Manager, Linden Labs - Librarians bring your interested teachers and administrators! Learn about exciting learning activities and projects universities are undertaking in Second Life.
4:45 p.m. sl, 6:45 p.m. central - What Bradley University is Doing in Second Life for Education and Libraries - Edward Lee Lamoureux, Ph.D, Associate Professor, Multimedia Program and Department of Communication, Co-Director, New Media Center and Barbara Galik, Director - Cullom Davis Library, Bradley University
5:15 pm sl; 7:15 p.m. central - Education Activities at Alliance Library System in Second Life - Tom Peters, CEO TAP Information Services, and Lori Bell, Alliance Library System
5:45 pm sl; 7:45 pm central - Questions

Friday, October 13 - Virtual Worlds and Alternate Realities - Where do Libraries Fit in?
In person - $10 per person for lunch, register on CLEO on ALS Website
OPAL and Second Life - email me at lbell927@gmail.com to indicate you are coming so I can send audio link - no fee
7:30 am sl, 9:30 central - Welcome and Introductions, Kitty Pope, Executive Director Alliane Library System
7:45 a.m. sl and 9:45 a.m. central - Introduction to Virtual Worlds and Educational Activities in Second Life - John Lester, Pathfinder Linden, Community Education manager, Second Life
Never been in a virtual world? Can't imagine what they are? This is your opportunity to hear about exciting, creative, and interactive educational, medical, and other applications in Second Life. There are immersrive ancient Egyptian worlds; a nineteenth century setting where everyone dresses in Victorian clothes, the buildings are period, and we have a library; and International Space and Flight Museum; and campuses where universities are teaching classes in new and exciting ways.
8:45 a.m. sl and 10:45 a.m. central - The Alliance Second Life Project and How to Get Involved- Kitty Pope, Lori Bell, and Mary-Carol Lindbloom, Alliance
Want to get involved and offer these services to your patrons? We will show you what we are doing and how you can get involved
10:00 a.m., 12 noon central - not on OPAL or Second Life - Technology Leadership in Real Life, Lori Johnson, CIO, Pearl Technologies
The rest offered in real time, OPAL and Second Life - some presentations from Second Life
11:30 a.m. sl and 1:30 pm central - The Teen Second Life Project and How to Get Involved - Kelly Czarnecki, Teen Services Librarian, and Matt Gullett, Technology Education Librarian, Imaginon, Public Library of Chalotte and Mecklenburg County
Want to offer interactive library services where they are on the Internet? Learn about this exciting new service for teens your libraries can offer.
12 noon sl time and 2:00 pm central - Perspective of the Millenial Librarian on Libraries in Virtual Worlds- Jami Schwarzwalder, Library and Information Sciences Graduate Student, Indiana University
12:30 pm sl, 2:30 pm central - Thoughts About What We've Learned About Libraries and Virthual Worlds Over The Last Six Months - Tom Peters, Second Life Project Evaluator, TAP Information Services
Tom Peters will talk about what we have learned and the future of libraries in virtual worlds during the six months of the Alliance Second Life Library proejct.

Email Lori Bell at lbell927@gmail.com for more information

This week at Info Island: Amazon in world Search and Henry VIII

Info Island is open now with services, events, and materials we hope
you will enjoy. Please stop by and visit. Our grand opening event
will be October 14 when we will have a day full of tours, orientations
and special events to celebrate. Gonzo Mandelbrot is in charge of
this. As we have more information, we will share it.





Tabatha Hegel, who owns the Life2Life bookstore in Second Life and Hugo
Dalgleish have created an in-world ability to search the Amazon.com website
for books. They have generously put this wonderful search tool on Info Island
and readers can search the U.S., Canadian, UK, and Japanese Amazon site with
a key word typed into the text chat with a /1keyword. The search will bring up 5 search results and with your movie screen control, you can view the cover of the book. This is the one of the first integration of web into Second Life initiatives and is very exciting. We are still working on the display, but the site is completely functional now. Thanks to Tabatha and Hugo. We are hoping to have search engines and other functionality if possible.


Henry VIII will visit the Second Life Library open auditorium Thursday August 3
at 5 pm sl, 7 pm central, and 8 pm eastern. He will share his story and answer questions about his life during the sixteenth century in England.






Parvenu Tower is the latest addition to Info Island. Built by Vince
Parvenu, the building will have a theater which will seat up to 50 and
nine other floors with a beautiful view of the ocean. Staff are
working on a display with materials from the Library of Congress on
the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Shadow Fugazi is
leading this group the the display will be open in a few weeks! The
third floor will hold business and government documents resources and
we are working on the other floors to add additional resources and
services.





