LIS 9763

Virtual worlds-a concept applied to library science?  Well, I think that is a really interesting idea.  I've never actually participated in online gaming let alone online gaming that involves virtual worlds, but I think that there is some potential with how we see the idea of creating a virtual world for learning processes could be used.  I think that it is truly creative how various professions have turned to the creation of virtual worlds to teach their 'students' how to interact with others in their professional setting and deal with specific problems.  The "7 Things that you need to know about virtual worlds" article introduced me to the fact that at certain medical schools professors use a virtual clinic to instruct students and help them to learn through online 'personal' interaction how to treat various medical conditions and how to develop a bed-side manner.  
So then, I ask myself, how does this concept of a virtual world correspond with libraries?  Well, I see from the articles for this week that several libraries have implemented this tool to promote their library by attempting to draw younger crowds by holding online gaming tournaments.  I can see that doing so would have great potential for drawing people to the library and meeting the interests of a particular group in society, but how does the holding of a gaming tournament impact the rest of the library services?  I know that one of the most popular topics to discuss among librarians is how can we remain relevant to our patrons and community by providing services and resources that they will want to use and benefit from and communicate that they exist in our library?  However, I think that gaming tournaments are inappropriate for a lot of library settings, unless a secure environment can be created where such an event will not detract from other library users' experiences.  
My dad and brother are AVID gamers!! They computers networked in our basement and every piece of technology that you can imagine to enhance the gaming experience, and let me tell you it is a rowdy environment!  How could avid readers look for resources, lounge and read, use the computers for other purposes, etc?  
Aside from the gaming tournaments, I see that some libraries have created virtual worlds to provide library tours and teach new patrons how to use library services, etc.  I think that this idea has some potential benefits, because it could create a fun learning environment for patrons, but I don't think that it is safe to assume that the experience would be strictly self-guided.  There are many people who do not use online gaming and virtual worlds and would not know how to operate such a utility.  They would still need a librarian or staff member to guide them through the process.  Furthermore, one of the main attractions about libraries is the ability to have one-on-one service from librarians/staff, and receive the personal interaction and help patrons need.  In short, I think that creating a library virtual world could be a good tool for instructional purposes, but I don't think that it is something that could be used as a replacement for personal help from librarians.
One implementation of virtual worlds that I think could be potentially helpful, would be their use for MLIS students in teaching them various scenarios of refernce questions that could be posed, ways to interact with patrons, or as a means of creating practice reference interviews.  In this way I think that a virtual world setting could be used similarly to those implemented for medical students in providing them 'experience' that they may not have.  I know myself, I still lack experience as being on the working side of things in a library.  I have been a library patron many times, but I would jump at the opportunity to gain experience as an employee of a library.  This is an opportunity that could be presented through a virtual library world!