Paper has started

This past week, I managed to start my paper. I have most of the Introduction done, as well as some of the Background and Asynchronous Collection. I have been formatting my References as I use them so I won't have to do it all at once at the end of the paper, and I have also been doing a lot of research. I haven't started on the virtual reference part of the paper yet - I want to find a few more sources before I start that, but I'll certainly have to start it by this weekend. I want a first draft of the paper done by Thanksgiving, so that I'll have the last weekend of the semester to polish it, write the speech (which will flow from the paper) and create my Powerpoint.

Much of the research I did this week was encouraging libraries to get into Second Life now - strike just before the iron gets hot, so to speak. Many people feel that if libraries can establish themselves in SL before many of the patrons get there, patrons will naturally turn to libraries for help in SL and thus be viable and valuable again. So now I don't know what to suggest to Helen. On the one hand, I would hate to see the LCLCPL rush into anything, just because they want to get into SL and be well trained before their patrons get there. But if the patrons never show, the LCLCPL has wasted time and money on a virtual reference environment. On the other hand, I wouldn't like to see the LCLCPL sitting on the sidelines when they have a chance to be a leader for public libraries in SL. So I guess it's really about timing - entering SL early enough to have a bit of lead-time for training but not so early that it's still unclear if Leon County patrons will ever use SL. Many non-library people I've spoken to (including college students) say "Second Life? Is that, like, that online game where people try to make money?" If people are only thinking of SL as a game, or a commercial endeavor, they will never try it.

The bottom line is that the LCLCPL needs to do what is best for their patrons. If their patrons show absolutely no interest in SL right now, perhaps the LCLCPL should hold off on entering SL for the moment and focus on other virtual reference opportunities. If patron interest in SL swells in a few years, then the LCLCPL will be ready.