Logannn8 Lombardi, an architectural student, is building a new medical
library. It should be finished in three weeks and we will have an
open house so that you can view our medical resources and services.
Namro Orman is our medical librarian.





In the central library, Robin Chamberlin has created an anime/manga
area where visitors can view materials and relax. In the future we
will have some programs on this topic. In the meantime, stop by and
visit this fun and imaginative area.




We are adding titles on display in the central library - many created
in Second Life. Some of the free copies of public domain books you
can take were created by Naru SLibrary located in Naru. Stop by and
see their neighborhood library. Contact Slinky Stiglitz for more
information. This new sim also has a community theater.



The library branch in Caledon is taking shape. We will be adding
books and audio books there in addition to some special nineteenth
century magazines and resources. Contact JJ Drinkwater or Lorelei
Junot for more information and suggestions.



Info Island is also home to the wonderful ICT Library which has a
number of free tools, scripts, and materials for edcuators. Stop in
and make use of these wonderful resources. Info Island also is proud
to host TechSoup and World Bridges.



If you would like to know of any specific services or would like a
tour for your group, please contact Lorelei Junot and we will be happy
to schedule a tour designed specifically for your group.

Programs and Tours at Info Island

On Saturday night author Lopayza Moonlight talked about her work, creating fiction into virtual reality in Second Life and took the 15 attendees on a tour of her creation in Apoda.


On Wednesday night, Lorelei Junot and Eiseldora Reisman talked to SLED - the Second Life Graduate Education group, and gave them a tour of Info Island including the Main Library and the ICT library. Approximately 20 attended. Some are gearing up for fall classes and will use the library to supplement their courses.

What A Week at Info Island!

The week started well with Maxito Ricardo, Caroline Keats, and I giving a tour of the island and introduction to medical resources on the Internet to Sojourner's stroke victim group.





Tech Soup had a wonderful mixed reality event to show their new directory of non-profits in Second Life, and various speakers, including a library representative talked on their organizations to a crowd of nearly 60. The event was wonderful. Glitter and her group did a tremendous job and it was exciting to have so many people on the island.


Then, a digital tsunami as Milo put it. Most of the things on the island disappeared. Within a day, Second Life had us back up and running again. After the upgrade, disappearance again. That same night, Second Life had us up and running again. I hope we never experience that again.





Milo Czervic, one of our partners on Info Island who runs the ICT library has a beautiful brand new library designed and built by AngryBeth Shortbread.





Jenna Darrow and Max Batra have a new Mystery Manor full of posters and information on mysteries and mystery authors. What fun we will have at Halloween.





The World of E! Spiral Mandelbrot posted to the list an idea to offer something on Info Island to celebrate the World Ebook Fair. There is a new high tech display on the lawn with information on the World Ebook Fair and links to e-books, e-movies, and e-audio. We are planning programs on Info Island on ebooks in real life and ebooks in Second Life. More on that once we have complete plans.





The Early Illinois Women's Exhibit on the lawn at Info Island has moved to our nineteenth century library in Caledon. CoyoteAngel Dimsum has donated the land and the building. It is exciting to get started with this special library.

Second Life Grid Down!

With today's update, the SL grid went down - as of 4:20 PM (Pacific) Linden Labs was still trying to resolve the problem, and estimate SL back online around 7:30 PM (Pacific).

For updates on the issue, check http://secondlife.com/community/

Second Life Library Program: Making Fiction Into Virtual Reality

Join us in the open air auditorium on Info Island on Saturday July 22 at 6 pm sl time for a fascinating program with Loypayza Moonlight, creator of Lopayzanilaya, which is designed to replicate a portion of the Celestial Court from the Aizvarya novels. She has built it exactly as the books describe — and she should know; she is the author of the original books. She will talk about her work, her creation and offer a tour of her creation. Lopayzanilaya is the state of the Fox Spirit. The entire area is designed to replicate a portion of the Celestial Court from the Aizvarya novels. Moonlight's avatar is an extension of this theme. She designed it to be a "Fox Maiden" from the stories, a being that would be a caretaker for the shrine. For more information on this fascinating prpoject, check the July 11 Metavsere Messenger. What can we as librarians do to create virtual reality of literature works to engage our readers?

