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2009-2010 Smathers Libraries Mini Grant
APPLICATION COVER SHEET
Application due: January 15, 2009


Project Investigator Name: Laura Jordan
Department: Humanities & Social Sciences Services
Email address: lauiord(,uflib.ufl.edu Phone: (352) 273-2621

Additional applicants, please give name and email for each:
Missy Shoop, melshoo@uflib.ufl.edu
Stacey Ewing, staewin@uflib.ufl.edu



Title of grant application project: UF Virtual Library (UFVL)



Project abstract (no more than 100 words):

The UF Virtual Library (UFVL) Project staff requests $4,997 to create an experiential
learning environment in the virtual world Second Life (SL) to allow visitors a unique view
of what it was like to be in Florida during the time of segregation v. desegregation. Two
activities will be used to create this environment:

1. Create an interactive virtual library building hosted within the UFVL space in Second
Life with materials found in the UF Digital Library Center (UFDC) collections related
to literature, history, and politics related to desegregation from this period.
2. Create an immersive role-playing scenario that will tie into the 50th year anniversary
of desegregation at UF.



Funds requested (Limit of $5,000): $4,997.


Describe how the 10% mandatory cost share will be met (be specific):

Missy Shoop will dedicate 1.2% of her time toward this project by researching for
digital resources to be included in the project, aiding in faculty instruction, and
helping to promote the project. 1.2% of Missy's yearly salary amounts to
$516.00 cost share. Additionally, maintaining the UF Libraries' space in Second
Life costs $100 annually. This $100 will also go toward cost share for the project.
The total cost share amount will be $616.00.









Please list the library resources to be used in this project and the name of the person
authorizing the intended use and date authorized. If you need more room, continue on a
separate page.

Resource Authorizing Individual Date Authorized
Missy Shoop will dedicate Shelley Arlen 01/14/09
1.2% of her time toward this
project.
UFDC collection of images Laurie Taylor 01/14/09
and audio will be
repurposed within the UF
Virtual Library (UFVL)
space.


I have my Department Head's approval to submit this application. Yes


No


Signature


Date







A. Describe the Project
The University of Florida (UF) Libraries have maintained a virtual library presence in the online virtual world Second
Life (SL) for over a year now (slurl: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cvbrarv%20City/97/15/24/?title=UF%20Libraries;
Cybrary City, coordinates 97x15x24). This online presence costs $100 annually.

The Principal Investigator (PI) has been involved in SL activities since August 2006, and in the Spring 2007 semester,
the PI created a library faculty/staff interest group, the Virtual Worlds Group (VWG), which has researched the
presence and activities of libraries in SL. This group also hosted a virtual lecture in the UF Virtual Library (UFVL)
space within SL in September 2007. This lecture was presented by UF Professor, Dr. Paul Fishwick (Department of
Computer Science and Engineering) on the topic of the future of libraries in virtual worlds. In the Fall 2007, this
group became a sub-committee of the official library committee on Emerging Technologies.

The UFVL Project staff plans to create an experiential learning environment to allow visitors a unique view of what
it was like to be in Florida during the time of segregation v. desegregation. Two activities will be used to create
this environment:
1. The creation of an interactive virtual library building hosted within the UFVL space in Second Life that will
contain and present digital materials from literature, history, and politics related to desegregation from this
period. This UFVL building will prominently feature images and audio found in the UF Digital Library Center
(UFDC) collections and will have three floors, dedicated to literature, news, and politics surrounding this period.
2. The creation of an immersive role-playing scenario that will be connected to the aforementioned UFVL
building which will also tie into the 50th year anniversary of desegregation at UF.

Typically, SL visitors have the ability to choose the way in which they interact with their surroundings. This planned
role-playing scenario will allow UFVL visitors the choice of "riding" a virtually created, 1950's segregated, public
transit bus to the UFVL building. Prior to boarding, the visitor will activate a programming script that will allow
their online character to enter the bus with the SL "skin" of an African American. This programming script will also
visibly change the mood of Caucasian bus riders towards the visitor's online character, allowing visitors to
experience virtually a common form of racism during that period of time.

