In November, I gobsmackedly reported that I’d just been offered a building in Second Life for all Australian Libraries to share. Here’s an update.

There are now around 400 librarians working on virtual library services over 9 islands in Second Life. Info Island, the focal island, attracts 4000 visitors a day. Cybrary City, where the Australian Libraries Building is located, has 1000 visits per day.

The number of registered users of Second Life has grown by one milion in the last month to 3 million. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Telstra are creating islands there, joining the Australian Film, Television and Radio School and Terra Incognita, an island from a PhD student the University of Southern Queensland.

We created VLINT (virtual.librariesinteract.info:Australian Libraries in Other Worlds) to record our adventures. The list of Australian library folk avatars has grown to 14. Avatars like Hypatia Arcadia and Curious Forager have been exploring Second Life and making links with librarians all over the world. There is a spirit of play and sharing in the Second Life library community which helps us to rapidly increase our skills with the interface.

I have attended seminars about Myspace and libraries, library meetings, live concerts, finally gave in and bought some Linden dollars (Second Life money) and bought a new “skin” for my avatar. Tonight I am going to a library event where Marie Antoinette: Teen Queen will be talking to us, then attending a costume ball.

The Autralian Library includes, among other features:

• a bookshelf which links to Libraries Australia
• an orange penguin which links to this blog, and a purple one which links to VLINT
• comfy couches
• a Library2.0 ideas generating monolith
• a slideshow of Australian images; and
• an Australian Farmers’ Reading Room which emulates the real reading spot for farmers, and gives out links to Australian agricultural sites.

I am giving a talk about what we have been doing, plus a guided tour of the building in Second Life during a public talk at the National Library on Wednesday 14th February. It’s part of their Digital Culture series and called Flying Librarians of Oz: What’s all the fuss about Second Life and what’s it got to do with libraries?. It’s in the Library Theatre 12:30pm to 1:30pm.

Come up and say “hi” if you are there. Otherwise, come to the library in Second Life and IM my avatar, Emerald Dumont.