Alliance and Info Archipelago Celebrate Two Years in Second Life

The Alliance Library System and the Second Life Info Island Archipelago are pleased to announce a two year
anniversary celebration on April 12 and 13. A number of activities are planned and everyone is invited to celebrate!

“Two years ago, we started in a small rented building,” stated Kitty Pope, Executive Director of the Alliance Library
System, “and today there are over 40 library, university, non-profit, and education islands which make up the Archipelago including
over 50 libraries and over 75 educational groups. The virtual world of Second Life has given libraries the opportunity
to pioneer new services and promote existing ones and to make partnerships with agencies they might never have
met in the real world.”

The highlight event of the weekend is an historic ball at Land of Lincoln on the White House North Portico from 5-7 pm SL
on Saturday April 12.. The event will feature period music, dancing, fireworks and a dramatization of the firing on Ft. Sumter,
which took place on April 12th, 1861 and was the first engagement of the U.S. Civil War. Abraham and Mary Lincoln are
expected to attend. The public is invited.

This event is being held to kick-off fund-raising to help pay for virtual Land of Lincoln, a 3-D immersive environment devoted
to teaching about, and letting individuals experience, 19th-century America and the places where Lincoln lived and worked.
Visitors may tour a replica of the Lincoln White House, Lincoln’s Springfield home, a representative southern plantation house
and more. New to Land of Lincoln is the Memorial Cemetery, where prominent persons and individual soldiers are remembered.
Visitors to Memorial Cemetery can click on gravestones and read the stories of the person remembered there.

Actual fund-raising will take the form of a sale of war bonds. Wear bonds supporting either the Union or Confederacy may
be purchased, with all proceeds supporting the costs of creating and maintaining virtual Land of Lincoln. Visitors
buying at least 1000 Lindens (Second Life currency equal to about $4.00) will receive as a gift either a period dress gown or
working civil war cannon. To make it more fun, there will be a competition to see whether the Union or the Confederacy can sell
more bonds. If the Union wins, a celebration will be held at the Lincoln White House; if the Confederacy attracts more funds
the celebration will be at Mary’s Grove Plantation house. (Note: We know that no reasonable person wants to bring back the
days when human slavery was an accepted part of American (or any) society. This contest is envisioned as a fun way to
encourage donations and allow avatars to express regional pride. We hope that visiting the virtual Land of Lincoln and its exhibits
will promote an awareness of the history and lessons of slavery in the United States.)

Other Events For the Celebration:
April 12th

Infotainment Island - A party at the Jazz Cat! 3 - 5 PM SLT
Land of Lincoln - A grand ball! 5-7 pm SLT

April 13th

Info Island International - Scavenger Hunt - 9-11 AM SLT
Info Island - Planned events between Noon - 2 PM SLT
Speakers: Claudia Linden, Kitty Pope, Puglet Dancer, DJ Merck Forger and fireworks!
Renaissance Island - A Spring Rant with Gabriel Riel and Riel Radio - 5-7 PM SLT

For more information on weekend events, please contact Lorelei Junot in world,
Lori Bell in real world - lbell@alliancelibrarysystem.com