The development processes of the Second LifeRTM librarians.

摘要

This case study considers a tech-savvy and geographically distributed group of librarians, led by an initiative of the Alliance Library System of Illinois, who investigated ways to provide online users with real library services. Within the 3-D online multiplayer world known as Second Life, the participants built library locations and provided reference services through their virtual avatar characters and walk-through environments. This study examines their online Google Group discussions for features which contributed to the development of their Second Life library project.;The purpose of this study is to understand the development processes and communication among the professionals who worked together to provide library and information services in this online persistent environment. Research questions for this study include: How do the librarians of Second Life collaborate and work together effectively? How do they examine new ideas, and vision about their projects and their progress? How do they manage and deal with issues that arise? Results of this study were obtained by viewing the discussion corpus through a lens of computer-mediated discourse analysis; through a careful and systematic review of the content and timelines of their archived conversations; and via validation interviews with the participants themselves. Thus, this case determines significant interactions and features of collaboration which enhanced the Second Life library group's development processes.;Analysis of participants' first year of online discussion reveals that a core of prolific authors and a steady stream of new interlocutors provided a diverse peer group which contributed a variety of skills and perspectives to sustain conversation. In contrast to previous studies, the corpus displayed an increased number of reflective discussion topics, in which ideas were tendered, challenged, examined and vetted by multiple participants. The online discussion group provided an avenue for multinational and multigenerational collaboration as well as targeted professional development for those involved.;By examining the ways the participants discussed ideas, made decisions and sustained motion, the profession of librarianship stands to inherit a wealth of information about the ways in which a traditional profession learns to innovate and adapt to new technologies and advanced communication practices in a modern, computerized world.