Tech Soup to offer mixed reality event in person and in second life

Net Tuesday Mixed Reality Event: SecondLife for Nonprofits

Tuesday, July 18, 2006 (6:00 PM - 8:00 PM)



Real World Location:

Net2 HQ
322 Ritch St. 2nd Floor
San Francisco, CA
415-633-9446
San Francisco, California



Virtual Location:
>From Second Life, click on the blue map button at the bottom of the screen. In the Find Region field, type "TechSoup.org" (without quotations) and include mature regions, click Show Location and then Teleport to go there.
Registration is free to create your avatar, but you will need to
provide your mobile phone number or credit card (which will not be
charged).

Here is the SLurl to TechSoup's virtual location:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/InfoIsland/52/171/33/

You need to be logged into SL to open this SLurl, and then once you
click, open your map and click teleport. You will be teleported to
TechSoup.

----------------------------------------------------------

Every month, Web innovators and those who promote social change
congregate in a shared effort to bring the social Web to nonprofits and
NGOs all over the world. These meetings are referred to as Net Tuesday
events.

July's Net Tuesday will feature a presentation about how nonprofits can
use Second Life, a multiplayer community on the Web. In Second Life,
users create their own characters (called avatars) and help build a
virtual 3D world that's created entirely by its inhabitants and limited
only by the imagination.

Second Life boasts a successful marketplace, social interactions, and
civic activities; it's a virtual community rather than a game, and
nonprofits can benefit from this community in a number of ways. The Net
Tuesday event, which will occur on July 18th, will be held at
TechSoup's satellite office in Second Life.

Susan Tenby, Online Community Manager of TechSoup.org, and Jeska
Dzwigalski, Community Manager at Linden Lab, (the company that created
and runs Second Life), will present a tour of this online community,
including TechSoup's satellite office. The presenters will also demo a
directory of nonprofit organizations in the Second Life world. Finally,
the event will feature a number of guest speakers from organizations
who are actively working in the Second Life community to better achieve
their organization's missions.

The event will simultaneously occur both virtually, in Second Life and
in the physical world. We will be displaying audio/video footage of
both environments to show participants in both locations what is
happening at that time.

To ensure smooth operation of the virtual event, we will restrict the
TechSoup space to those on the guest list, which operates on a
first-come-first-serve basis and will be capped at about 50
registrants.


For more newbie and How-To information, check out the Second Life wiki:
http://secondlife.com/tiki/tiki-index.php?page=How-Tos

Here is a great intro piece on how SL can be used for serious purposes:
http://futuretag.net/index.php/Slgp1
--------------

This Net Tuesday will take place on the 3rd Tuesday of the month rather
than the 2nd, on July 18th.

Library webcast; Authors Woodward and Witt Discuss Dobbit Do

Meno Rich and World Bridges did a webcast tour of the library this evening.

Authors Woodward and Witt discussed their new book "Dobbit Do" in the outdoor auditorium which about 25 people attended.

New Special Collections from Illinois State Digital Archives, OCLC provides database trials

WWII Posters



During World War II the United States government issued posters on topics such as national security, rationing and conservation, investing in war bonds, military recruitment, civil defense, and industrial production. These posters were part of an aggressive propaganda campaign designed to encourage and mobilize the home front war effort. Artists such as James Montgomery Flagg, Otto Fischer, Ben Shahn, and Norman Rockwell contributed their talents to create some of these posters.

This collection, from the Illinois State Library, contains posters issued by various United States government agencies from the beginning of the war through 1945.

Vachel Lindsay











Vachel Lindsay

The Vachel Lindsay Collection is comprised largely of materials containing the published prose and poetry of Vachel Lindsay in formats such as posters, newspaper and magazine articles, booklets, pamphlets, magazines and books. Other items include newspaper and magazine articles that contain biographical information on Lindsay and his family, critiques of his work and memorials and tributes to Lindsay. A small collection of photographs include Lindsay, his family, Elizabeth Graham, the Lindsay Verse Speaking Choir, 1940 and his tombstone. Phonograph recordings of Lindsay reading his works and his son, Nicholas Cave Lindsay, reading his father's poems make up another part of the collection.
Two scrapbook albums put together by Frances "Fannie" Hamilton, the younger sister of Vachel's mother contain materials about Lindsay from 1914 to about 1930. The albums include poems, drawings, private publications, clippings about and by Lindsay, a lock of his hair and some photographs. Bound volumes of his work include The Tramp's Excuse, The Village Magazine first edition, The Village Magazine third and fourth editions, Vision Magazine, A Letter About My Four Programmes and a notebook kept by Joy Lindsay Blair, Vachel's younger sister.

These digital images, made available by the Sangamon Valley Collection at the Lincoln Library (Springfield), are of photographs from this collection




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