Second Life Virtual World and the Public Library

1. Aldosemani, Tahani Ibrahim and Craig E. Shepherd, “Second Life to Support Multicultural Literacy: Pre- and In-service Teachers’ Perceptions and Expectations.” TechTrends 58:2 (2014), 46-58.

Tahani Ibrahim Aldosemani and Craig E. Shepherd asks 50 preservice teachers – students not yet teaching in the classroom – to evaluate Second Life (SL) as an effective mutlticultural tool in the classroom. What they find is that while SL would be a good multicultural tool, things like accuracy, adult content, and language barriers could be a real issue. 

2. Stimpson, Jane D., “Public Libraries in Second Life: Expanding Service to the Virtual Environment,” Library Technology Reports 45:2 (2009), 13-20.

Jane D. Stimpson highlights several public libraries that have created a virtual library world in Second Life (life) as a new avenue for patrons to participate in the many services the library has to offer, from book clubs and lectures to its infrastructure and unique collections. Yet what Stimpson finds in SL are desolate, uninhabited spaces, which she blames on an ultimately lack of marketing and interest.

3. Thomsett-Scott, Beth C., “Virtual Reference Services: Considerations and Technologies,” in Implementing Virtual Reference Services: a LITA Guide, Beth C. Thomsett-Scott, ed. Chicago: ALA Techsource, 2013.

Editor Beth C. Thomsett-Scott complies a series of articles that offer a broad overview of virtual reference services that cover everything from Twitter and Google-messaging to Virtual platforms and AskChat.