Is Your Library Ready for the Reality of Virtual Reality?

Palmer, Meghan

Grant, Carl R., Rhind-Tutt, S., "Is Your Library Ready for the Reality of Virtual Reality? What You Need to Know and Why It Belongs in Your Library" (2018). Proceedings of the Charleston Library Conference. http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5703/1288284317070

Synopsis:  This article defines virtual reality from a basic level, as well as explores the different types of virtual reality i.e. VR, AR, and MR. Additionally, it examines the benefits of virtual reality in libraries and why more libraries should adopt the technology for regular services outside of gaming.

Evaluation: While not the longest article, I think there's a lot to gain from it if you're looking for basic information about virtual reality and how it benefits libraries. It's a persuasive piece and I think it does a great job at exploring all of the options and giving examples of how different library patrons can benefit. I like that they specifically address the issue of accessibility and point out that virtual reality is a great tool to experience learning materials or specific texts that can't otherwise be accessed in a typical public/academic library due to fragility, price, etc. Overall, I love the perspective of using VR as a more affordable way to add more to library collections and keep patron interest.

2019–2020 Technology Trends in Libraries

Maw, Laura

LM

Marcotte, A. (2019, March 1). Library tech leaders recommend their favorite tips and tools. American Libraries. Retrieved from https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2019/03/01/tech-trends-libraries/

Access to immersive technology in libraries is becoming more important as learning tools and even books enter virtual, mixed, and augmented reality platforms. With immersive tech also comes boundless learning opportunities for empathy as patrons can enter places they may have never been before, such as refugee camps and natural disaster zones. Further, as patrons increasingly look to libraries for tech training, including web and app prototyping, and digital citizenship guidance, more is expected to be done with open educational resources (OERs) in libraries.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of OERs in libraries across the world as patrons, young and old alike, struggle to adapt to our new virtual reality. Parents, teachers, and students are all reaching out to libraries to access online learning resources and how-to tech training more than even before. I expect this trend to continue in the future, even after the pandemic ends, because people will have become more comfortable with online learning.

Quality Multicultural Materials

This article discussed the importance of having multicultural materials in every library collection, and what Lincoln, Nebraska did to ensure that they purchased quality titles for their students. The endeavor is titled Mosaic, Multicultural Book Collection and it started out as a small book exhibit and has evolved over the years to remain relevant with new and improved technology. The first major change incorporated QR codes attached to titles that link to book trailers or “snippets of historical videos in hopes of igniting interest and expanding learning.”  Multicultural makerspace materials, audio files of music from all over the world, and virtual reality headsets were also included. The project then further developed to be a virtual display so that anyone can access it at any time: https://lms.lps.libguides.com/MOSAIC2018    The project is committed to using materials that are high quality and do not confirm negative stereotypes. Haeffner & Harvey outline the process of how materials are chosen “many hours of research and consideration are involved in the review process to ensure that titles do not perpetuate stereotypes or misinformation” (p. 19). I love the idea of this resource and can’t wait to use it in my own school library and share it with my colleagues. 

References

Haeffner, C., & Harvey, J. (2019). Mosaic: One district's approach to maximizing use of multicultural collections. Teacher Librarian, 47(1), 18-21. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lls&AN=140246715&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Accessed March 14, 2020.

Virtual Reality in Los Angeles

Enszer, Greta

Piper, N. (2017). Los Angeles’s New Circus Act. Bloomberg Businessweek, (4517), 44–46. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=122159348&site=ehost-live&scope=site

For my colleague's birthday, he invited us to the new Two Bit Circus in Los Angeles.  Seeing as it was a school night, I did not think I could revisit my twenties, galavanting the city when I had to wake up early the next day and teach.  But after visiting their website, I thought, this could be one of those LA events that you don't want to miss and is the reason you endure the high cost of living here. 

Having never experienced virtual reality, I never realized the VR craze.  Well, after putting on the VR backpack and headset, I was transported to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.  So real.  I felt like I was walking over a rickety wooden bridge with skeletons jumping out at me.  For only $7, this is one of the best experiences in Los Angeles.  I'm not saying it beats swimming in the ocean, but I am considering a field trip here for my high school library advisory committee.

