New Yorker article on Google digitization project

Toobin, Jeffrey. Google's Moon Shot: The quest for the universal
library. The New Yorker. February 5, 2007.
www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/070205fa_fact_toobin

Thanks to Bernie Sloan on JESSE.

Despite the date, the article doesn't mention that UW has joined the project. But the content, especially given the context of The New Yorker, is of interest.

Second Life Library 2.0

Second Life is a virtual world inhabited by avatars that are played by real people. It is similar to some popular online video games like World of Warcraft and City of Heroes, but there are no real objectives or finalized purpose to the game. Users are referred to as residents and the game itself is played by socializing with other characters, spending money, creating virtual property, and engaging in community activities. The software to play the game is free, and characters can be created at no cost. Second Life software is supported for PC, Mac, and Linux operating systems.

Second Life has recently become popular amongst librarians, and there are currently several communities that have evolved around libraries within the game. Several real world librarians have started giving information literacy classes and poster presentations through the Second Life interface, and there is plenty of speculation about what else could be done via the virtual world. A great place to start exploring Second Life is at the Second Life Library.

MARS Best Free Reference Sites for 2006

Thanks to Nancy McClements for drawing attention to this listing:

http://www.ala.org/MARSTemplate.cfm?Section=marspubs