New Series at the Caledon Library!
Folklore of the British Isles with Afsaneh Metaluna
3rd Mondays, 4pm

Inaugural lecture, Mon, April 20, 4pm - 5pm
Tinyville Library, Tinyville, Caledon Tanglewood
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Tanglewood/23/214/23/

Folklorist Afsenah Metaluna will guide us in a new exploration each month; with illustrative stories and her own commentary she’ll expose to our understanding some facet of the rich and varied folklore of the British Isles. In the Storyteller’s Own Words…

“Rather than a repository of Märchen (wonder tales more or less of the “Grimm’s” variety) much of the folklore of England is comprised of local legends that combine references to beliefs and customs and aspects of daily life, particularly rural life. This is contrasted with English ballads and broadsides, which have a strong tradition of their own, as well as the folklore around customs, dance and belief. The wonder tales exist too, though more in the Celtic regions.”

This month and next, to get us started, she will tell and comment on short tales from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

English Lore
The Apple Tree Man — a legend that deals with customs as well as systems of land tenure and inheritance, this story is kind of a microcosm of the strength of English narrative lore.

Welsh Lore
Later in the series, we will have a session entirely devoted to the relationship between Welsh traditions (including the somewhat heroically invented or compiled Mabinogion,  analogous to, though less well known than, the Finnish Kalevala) and the stories of King Arthur and the wizard Merlin. To start this topic off, this time we will hear “The Cave of the Knights.”

Irish Lore
To explore this tradition means to follow the threads in a perfect Celtic knot of history, myth and folklore and Christianity and Celtic belief.  One place to begin is with the stories of The Children of Lir. As our series continues, Afsaneh will put The Golden Fly (which her fans heard recently at the West of Ireland Library) in context for us as a forerunner to the the story cycle of Conary Mor.

Scottish Lore
A Selkie story, of the kind we will encounter in future discussions. This time, Afsaneh will explain why she sees this tradition as exemplary of Scottish lore, with its ties to the environment, and its status as a cautionary tales where actions in one realm are mirrored in another.

This Month’s lecture will be presented using SL voice
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Take a Tour of Karuna!
Join others to learn more about this brand new sim, devoted to
HIV/AIDS awareness and support, funded by the National Library of
Medicine through the Alliance Library System. We’re delighted to show off the story garden area, which is intended to be a gathering-place for memories and narratives, the resource and community centers, and the incredible mountain build (with lookout!) that make this a place of real beauty.

If these scheduled tours don’t fit your own needs, please contact Carolina Keats or
Jenaia Morane, and we’ll be glad to work with you.

SCHEDULE
Meet at: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Karuna/62/107/26
DAYS and TIMES
Wednesdays, 11 a.m. SLT
Saturdays, 11 a.m. SLT

Renaissance Island Events:

2nd Thursday is Queens Men Rehearsal for the Globe at 5pm SL
A relaxed fun atmosphere to learn about the Globe and actors. We rehearse in voice and all is welcome to take a part and collaborate on scripts for scenes. You do not have to commit to every time, just come when you are free and partake!

Sun at 5pm SL is Town Meeting
Please join us as we meet new members, discuss local events and collaborate for Renaissance events.

Tuesday 3/17 at 5pm SL is Joust Practice
Jousting practice ever Tuesday with Knights from all over popping in to attend
Wed 3/26th Steeple race qualifying
At Ren forest, we will hold a race and fastest times will enter in the final competition at Avalon Race.
Sat 3/28 at 1pm is EnGuarde Tournament
Ren hosts EnGuarde group fencing tourney. Fun to watch and better to compete!
4/25th and 26th is Shakespeare Weekend Faire
We will be holding a faire this weekend to celebrate Shakespeare. Globe plays, sonnets and live music from Thom Dowd, jousting, sword fight, tours of homes and gardens, story telling, and even booths of period items will be here!
Our events can be seen at http://groups.google.com/group/renaissancesl and choose our calendar of events!

