The 2008-2009 Business Plan for Eye4You Alliance island will be used to guide us, and those considering a presence in Teen Second Life to what it is a public library is trying to do by owning an island in this 3D environment.
Background
The Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County first came to TSL as a partnership with the Alliance Library System of East Peoria, Illinois in October 2006.
The Alliance Library System are leaders in library services for adults in SL through the Second Life Library project (http://infoisland.org) which was conceived in April 2006 and opened in June 2006. The project has grown to over 400 volunteers, and over 40 islands with programs and services for adults.
The Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County is dedicated to their mission of expanding minds, empowering individuals and enriching our community and anticipates that a presence on Teen Second Life will be another way to address the mission. It addresses it in a place that meets teens where they are (i.e., online)
Vision
To influence and be influenced in meaningful ways through being online and having a place where teens can create, communicate, and share and produce their work with others
* To give teens an opportunity to create and contribute through this environment
* To provide opportunities for other youth serving organizations to participate in this project
* To explore what we can do better in Second Life than we can in Real Life
Mission
Eye4You Alliance: where teens create
Goals and Objectives
1. To offer Teen Second Life as a program and series of programs in real life
with teens at the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County
-bring more branches on board
-local schools
-other organizations (local or otherwise)
2. To seek funding sources to continue the project
-write grants
-seek partnerships for projects
3. Develop a model of evaluation for the project
-determine what is successful and what is not- realizing that we can learn just as much from failures and we can from our successes.
4. Determine what exactly are library services in a virtual world
-define and develop 21st century skills for teens
5. Continue to get the word out about the project
-publish updates of our project on our blog: www.eye4youalliance.youthtech.info
-present at conferences and publish articles on the project
-network inworld by attending meetings and publicizing
6. Examine what library services are in a virtual world
-what are core values and services of libraries that we and teens want to maintain?
-what makes a library a need in Second Life
-what can libraries in a virtual space offer that real life cannot
7. Develop Best Practices
-at the end of the year, create a best practices document for other libraries and youth
serving organizations
-continue to help guide us through the future of the project
-to help continue to make SL a viable place for teens, educators, and others
8. Build qualified staff inworld
-to develop and plan programs and services and decide what those core services
will be
- those who bring a youth participation model to the project
Evaluation analysis (SWOT) Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
Strengths:
-seen as innovative
-press and media
-free of initial costs and access for teens
-can create simulations
-safe place for teens
Weaknesses:
-learning curve is somewhat steep and all library branches are not participating
-background check is costly for adults
-somewhat restrictive for adults
Opportunities:
-Meet teens in an environment where they are: online
-create community
-network and work with other organizations and libraries in tsl
Threats:
-Lack of interest from teens and adults
-accessibility difficult
-relationship to library services takes intensive time to prove and negotiate sometimes
Link resource
Check out the business-plan-2006-2007 - Opens in PDF.