The Tallahassee Bus Reports from the 1950s provide information on Caucasian attitudes toward desegregation
through a series of interviews with 536 subjects
(http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/UFDC/?g=all&b=AM00000179&v=00001). These surveys indicated racist behaviors that
the SL Caucasian bus riders will display, such as frowning, avoiding eye contact, or moving to a different seat if an
African American sat down next to them on a bus.

Once the bus arrives at the UFVL, the visitor will be able to choose between two different tours of the library:
1. From the perspective of a Caucasian during the 1950s.
2. From the perspective of an African American person during the 1950s, possibly as told by one of the first
African American students to graduate from UF.

UFVL visitors may also choose to interact with the character of Thelma Jordan, an African American who was
unable to get her Master's degree from UF in 1952 because it was still segregated, and hear her story as related in
her narrative (http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/UFDC/?g=all&b=UF00005405&v=00001).

The visitor may also choose to read news stories such as "One of U. Florida's first Black students recalls
desegregation" (Alligator, April 20, 1999) and view related images in the UFDC via slideshows posted on the walls
of the UFVL.

Once the tour is over, the visitor may choose to ride the desegregated bus home, and the bus riders will now
display behaviors indicating acceptance, such as chatting and sharing lunches.

UFVL Project staff will partner with Dr. Paul Fishwick from the Department of Computer Science & Engineering. Dr.
Fishwick headed up the team that created Second China, a virtual Chinese city that has been highly publicized at UF
(http://news.ufl.edu/2008/10/29/second-china/) and across the nation
(http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081029154856.htm). Dr. Fishwick will provide his expertise in
creating web interfaces in Second Life for this project as well as provide project guidance via monthly progress
meetings.







Dr. Fishwick has recommended two members of his Second China team to participate in the UFVL Project.
Graduate Student Hyungwook Park will volunteer his time to design the interactive online robots or "bots" that will
interact with the UFVL bus riding visitors in Second Life, and Graduate Student Ryan Tanay will be paid from grant
funds to design clothing for the "bots" and write the complicated computer programming scripts that will generate
the gestures and animations needed for the project.

Additionally, the UFVL Project staff has made connections with five professors from the UF College of Liberal Arts
and Sciences who have expressed an interest in this project and want to integrate it into their syllabi. These
professors are Drs. Jack Davis, Bill Link, Steve Noll, and Paul Ortiz from the Department of History and Dr. Stephanie
Evans from the Department of African American Studies.

B. State why this project is important (e.g., what need does it address, what will it accomplish, who benefits,
how does it support the mission and goals of the library).

It is essential to note the importance of the UF Libraries involvement in SL. With forerunners such as the Alliance
Library System (ALS) (http://infoisland.org/) which began building in SL in 2005 and exploded into offering an
almost 24 hour reference desk in SL, online lectures, book readings, conferences, and continuing education courses
and ALA (http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/alaislandinsecondlife/index.cfm) which built off of an island that ALS had
provided them. Conferences are being held entirely in SL and being created for SL such as Second Life Education
Community Conference (SLEDcc), Beyond Broadcast, and the Second Life Community Convention. Virtual worlds
such as SL are a growing theme in libraries and in the world. It is important to stay involved.

When searching for other models on the African American experience during desegregation in SL, UFVL Project
staff found examples such as the Museum of African American Experience (slurl:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/SugarHill%20Retreat/75/123/28/?title=M useum%20of%20African%20American%20Exp
erience%20) which offers a commemorative display on African-American history but was not an interactive
experience. Though the Project staff did not locate any interactive SL projects on the topic of desegregation,
Project staff did find an immersive SL scenario on the topic of schizophrenia. "Virtual Hallucinations," created by a
UC Davis psychiatry professor (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6453241.stm), offers a scenario in which a visitor
may place a badge on their avatar which causes their avatar to experience symptoms of schizophrenia such as
hearing voices and hallucinations. This type of immersive environment allows visitors to experience what it may be
like to be someone else, and it is the kind of immersion that Project staff hopes to achieve in the area of
desegregation.

