B O A R D D O C U M E N T OMXXXX-XXX
Global Headquarters
331 South Patrick Street
Alexandria, VA 22314 USA
1-703-647-4900
Fax: 1-703-647-4901 www.sla.org
TO: Board of Directors
FROM: Cindy Hill (aka Sydney Delphin in Second Life), Chair, SLA Virtual Worlds Council
DATE: January 2011
RE: SLA Virtual Worlds Council Report, June - December 2010
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The SLA Virtual Worlds Council was created in March 2009. President Gloria Zamora appointed the council with the following direction:
Six members appointed for overlapping terms of two years each. The Advisory Council shall:
- Recommend short and long-term direction for SLA’s presence as an association in virtual worlds.
- Oversee SLA’s presence in virtual worlds.
- Interface with other SLA units, including the Innovation Lab Task Force, ClickU and the Professional Development, Public Relations and Student Academic Affairs Advisory Councils, to:
a. consolidate and coordinate efforts to bring member benefits closer to members
b. develop and promote opportunities for members to participate and build virtual world skills.
- Investigate and estimate the cost of creating, maintaining and promoting virtual world activities and recommend funding sources and report findings to the CEO.
The council members are:
Council Member 2009-2010: Heather O'Daniel
Council Member 2010-2012: Patricia Alderman
Council Member 2010-2012: Jacob Westendorp
Council Member 2009-2010: Cindy Hill, Chair
Council Member 2009-2010: Christy Confetti Higgins
Board liaison 2010: Cindy Romaine, President-Elect
Staff liaison 2010: Kristin Foldvik
Jill Hurst-Wahl continues as our first Honorary Member. Marcella Dulka and Scott Brown have moved from active roles on the council to roles as observers and commenters.
I would like to thank the Council members for all their ideas, contributions and focused work to create a series of outstanding events, a redesigned space in Second Life, and for their continued enthusiasm to “explore strange new worlds…and to boldly go where no man has gone before…”
I want to especially call out the mighty duo, Patricia Alderman and Christy Confetti Higgins. If only we could harness their energy and creativity! Patricia did an awesome job of creating and hosting Library Buzz sessions by identifying critical topics for all types of information professionals and continually posting information to the Virtual Worlds blog. Christy was diligent in updating and redesigning SLA’s Second Life space plus she was always ready to work with SLA Board members and others as they made their first forays into a virtual world.
Accomplishments: The majority of this report will focus on the inaugural Virtual Annual Conference as it was a highlight of the year.
VirtualU New Orleans 2010 Conference
SLA hosted the first virtual conference in conjunction with the physical conference. Over 100 SLA members registered for the virtual conference and while the majority of the participants were from North America, there was representation from Italy, the UK, Australia and other countries.
Participants were able to listen and view live both keynote sessions and all ten Spotlight sessions. During the live sessions the participants could see and hear the speakers, see any slide presentations being used, view and contribute to the twitter stream, send instant messages to each other and ask questions of the speakers via the chat box.
As the Council Chair I was able to attend both conferences, the virtual and the physical. It was a professional highlight for me to participate in this first-time event and witness the instantaneous networking between members while they “attended” the conference. Participants invited each other to connect via LinkedIn and Facebook to continue their networking opportunities. Participants were fully engaged in the presentations, even sending speakers citations and links in response to inquiries.
I also had the opportunity to show physical conference attendees what the virtual component looked like whenever I had my computer open to the virtual conference.
The virtual conference participants gave the conference exceptionally high ratings. One virtual participant told me that she is now fully housebound due to a handicap so a virtual conference is the only way she can connect professionally. Another participant had been able to attend the previous year but did not have the funds to travel this year. She was able to fund the registration fee for the virtual conference.
To view the survey results: http://www.surveymonkey.com/sr.aspx?sm=Bu1zeMe8crPHsZdP4u2MCbIcAvOaL_2f3l9pRWlR2C3Bg_3d
- 76% rated the conference as very good or excellent
- 61% noted that the 3D version provided an enhanced experience compared to the 2D version
- 85% stated that they would be willing to pay to attend
- 73% stated that they received very good to excellent value for their cost
- 68% want virtual vendors
- 100% want SLA to continue offering a virtual component to the annual conference
NOTE: Scott Brown, Monday Spotlight Session, as seen from a virtual participant’s perspective.
Selected comments:
- I was very pleased with my virtual conference experience. In addition to conference learnings, I feel like I got to know and had fun with some of the other virtual participants. I thought the streaming tweets and group chat feature actually added something to the experience that you do not get in person
- I have attended ther conferences virtually and this was by far the best virtual conference. The avatar was not too complicated and it was really fun to be a part of live sessions. I don't think I took full advantage of the networking with other virtuals because I didn't expect it to be such a robust world. I have my MLS but my company is an ILS vendor so this is really the only way I can afford to attend (both in time and cost). It was a wonderful experience!!
- The only negative thing about it was it made me wish I was really there. I missed hanging with my peers. The price was right however and I got some important things done at home that week. But it was an amazingly positive experience of using streaming, tweeting, chat and virtual reality.
- I think this was one of the best ideas SLA has had in a very long time. Keep it coming!
Suggestions for future conferences:
- Begin marketing VirtualU earlier than May. Most likely most members have decided by March if they are able to travel to the conference. By marketing VirtualU earlier we will be able to generate a “buzz” about the real-life and virtual conference and will generate additional revenue.
- Encourage division units to participate in a VirtualU session
- Encourage exhibitors, possibly even exhibitors who may not be at the conference, to exhibit at VirtualU
- Provide training to presenters and moderators so that they are comfortable with their “invisible” audience
During June-December we:
- 1. Continued hosting Second Life Alliance Virtual Library “Library Buzz” events. These events are opportunities to increase the visibility of SLA, the value of SLA membership, the importance of information and knowledge sharing in a virtual environment across all information professionals (public, academic, government, corporate, students, etc.) and learning opportunities for the speakers to experience presenting in a virtual world environment.
- 2. Increased awareness of virtual worlds to the SLA membership and others
- Ongoing “Ad” in Information Outlook
- Regular blog postings – SLA, SLA VW
- Twitter handle #librarybuzz
SLA in Virtual Worlds Links:
Thank you for this amazing two-year experience! As the Council Chair, I worked with dedicated individuals who were willing to try new things, push their own technical competencies and introduce others to the emerging potential of immersive worlds. This opportunity provided me with many unique and new experiences that I take with me as an information professional.
Respectfully submitted by Cindy Hill, Chair SLA Virtual Worlds Council
Prepared by: Cindy Hill, Chair SLA Virtual Worlds Council
Produced by:
Reviewed by: SLA Virtual Worlds Council