Of course, I wanted to know more about how this business came to be.  While we were there, companies had sponsored bonding nights for their employees.  They were given game cards loaded with money!  This is not what happens in public school events. 

Brent Bushnell, the co-founder of Two Bit Circus, is the son of Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese.  Intel Corp. invested in Two Bit Circus after Bushnell and Gradman

provided games, robots, lasers, and the entertainment at a few of its events. 

Two Bit Circus has raised $21.5 million in venture capital since it incorporated in 2012. (Nolan Bushnell isn’t an investor, but he has a seat on the eight-person board.) For their first location, the founders have signed a lease on a 50,000-square-foot warehouse space in Downtown L.A.

The high tech adult arcade includes a 30-minute “story room,” a variant of the popular type of adventure game in which players have to solve a series of puzzles to exit a locked room.  There is also be a 1,000-square-foot virtual reality arena where guests compete against one another in video games. Unlike in regular arcade games, which have a limited set of outcomes, the plot lines in the VR games vary, so visitors have a reason to come back.

Getting Started with AR/VR Mixed Reality

Ishizuka, K. (2019). Get Started With AR/VR/Mixed Reality. SLJ Webcasts.

    Retrieved from https://www.slj.com/?subpage=Events&eventtype=webcasts

In this fifty minute webcast, AR/VR Mixed Reality tools, resources, digital forums, and curriculum-aligned lessons are discussed.

AR/VR (Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality) is a not-so-new tool that is increasingly gaining steam in the educational setting. With the introduction of affordable tools and curriculum aligned content, libraries are becoming the hub for offering AR/VR. One of the speakers, Aditya Vishwanath, Ph.D student at Stanford University, has found that with AR/VR student engagement is increasing in content-related lessons. Through VR/AR students are asking higher level questions that focus on the "why" instead of the "how." With inquiry-based learning and increased critical thinking, students are gaining knowledge and experiencing content while immersing themselves in the curriculum. AR/VR is a resource that will expand collections, make connections, and open doors for people to experience the world through their school or public library.

Virtual Reality in the Library: Creating a New Experience

Bradford, Josie

Lambert. T. (2016). Virtual reality in the library: creating a new experience, Public Library Association: Public Libraries Online, 4 pgs.  http://publiclibrariesonline.org/2016/02/virtual-reality-in-the-library-creating-a-new-experience/

I currently work at the Boise Public Library, and this article was passed out to staff to read in order to get an idea of why we are looking into investing in virtual reality in the next fiscal year.  We have currently been testing out vendors, and just the other day staff got the opportunity to test out virtual reality for the first time.  I was fortunate enough to explore an undersea world and test out the Tilt Brush.  I had my reservations about VR, but I was honestly beyond impressed.  If fact I was amazed at the possibilities that VR has in our future.   

The article Virtual Reality in the Library: Creating a New Experience explains the exciting new possibilities that virtual reality has in public libraries.  As libraries transition away from their traditional roles, they have become more like community centers, centered around education, experience and introducing new technologies to the public, and since the purchase of Oculus by Google many public libraries are starting to realize that virtual reality is going to be the next big thing.  However, what is VR’s place in libraries?  How will it be implemented into programs and services?  

This article explores some of the possibilities that VR has in the future such as virtual travel experiences, virtual field trips, virtual gaming as well as virtual education and storytelling.

With VR users can explore fantastical worlds that don’t exist.  They can practice surgery, or see national monuments, and libraries are a great platform to provide these experiences.  However, how do libraries do this when they don’t have much of a budget?  This article suggests that there are several products out there that are very cheap such as Google Cardboard and Samsung Gear.  Patrons can also make their own VR kit out of cardboard and their phones as a craft project. 

This article also suggests that in addition to VR, augmented reality is also going to play a role in libraries of the future. Augmented reality is a way to use a camera in conjunction with software to alter the appearance of a space, so patrons can see virtual stacks or go on a virtual tours of the library.  These new technologies are very exciting for libraries and offer endless possibilities for use.