This project supports the mission of George A. Smathers Libraries, for it will:

1. Give liberal arts instructors a unique forum to introduce students to this sensitive topic, filling a gap in
education by providing an immersive learning environment.
2. Repurpose existing digital resources, while also promoting the Libraries' digital collections.
3. Provide a long term resource as this project may be maintained in our location in Second Life as there is no
time limit to removing/changing the site.
4. Possibly serve as a diversity training module as Human Resource trainers may log into Second Life and use this
project as a demonstration of the 1950s racially divided America, sometimes a difficult topic to broach.

C. Briefly describe the resources needed to complete the project (e.g., personnel, equipment, supplies, travel,
space, other).
o Graduate Student, Ryan Tanay, will design clothing for the "bots" and create the gestures or animations
needed for the project.
o Dr. Paul Fishwick from the Department of Computer Sciences and Engineering will provide guidance via
monthly meetings on the progress of the project.
o Graduate Student, Hyungwook Park, will write the programming scripts for the interactive "bots" that will
interface with the project's visitors in Second Life.
o Missy Shoop and Stacey Ewing will research for digital resources to be included in the project, faculty
instruction, and promotion of project.
o Laura Jordan (PI) will oversee the project, research for digital resources to be included in the project, faculty
instruction, and promotion of project.







D. Provide a plan of action for the project. Include a timeline to show that the project can be completed in 12
months, and specify activities and roles to be performed by the principal investigator (PI) and others involved in
the project.

TIME
D WHAT BY WHOM
PERIOD
Laura Jordan (U),
MARCH Collect digital resources for project. Missy Shoop(MS),
& Stacey Ewing (SE)
Call a meeting with all project staff to map out use of digital resources. U
MARCH Design clothing for "bots" & create the gestures or animations needed for the project. Ryan Tanay(RT)
MAY Design the "bots" that will interact with the project's visitors in SL. Hyungwook Park (HP)
APRIL Call a meeting with all project staff to evaluate progress of project and revise plan. U
MAY Call a meeting with all project staff to evaluate progress of project and revise plan. U
U, MS, SE, RT, HP, & Paul
E Project staff tests site. SE, H,
JUNE Fishwick (PF)
Make revisions based on staff testing RT & HP
Conduct volunteer library faculty, staff, and student usability tests of the project ,
U, MS, & SE
JULY (minimum of 10 participants)
Submit poster session on project for ALA Mid-Winter 2010 U, MS, & SE
Faculty in-class training U, MS, & SE
AUG. Obtain feedback from professors & students via surveys distributed at in-class training. U, MS, & SE
Call a meeting with all project staff to discuss results of surveys U
Make revisions based on surveys RT & HP
SEPT. Work with Barbara Hood to create a mini-advertising campaign at no cost for project, U
directed toward UF faculty
OCT. -
NOV. Prepare and present brown bag on project for library faculty and staff U, MS, & SE
NOV. -
Submit to CFPs; promotion through various conferences U, MS, & SE


E. If the project is collection specific: Who owns the collection and where is it located? What copyright issues, if any,
is the applicant anticipating?

Project staff is leveraging existing digital resources from the UFDC (not print) to be used in an experimental way
within the classroom.

F. Provide a means of measuring the success of the project. What are the expected results, final product, and
projected use?

Results
The project staff aims to complete design work and create a running/workable site that faculty, staff, and
students have been trained how to use and have learned something about the experience of racism and
desegregation at UF. Goal is to receive experienced positive results between 75-80%.
Means of measuring success:
Create a test group of library student assistants and librarians and make modifications based on this group.
Provide training for professors. Project librarians will come to their classrooms and provide a demo of the
project.
Obtain feedback from professors based on their experiences.
Obtain feedback from students based on their experiences.
Acquire quality and quantity of success by obtaining the number of people who have tested our project and
finding out the type of experience they had.