Land of Lincoln is hosting a talk by Ioseph Mikoyan on Civil War
Artillery.
The event will be held in the army camp on Lincoln on
Saturday, March 21, at 5pm slt. Joe is a member of a rl artillery
reenactment group, with a wealth of knowledge about artillery
practices during the War. This will be sure to be a fascinating
lecture, complete with period slides in illustration.
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Land%20of%20Lincoln/69/217/23

In-world Wednesdays: Monroe County Library System’s Monthly Author Visit
March Visiting Author: Lois Gresh (Bobo Fromund in SL)
Date: Wednesday, March 25, 2009 at 5 pm SLT (8 pm Eastern Time)
Location: Cybrary City II http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cybrary%20City%20II/68/100/22
The Creative Process: Writing for Different Audiences
New York Times Best-Selling Author Lois Gresh, author of 19 books and dozens of short stories, will discuss how to write different types of material for a variety of readers. She’ll read excerpts from some of her novels, short stories, speculative science books, and pop culture books. For each excerpt, she’ll explain the creative process behind the writing. How does writing a novel differ from writing a short story? Is it more difficult to write humorous stories or dark stories? How does writing fiction differ from writing speculative science books, pop culture books, and other forms of non-fiction? Following her talk, Lois will be happy to answer questions about the creative process, as well as questions about agents, contracts, editors, and other matters related to the business of writing.

Bio:
Lois H. Gresh is the New York Times Best-Selling Author of 15 pop science/culture books and 4 science fiction novels from John Wiley & Sons, Random House, and St. Martin’s Press. She’s also the author of dozens of short stories. Her books have been translated into many languages and are in print worldwide: Italy, Japan, Spain, Russia, Germany, Portugal, France, Brazil, Thailand, Korea, China, Estonia, England, Canada/French, Finland, Poland, Czech, etc. In addition, they are often featured in the New York Times Book Review, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Science News, National Geographic, Physics Today, New Scientist, and US News and World Report, as well as by National Public Radio, the BBC, Fox national news, the History Channel, and many other television and radio programs. Lois’ teen novels have been endorsed by the American Library Association and the Voice of Youth Advocates. She has been nominated for national fiction awards six times.

Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century by P W Singer
March 22th, 3pm SLT (PST)
Reader’s Garden, Cybrary City
What happens when science fiction becomes battlefield reality?
An amazing revolution is taking place on the battlefield, starting to change not just how wars are fought, but also the politics, economics, laws, and ethics that surround war itself. This upheaval is already afoot — remote-controlled drones take out terrorists in Afghanistan, while the number of unmanned systems on the ground in Iraq has gone from zero to 12,000 over the last five years. But it is only the start. Military officers quietly acknowledge that new prototypes will soon make human fighter pilots obsolete, while the Pentagon researches tiny robots the size of flies to carry out reconnaissance work now handled by elite Special Forces troops. Wired for War takes the reader on a journey to meet all the various players in this strange new world of war: odd-ball roboticists working in latter-day “skunk works” in the midst of suburbia; military pilots flying combat mission from their office cubicles outside Las Vegas; the Iraqi insurgents who are their targets; journalists trying to figure out just how to cover robots at war; and human rights activists wrestling with what is right and wrong in a world where our wars are increasingly being handed over to machines.
Come meet the author and engage in a dialog about this topic.
Cybrary City, Cybrary City (122, 159, 24)
Book Website: http://wiredforwar.pwsinger.com/

Alexandrian Free Library: Caledon, Winterfell, Steelhead, New Toulouse, New Babbage, Amatsu Shima, Deadwood, West of Ireland & Steeltopia Library Events for March 17-24, 2009
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WOI Aoife Lorefield with Irish Poetry
Wed, March 18, 7-8pm
West of Ireland Library & Cultural Center, West of Ireland http://slurl.com/secondlife/West%20of%20Ireland/44/157/29

Aoife finishes her readings of Irish Poetry thru the ages, tonight with the more modern poems, care for a bit of Yeats anyone?
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WOI Shandon Loring with More Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Thurs, March 19, 6:30-7:30pm
West of Ireland Library & Cultural Center, West of Ireland http://slurl.com/secondlife/West%20of%20Ireland/44/157/29

