Virtual Reality and Libraries

Remember when we discussed presentation tools in libraries?  Well, picture this....

You're at the library, taking a tour, being delivered a presentation by a librarian, except you aren't. You're sitting on your sofa, in your home, cuddled up between the cats seeing the library and learning about all the incredible ways it can enhance you life.

The world of virtual reality will bring that to us.  We'll be walk around within the stories we're reading.  We'll receive virtual classes and presentations.  Do you ever become touring foreign lands on Google Earth?  Imagine what you'll discover when you can walk around in far away places with nothing more than a small piece of hardware and an internet connection.

Image https://www.bing.com/images/searchview=detailV2&ccid=OcvqtBWi&id=42DD5A6F0049F7F210247BD1E683AAF2C4965076&thid=OIP.OcvqtBWiMOEDGykAiI3bkQE5DH&q=virtual+reality+video&simid=607993523209111804&selectedIndex=177&ajaxhist=0

Facebook's recent acquisition of Oculus Rift to the tune of a cool $2Billion (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jul/22/facebook-oculus-rift-acquisition-virtual-reality) indicates that virtual reality is about to BLOW UP and become THE WAY we discover information.  Information discovery is the library's business and so what all that means is that the cultivation of VR technology puts libraries in the direct path of the VR trajectory.  Looking forward to it!

Digital Storytelling

This video sums up, pretty perfectly, the evolution of storytelling.  Mediums were left out, sure;  styles and aesthetics are skipped; though this is a digital video here we see a representation of the progressions from cave drawings, to sketches, to animation, to the digital result.

Digital story telling takes art and technology and blends them into a creation that neither could ever be capable of making without the other.

This company used digital story telling to help sell its product.  Digital story telling isn't something you can only do if you land a gig at Pixar anymore.

Libraries use digital story telling to engage young readers and entice artists of all ages.  Digital story telling is a creative outlet and a teaching tool.

Presentation Tools in Libraries

Presentation Tools in Libraries

Image: https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=Kp%2fJQRgs&id=3A98EAFADD078AC72C0024529BED6B4D8EFA6451&thid=OIP.Kp_JQRgs5ZrASdA1kOPD4AEsC_&q=Presentation+Audience&simid=607991573293960419&selectedIndex=29&ajaxhist=0

You guys. We don't have to live like this anymore!  Information is always with us.  We just have to seek it.  Have you heard that the library can offer you wonderful services?  Are you interested in learning about them, but just can't put yourself through a slow, boring presentation?  Never fear, Information Seeker!

Presentation tools used in libraries are as informative, convenient, and intriguing as libraries themselves are.  I present to you, in this blog you're reading, more on presentations by libraries.

Where do you happen to be, right now? At home? Ubering to the airport? On your lunch break? At the library?  It doesn't matter!  You can be in any of those places, or at any other place where you can access the internet and read this presentation.  And many other types of presentations offered by libraries.

Libguides, library websites, and social media are a few examples of access to library presentations that won't leave you looking like the young lady on the bottom, right-hand corner of the photo above, considering all the better ways you could have been spending the time you just gave to a power point presentation.

Check this out...
Super-awesome, mega-sweet libguide page

The Super-awesome, mega-sweet libguide page presents titles and information on books that librarians and book lovers choose to feature and highlight for readers' information.  Social media sites, like youtube, made distributing and accessing presentations simple.  Creativity and innovation is the new power point and accompanying speech is the limit.

I added a Popular Posts gadget so that new viewers can see what our blog community has taken a particular interest in seeing on our page.  This could be useful in case a reader can't quite recall a date or blog title but is trying to find a particular post with limited information.

Gadget Added

I added a "search this blog" gadget to the right side of the page. I think that this would be a convenient gadget for anyone hoping to find a blog post on a certain topic.

Gadget Added

I added the “Google News” gadget so people could see some of the top news stories without having to leave the blog.

Follow By Email Gadget

I added the Follow by Email gadget to the blog so followers can be alerted when a new blog post is added. This gadget is useful for followers who want to stay current with our blog, and followers may also opt out of this service at any time.

Gadget

I added the Cnet Technology News widget because I thought people would be interested in want to learn more about the technology world in general.

Digital Services

Libraries in the Digital Age

Sarah Lane

When you imagine a library, what do you imagine? Spectacles? Book cases as tall as trees?  Hardwood desks? Do you feel compelled to hold your breath and float across the floor to avoid making even a peep?

SHHHH!!!! Quiet in the library. SILENCE!!! In the library.

If so, perhaps your perspective on libraries hasn't kept up with the times of modern libraries.  Libraries are no longer a place where students flock to cram for exams and where your elderly great-aunt goes for help using "The Google."

Sure, you can still study an entire semester's worth of information in 18 hours, and your sweet aunt can find a tour guide to help her navigate the internet at a library. But that's not all! Information doesn't hide in 100-pound books, or creep in members-only data bases anymore. In an age where you can access information at the touch of a button, new challenges are faced.  Information is easy; TOO EASY!

How do you know what information is good information and what information is not? How do you maximize your information literacy? Well, you ask a librarian!

Information isn't knowledge enhancing.  It's LIFE enhancing.  How can I earn a degree? Where can I write a résumé? How can I tackle that do-it-yourself project? How can I help my teenager with his homework using technology I've never used? How can I take my favorite hobby to the next level? Where can I go to use current technology that I don't have at home? Where can I go to escape reality for a few hundred pages? Where can I go to do all of those things FOR FREE? (spoiler alert) THE LIBRARY!

Digital services offered by libraries not only organize and tame the wild world of instant-access information.  Libraries today are more closely aligned with community centers than they ever have been because of advances in digital technology.  Libraries are a place for patrons to gather to enhance knowledge, cultivate creativity, strengthen professional development, and become immersed in worlds and stories that - BONUS - they don't even have to leave the house to access if they have an electronic device and a library card.

An innovative librarian will change the way you think of libraries for good. Check out Digital Services Librarian Amanda Gilbertie:

Digital Services Librarian shares her featured services

With Librarians like Amanda at the helm of digital services offered by libraries, the evolution of digital services won't be a threat to libraries, but an important ally.

Good Reads Widget

Adding gadgets and widgets are fun ways to enhance websites and blogs. I added the GoodReads widget to the right, and though it took a few hoops to jump through, it's super easy once you know where to go.

First I searched GoodReads for books on Presentation and added the most interesting to a shelf.

Then, under Profile, I selected "widget" and was able to customize a widget based on that shelf.

I copied the HTML code, and in Blogger went to the Layout tab.

On the location I wanted I clicked the + button to add a gadget.

There are a lot of options for cool things to add, but I selected the HTML, pasted the GoodReads code, and voila! Amazing books on presentations to check out.

Hope you guys enjoy!