G. Create your budget and cost share and fill out the budget form See Attached Budget Form.

H. Up to three letters of support should be included as part of the appendices See Attached Letters of Support.






MINI GRANT PROGRAM DOCUMENTATION


Mini Grant Budget Form

Please add lines to table as needed. If you need help completing this form, please contact Bess de Farber, PH# 273-2626.


1. Salaries and Wages (no fringe benefits required)
Name of Person Salary times % of effort Grant Funds Cost Share Total
Melissa Shoop 43,000 x 1.2% $0.00 $516.00 $516.00
Ryan Tanay $10.41/hr,20hrs/wk,24 wks $4,997.00 $0.00 $4,997.00
$0.00 $0.00 $0.00
$0.00 $0.00 $0.00
$0.00 $0.00 $0.00
SUBTOTAL $4,997.00 $516.00 $5,513.00

2. Equipment
Item Quantity times Cost Grant Funds Cost Share Total
$0.00 $0.00 $0.00
$0.00 $0.00 $0.00
$0.00 $0.00 $0.00
$0.00 $0.00 $0.00
$0.00 $0.00 $0.00
SUBTOTAL $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

3. Supplies
Item Quantity times Cost Grant Funds Cost Share Total
$0.00 $0.00 $0.00
$0.00 $0.00 $0.00
$0.00 $0.00 $0.00
_$0.00 $0.00 $0.00
_$0.00 $0.00 $0.00
SUBTOTAL $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

4. Travel
From/To # of people/# of days Grant Funds Cost Share Total
$0.00 $0.00 $0.00
$0.00 $0.00 $0.00
$0.00 $0.00 $0.00
$0.00 $0.00 $0.00
$0.00 $0.00 $0.00
SUBTOTAL $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

5. Other (services vended, etc.
Item Quantity times cost Grant Funds Cost Share Total
Second Life space $100/annual $0.00 $100.00 $100.00
$0.00 $0.00 $0.00
$0.00 $0.00 $0.00
$0.00 $0.00 $0.00
$0.00 $0.00 $0.00
SUBTOTAL $0.00 $100.00 $100.00

Grant Funds Cost Share Total
Total Direct Costs (add subtotals of items 1-5) $4,997.00 $616.00 $5,613.00







UNIVERSITY of

UF FLORIDA


George A. Smathers Libraries
Library West Branch


509 Library West
PO Box 117022
Gainesville, FL 32611-7022
352-273-2629
352-392-8118 Fax
www.uflib.ufl.edu/west.html


1/12/09

To the Smathers Libraries Mini-Grants Committee:


I fully support the mini-grant proposed by Laura Jordan, Missy Shoop, and Stacey Ewing. Since going
public in 2003, Second Life has become one of the best-known virtual worlds available via the Internet.
Millions of residents have joined this world-wide community and interact with each other regularly.
Second Life has the potential to become not only the largest social networking tool but also a resource
for e-learning.

Smathers Libraries has been experimenting with offering reference services via Second Life, with some
success. However, implementing the project described in the mini-grant offers the potential for
generating much more interest among the UF community as well as being of international interest.
Desegregation has had an enormous impact on Florida, Southern, and U.S. history; a virtual world
presentation on the topic will generate worldwide interest in our history and bring significant attention
to the University of Florida.

Sincerely,


Shelley Arlen
Chair, Humanities & Social Sciences Library West


The Foundation for The Gator Nation
An Equal Opportunity Institution












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Laura:

I'll be glad to attend the occasional meeting to get the project off the ground.

Thus, I would expect to have perhaps one or two meetings at the beginning, and then Ryan can take it away from there.
-Fadi


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The DLC would love for you to repurpose the images! Using the Digital Resources is what they're available
for and it wouldn't require any work from our side (other than answering any questions which we want to
do to get UFDC used even more and then imabe scanning a couple of items, but that's paeit of the regular
one-off work we do for UF PR, ILL, and exhibits in the Libraries anyways so our workflows are accustomed
to that) so it wouldn't make any sense for us to be anything other than exuberant about this project!

I really hope you get this--it's a great project!

Laurie N. Taylor
Digital Librar, Center
University of Florida Libraries
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