Join Shandon for more stories from Sheridan Le Fanu, an Irish writer of Gothic tales and mystery novels. Le Fanu was the premier ghost story writer of the nineteenth century.
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WOI Charity Read-a-Thon
Sat, March 21, Noon – 8pm
West of Ireland Library & Cultural Center, West of Ireland http://slurl.com/secondlife/West%20of%20Ireland/44/157/29

Join the West of Ireland Storytellers (and some guest-star friends) for an assortment of fabulous stories. The first and last hours will be open mic, if you would like to read a story or poem; the rest of the time we will be treated to “Reader’s Choice” from our fabulous storytellers. Please bring a bit of ‘Linden love’ for the donation bin - all donations go to our charity, Project Children, which seeks to unite Catholic and Protestant children in Northern Ireland (who are still raised in an atmosphere of distrust and hatred). www.projectchildren.org

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Winterfell Library Book Discussion “Song of Ice & Fire”
Sat, March 21, 1pm – 2pm SLT
Winterfell Palace Library, Winterfell Taure En Lor
http://slurl.com/secondlife/winterfell/130/190/25

Discussion led by Miss Serafina Puchkina

WINTER IS COMING! A year long series of book discussions covering the much loved and highly acclaimed series from George RR Martin “A Song of Fire and Ice”

Join us to talk about your favorite characters, plot twists and predictions for the second book in the series “Clash of Kings”! We will cover the third of the book on March 7th, second third of the book on March 21st and the last third of the book on April 4th
—
WOI Giggles with Gracee
Sun, March 22, 1:30-2:30pm
West of Ireland Library & Cultural Center, West of Ireland http://slurl.com/secondlife/West%20of%20Ireland/44/157/29

Our newest storyteller, Gracee Andel will treat us to humorous stories, including one she has written on “The Life Cycle of Wire Hangers”.
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“Past Futures” exhibit opening
R.F.Burton Library
March 22, 2pm to 4 pm slt
Babbage Canals (206, 51, 107)
“Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.” — Lord Kelvin, British mathematician and physicist, president of the British Royal Society, 1895.

“This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.” — A memo at Western Union, 1878 (or 1876).

What will the future be like? How will people live and work in the twentieth century and beyond? You are cordially invited to attend the opening of “Past Futures” exhibition on March 22 at 3 pm slt at the R. F. Burton library. This exhibition is sponsored by Sir ArthurConan Doyle.

It’s well established that our age is a beacon of scientific progress and intellectual thought. Our age is gifted with forward thinkers in almost every area of serious endeavour. The exhibition will feature serious and semi-serious literature, art, and original writings by Babbage citizens.

“Fooling around with alternating current is just a waste of time. Nobody will use it, ever.” — Thomas Edison, American inventor, 1889
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WOI Caledonia Skytower with the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Mon, March 23, 7-8pm
West of Ireland Library & Cultural Center, West of Ireland http://slurl.com/secondlife/West%20of%20Ireland/44/157/29

Caledonia picks up with part II of this fabulous tale by C.S. Lewis. Chapters Six – Nine. The Pevensie children discover that Lucy was right, and that Edmund is acting stranger than usual. Into Narnia with all of them! There in the nature and designs of the White Witch become clearer, alliances begin to form and shift, and things are not always quite what they seem. Read in Voice.
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WOI “The Cat Who Had 14 Tales” Stories with Derry & Elder
Tue, March 24, 6:30pm – 7:30pm
West of Ireland Library & Cultural Center, West of Ireland http://slurl.com/secondlife/West%20of%20Ireland/44/157/29

Tonight - fabulous feline fiction from Lilian Jackson Braun. These short stories feature new kitty detectives! Join us in cat avi, neko tails and ears, or as a human-style avi; we’ll have the toys, beds and scratching posts ready.

