Libraries and E-Communities

After reading through the articles on the massive growing popularity of e-communities, I find myself overwhelmed by the number of issues the articles raised. I especially found Stephen Abram's article insightful because he enumerates the social issues raised by the popularity and very existence of such e-neighborhoods. He brings up the fact that many of our social norms are altered in these communities. Relationships, safety, education, possible discrimination based on age, identities all change shapes in the virtual world.

Of course, this week's question was less about those changes and more about how libraries should exist in these virtual spaces to serve the public. After all, if the public has changed in a virtual world, and the purpose of libraries is to serve the public, then it stands to reason that libraries must change to serve their altered audience. I think David Lee King's brief article on 2 libraries' use of MySpace accounts and the article titled "Second Life and Libraries" both illustrate marevelous ways in which libraries and librarians can take part in these very real virtual communities. For instance, King mentions some libraries that use MySpace in order to appeal to teens and young adults who look for music and social events in which to participate. I also liked the idea of librarians in Second Life acting as virtual "travel guides," answering questions about where to go to find certain information. I would also add that libraries could give advice about setting up accounts in these spaces as well as offering information about how to use them safely.