[Publib] Second Life hype vs. Human Needs

[jgehner at hhptf.org]

Librarian Charlotte Glover of the Ketchikan (Alaska) Public Library wrote
the following in a letter to AMERICAN LIBRARIES (May 2007) regarding
Second Life:

"I'm finding it hard to believe that any youth services librarian has time
to serve virtual patrons. For those who have free time, you could mentor a
child through Big Brothers Big Sisters, become a reading buddy at a local
school, select books for a youth detention center, volunteer at a woefully
understaffed school library, raise money for First Book, or read stories
at a local women's shelter. All of these activities would have a greater
impact on literacy. They might, in fact, change someone's life instead of
providing just a fun diversion."

Last year, 85% of Illinois counties experienced an increase in poverty. 
http://www.heartlandalliance.org/pressroom/index.html

I haven't yet looked how the other 49 states compare. But it's
disappointing at times to think that some of the best and brightest
information professionals are devoting their substantial talents to the
denizens of a virtual world founded on leisure time rather than a real
world with millions of people struggling for a Better Life every day.

I'm thankful that Jessamyn West and others keep us focused on the digital
divide:
http://www.librarian.net/stax/2099/why-the-digital-divide-is-a-library-issue/

At my public library, we offer an Internet lab as well as wireless
service. Well-heeled patrons who can afford laptops enjoy unlimited wi-fi
usage and quick downloads. Patrons who cannot afford laptops are limited
to one hour of Internet access per day--with two extra 15 minute sessions
when the lab is not busy--and are hampered by bandwidth (simultaneously
shared by staff and patrons) when the lab is busy.

There are always some who insist that it isn't our task to correct this
sort of inequity and argue that anyone can obtain what they want if only
they will work a little harder on their own. But substantial evidence
suggests otherwise:

http://ehrenreich.blogs.com/barbaras_blog/2006/07/could_you_affor.html
http://www.brook.edu/metro/pubs/20060718_PovOp.htm
http://www.nchc.org/facts/coverage.shtml
http://www.nlchp.org/hapia_causes.cfm

Unlike Karen Schneider, I don't find it relevant at all whether there are
generational differences between librarians who communicate on listservs
or blogs or between two tin cans and a length of string.

What matters more to me is whether librarians--particularly the brave,
brave souls who advocate so strongly for implementation of 2.0
tools--routinely seek input from library users and NON-users in their
communities (and not just on technology issues).

Do we accept that, for all the supposed conversatin', so many groups are
not invited to be part of The Conversation?

Kathleen de la Pena McCook posed this question again and again with her
RUSQ "Community Building" column, until its end in 2006:
http://hhptf.org/article/311/rusq-community-building-column-to-end

I simply don't see enough people challenging the 2.0 cheerleaders to
connect the platitudes about "conversation" to practical and broad
community-building projects of the sort covered by McCook or underway in
countries that recognize the problem of social exclusion. See, for
example: http://www.welcometoyourlibrary.org.uk/

Annette DeFaveri writes (http://libr.org/isc/articles/21/9.pdf),
"Feeling unwelcome and alienated from the library is not limited to
society's most marginalized groups. For many working class adults the
library is as foreign an institution as a university or museum. Even
relatively well-off working class people may not have a tradition of
library use and so may feel that their lives, their values, and their
concerns are not reflected in the culture of the library. What they do
feel is the library's culture of authority and deference. The library is
not seen as an organization that facilitates the acquisition of
information or one that promotes life-long learning. For them the
library's culture mystifies information and the process of acquiring
information."

I remain mystified by the volume of reporting on Second Life in the
library press. In the end, what I would really like to see is the Library
2.0 equivalent of the PlayPump: http://www.playpumps.org

Respectfully,

John Gehner, Coordinator
Hunger, Homelessness & Poverty Task Force - SRRT/ALA
jgehner at hhptf.org
http://www.hhptf.org
http://www.libr.org/srrt