Call for Presentation and Paper Proposals and Topics
The second annual “Virtual Worlds: Libraries, Education, and Museums (VW LEM)” Conference will be held in Second Life on Friday and Saturday, April 24 & 25, 2009.

Purpose of the Conference:

To provide a gathering place for librarians, information professionals, educators, museologists, and others to learn about and discuss the educational, informational, and cultural opportunities of virtual worlds.

Please note: Although the conference will be held in the virtual world Second Life, presentation and paper proposals about LEM developments in other virtual worlds are encouraged.

Possible Topics for Presentations, Papers, and Participatory Events:

· Virtual world events and exhibits as the drivers of attendance and engagement
· Immersive learning environments
· Reference service possibilities and practicalities in virtual worlds
· Corporate and special librarianship in virtual worlds
· Educational tools and resources
· Enterprise uses of virtual worlds
· Tours of LEM locations in Second Life
· Gaming and virtual worlds
· VW LEM opportunities for children, tweens, and teens
· Dreams and visions for LEM activities in virtual worlds
· Assessing LEM initiatives in virtual worlds
· Sustainability issues and opportunities for LEM activities in virtual worlds
· Other topics pertinent to the broad topic of LEM activities in virtual worlds are welcome! Send us your innovative proposals! If you have a topic you really would like to see addressed at this conference but don’t know of a speaker who can address the topic, please send us the topic and we’ll try to find a speaker.

Proposal Guidelines and Deadlines:

· Each session will be 45 minutes long.
· All sessions will begin on the hour.
· All proposals are due by 5:00 p.m. SLT on Saturday, February 28, 2009.
· Please send proposals to Tom Peters (tpeters@tapinformation.com) with “VW LEM proposal” in the subject line.
· For presentations, please send a paragraph about your proposed presentation, the intended audience, and any pertinent URLs or SLURLs.
· For papers, please send an abstract of your paper.
· Notification of acceptance will be sent by Friday, March, 2009.
· The 8,000 Linden registration fee will be waived for all presenters.
· Proposals from students and general citizens are welcome. You do not need to be a member of the LEM professions to present at this conference.

Conference Schedule (tentative):

· Friday, April 24, 2009, from noon to 4:00 p.m. Second Life Time (U.S. Pacific Time):
o noon to 12:45 p.m.: Keynote Panel (no conflict)
o 1:00 to 1:45 p.m.: First group of sessions
o 2:00 to 2:45 p.m.: Second group of sessions
o 3:00 to 3:45 p.m.: Third group of sessions
o 4:00 to 4:45 p.m.: Social event

· Saturday, April 25, 2009 from 8:00 a.m. to noon Second Life Time (U.S. Pacific Time):

o 8:00 to 8:45 a.m.: Keynote Panel (no conflict)
o 9:00 to 9:45 a.m.: First group of sessions
o 10:00 to 10:45 a.m.: Second group of sessions
o 11:00 to 11:45 a.m.: Third group of sessions

· Note: Pre- and Post-Conference conversations, announcements, and documents will be available in the “Virtual Words: Libraries, Education and Museums” group in Facebook.

Course offering from UIUC

Instructional Tools for Second Life
Description: Virtual worlds are proving to be an excellent venue for classes at a distance. But like all forms of class presentation, an instructor needs to know what tools are available and how to make the best use of them. This four week class will introduce students to the educational tools available in the virtual world of Second Life.
Week one - The Basics: text chat, voice, audio streams, and notecards.
Week two - Visual Aids: textures, slide shows, video streams, and lag concerns.
Week three - Immersive Environments: learning by doing, roleplaying, and using the environment as a tool.
Week four - Integration: combining methods and augmenting virtual worlds with internet resources.
Instructor: S.Thompson (Hypatia Dejavu)
Audience: Open to anyone interested in learning about instructional tools for virtual worlds. Students should feel comfortable navigating in Second life or have taken Second Life 101.
Dates and times:
Thursdays, March 5, 12, 19, 26 from 5:00 - 7:00 PM SL (US Pacific) time
Location: Second Life
Cost: $125

Register here: http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/programs/cpd/VW/tools.html