Information Dynamics in Virtual Worlds

Book excerpt: Presents a broad examination of the nature of virtual worlds and the potential they provide in managing and expressing information practices through that medium, grounding information professionals and students of new media in the fundamental elements of virtual worlds and online gaming. The book details the practical issues in finding and using information in virtual environments and presents a general theory of librarianship as it relates to virtual gaming worlds. It is encompassed by a set of best practice methods that libraries can effectively execute in their own environments, meeting the needs of this new generation of library user, and explores ways in which information literacy can be approached in virtual worlds. Final chapters examine how conventional information evaluation skills work falls short in virtual worlds online. - Maps out areas of good practice and technique for information professionals and librarians serving in virtual communities - Provides a clear foundation with appropriate theory for understanding information in virtual worlds - Treats virtual worlds as 'real environments' and observes the behaviour of actors within them