An Author Reading, (almost) in Second Life

I'm enjoying Facebook much more these days. I was all set to attend a live "reading" of Michael Stackpole's new novel At the Queen's Command in his stylish office in Second Life. Would have been fun, but a sound guy popped in briefly, then another fan, but no author. Maybe we had the time wrong? (Yes, thwarted again by my inability to do the time zone math, oops.

I really never appreciated the controls in Second Life, because I'm so used to WASD, but I was able to transport over from the Starter Island (where some little oddball kept jumping up and down on me) thanks to a link from Facebook and voila. Nice place, as you can see.



And my character still has her boxy little form and that torch sticking out of her back. Very science fictional, I think.

THING 23!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was not a "finisher" first round. We will ignore just how bad that sounds and glory in the fact that the kind 23 Things people gave myself and other non-finishers the opportunity to work through the remaining things ( I got stuck at about thing 12 first time around) this summer. Call me Ms Complete-O.

Here are my answers to the questions posed for Thing 23:

Go back to your thoughts/ideas about Library 2.0. Has anything changed as a result of this experience? After working through so many variations of social network sites and online tools I can see that we should all go ahead and be more interactive and share what we know and what we think. It is actually alot of fun.


What were your favorite Things and discoveries? Library Thing is my favorite. I've been meaning to catalog my books for years and it is nice to see them out there. I have alot more gardening books than I thought! I think I might enjoy Second Life too, once I log back in and get my boxy little friend to the Island.

How did you connect with others doing the 23 Things On a Stick? I think that Gather and Second Life and who knows maybe even Facebook might be good starting places for great conversations.

Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? Everything I learned has been interesting, even if a few seemed to duplicate each other, or not be practical in a library setting, or there were a few boring ones...

What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or content? I think that many people were having trouble with step 1, create the blog and add the avatar. Many stopped cold right there. So, I would recommend you write something up for the next go-round that step by step holds their hand.

If we offered a 23 More Things On a Stick program like this in the future would you participate? Yes, indeed.

How would you describe your learning experience in one word or in one sentence, so we could use your words to promote 23 Things On a Stick learning activities to others? If a D.O.A. Librarian can do 23 Things, so can you...


There we go! The blog will continue, talking libraries, books and tech stuff. I am definitely going to use many of the Things I've learned as we continue. This blog has been great fun. Onward!

Further Adventures of Librarian-in-a-box in Second Life

I had a nice e-mail this afternoon from a librarian at Info Island kindly offering to befriend me in Second Life. She also offered to transport me to Info Island. Isn't that so sweet? I worked late but logged in when I got home to find alas she wasn't there. I did accept her invitation and managed to send her a message which I take it she will get next time she logs in.

I thought I would continue the tutorial and did some of the communication lessons. I think I will be able to talk to someone, we shall see.

Following a winding path, I was supposed to find a volcano goddess. Instead, I stepped off the path and was flying! No idea how, but I zoomed around the area a bit, dodging signs.

I hoped to exit the tutorial area,and I did see an exit sign (but no exit). Soon I was getting invitational messages from strangers to accept the markers they were sending which apparently could teleport me to their "welcome areas". There must be something irresistible about a flying box or maybe I should put that torch away... If I'm flying though, it looks like a little rocket pack. Zoom zoom!

What a friendly place Second Life is so far.

More when I reach The Island. D.O.A. over and out.

One Life Might Be Plenty: Thing 15, Second Life

I've been looking forward to trying Second Life ever since I read an article in some journal last winter (sorry can't recall which) about the INFO Island Library. Finally here I am, at Thing 15 and I'm IN!

I was able to choose anything at all as my first name but for some reason I had to choose a last name from a dropdown menu. That is how I came to be known as "LibrarianDOA Hellershanks".

The initial screen for Second Life shows a bunch of twenty-something? people lounging around looking ready to engage in something un-librarian-like, to say the least. So as not to be mistaken for one of these rough and ready types, I cleverly chose an avatar that looks like it is made of a set of cardboard boxes. With little antennae. Nonetheless a shirtless young man was soon attempting to make conversation with my boxiness. I think the Torch sticking out of my back appealed to him in some way.

There are a set of tasks in the tutorial area that included taking a Torch from my inventory. I did so, so I thought. And placed it in my right hand. But as you can see in the accompanying photo of our intrepid little Librarian-in-a-Box, it is sticking embarrassingly out of my back. Note also that although I purchased three chain mail shirts while fumbling with the local shirt seller and I equipped one, I am not seeing any chain mail shirt adorning my character. Another box-headed individual near this vendor had a chainmail shirt and nifty black pants on so we know the Box People can indeed wear clothing.

My initial impressions are:

The world looks less pixilated than pictures I've seen.

Interface is pretty confusing but I'll keep working with it.

Movement is awkward.

I need the tutorial badly so I'll continue through, though I'd love to just head to INFO Island, that librarian mecca. Since I goofed on the Map part of the tutorial, I may never it make though! Here's hoping!

See you on the other side,

LibrarianDOA Hellershanks