Robin Ashford's Posterous http://robinashford.posterous.com The primary focus of this blog is my work & explorations in Second Life posterous.com Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:28:00 -0700 Rooftop of Karuna Resource Center in Second Life-HIV/AIDS Videos/Presentations Coming Soon http://robinashford.posterous.com/rooftop-of-karuna-resource-center-in-second-l http://robinashford.posterous.com/rooftop-of-karuna-resource-center-in-second-l
Rooftop of Karuna Resource Center in Second Life-HIV/AIDS Videos/Presentations Coming Soon
Spent some productive time here this morning. I'm not finished, still need to add a few more trees and comfortable seating, but I'm excited about the potential to offer short but regular video presentations and global discussions on HIV/AIDS. I love my National Library of Medicine grant funded position as Karuna Consumer Health Librarian. What an amazing learning experience. All for today, off soon to my first life job as Reference & Distance Services Librarian at George Fox University in Portland, Oregon USA If you're interested in learning more about Karuna, feel free to contact me - IM Robin Mochi in Second Life or email Robin@karunahiv.com

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1212944/Robin_Ashford_b_w.jpg http://posterous.com/users/KINb4uCprP Robin Ashford robinashford Robin Ashford
Mon, 07 Sep 2009 07:05:00 -0700 Graduate LIS class from University of Hawaii visiting the Karuna Resource Center in Second Life http://robinashford.posterous.com/professor-diane-nahls-graduate-lis-class-from http://robinashford.posterous.com/professor-diane-nahls-graduate-lis-class-from

Professor Diane Nahl (aka Adra Letov in SL) and seven of her graduate Library and Information Science (LIS) students visited the Karuna Resource Center (RC) this past week to see the types of resources and displays being featured and to speak with me about my role as the Karuna Consumer Health Librarian. We also discussed the evolving work of librarians in virtual worlds.

I welcomed the group at the front entrance and enjoyed chatting with Diane while watching her students clicking on the displays and touring the building. After exploring, the students began asking questions. I had them get comfortable on the couches and chairs and did my best to answer. They were a sharp group and it was good to see and hear from future librarians who seek to understand the changing roles of information professionals. We discussed the resources and presentations I included in the resource center and how they meet the outcomes of the National Library of Medicine grant that funds the island. We also discussed the benefits and challenges for librarians working in virtual worlds, how statistics are gathered, and  more.

After Diane and her graduate students left, I reflected on my own experience in graduate school. I attended the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) at the Unviersity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC GSLIS) not all that long ago, graduating in December 2003. It was a very positive experience and I am thankful to have attended an institution where I was pushed towards newer technologies. From learning basic html during my orientation to courses on web usability, online information literacy and more, I felt fortunate to be learning in a place that valued what was relevant and important for future librarians.

Professor Nahl's students, and many other GSLIS students from several universities who are offering courses in SL, are fortunate to have the opportunity to learn about librarianship in Second Life. Virtual Worlds (VW) are here to stay, and as VWs develop and more of our constituents use VWs, the information needs in these places will grow. These LIS students will be better prepared than those without this exposure. It really is an exciting time to be a librarian.


The Karuna Island in Second Life is funded via a National Library of Medicine grant to provide support and information resources for HIV/AIDS afflicted individuals, family, friends and the public. Jena Ball, (aka SL Jenaia Morane) is the Project Coordinator for Karuna and I was hired as the Consumer Health Librarian. In first life I am an academic librarian at a small private university.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1212944/Robin_Ashford_b_w.jpg http://posterous.com/users/KINb4uCprP Robin Ashford robinashford Robin Ashford
Sat, 05 Sep 2009 22:47:00 -0700 H1N1 Flu and HIV-Infected Adults and Adolescents-New Second Life Karuna Resource Center Display http://robinashford.posterous.com/h1ni-flue-and-hiv-infected-adults-and-adolesc http://robinashford.posterous.com/h1ni-flue-and-hiv-infected-adults-and-adolesc

 

H1NI Flue and HIV-Infected Adults and Adolescents-New Second Life Karuna Resource Center Display
The new CDC display in the Karuna Resource Center in Second Life. In this podcast, Dr. John Brooks, of CDC's HIV/AIDS Prevention Program, discusses CDC's Interim Guidance for HIV-infected adults and adolescents regarding the novel H1N1 flu virus: http://www2a.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=14199

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1212944/Robin_Ashford_b_w.jpg http://posterous.com/users/KINb4uCprP Robin Ashford robinashford Robin Ashford
Sat, 22 Aug 2009 21:18:33 -0700 Karuna Resource Center in Second Life http://robinashford.posterous.com/karuna-resource-center-in-second-life-1 http://robinashford.posterous.com/karuna-resource-center-in-second-life-1

This video was a test to see if Jing (http://www.jingproject.com/) would work well enough to upload short videos of my work in the Karuna Resource Center in Second Life to YouTube.

The video was kept very short to also test the posterous autopost feature while using the posterous bookmarklet on (posterous.com), which I have set to send to twitter and flickr as well (flickr videos must be under 30 sec).

My intent is to use this tool as a means of promoting newly created displays of information resources on HIV/AIDS. (I may end up creating 60 sec. videos and bypassing flickr.)

About Karuna: The National Library of Medicine awarded Alliance Library System a grant for a project entitled "AIDS Information and Outreach in the Virtual World of Second Life." The project includes the creation of a new island, called Karuna, has a community HIV/AIDS center and a library/resource center which will provide information support and outreach to the Second Life community and beyond about HIV/AIDS and its prevention.

(In Second Life I am the Karuna Consumer Health Librarian, Robin Mochi. In first life I am an academic librarian in a small private liberal arts university.)

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1212944/Robin_Ashford_b_w.jpg http://posterous.com/users/KINb4uCprP Robin Ashford robinashford Robin Ashford
Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:19:00 -0700 Today's Karuna Resource Center Work in Second Life-July 20, 2009 http://robinashford.posterous.com/2nd-try-todays-karuna-resource-center-work-in http://robinashford.posterous.com/2nd-try-todays-karuna-resource-center-work-in

These snapshots were taken today while I was working in the Karuna Resource Center in Second Life (SL). Both the RSS feed reader and the sign I created on how to connect to live chat from the NIH AIDSinfo Live Help website http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/LiveHelp/Default.aspx function in the same way.
I'm hoping these snapshots demonstrate to those unfamiliar with Second Life how this type of information linking works from within SL.

Questions/comments/suggestions are welcome. Feel free to comment here or inside SL via our suggestion/comment box (posterous is also pushing this to flickr and twitter where one could also comment :) ).

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1212944/Robin_Ashford_b_w.jpg http://posterous.com/users/KINb4uCprP Robin Ashford robinashford Robin Ashford
Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:03:47 -0700 More new work in the Karuna Resource Center in Second Life #Karuna http://robinashford.posterous.com/more-new-work-in-the-karuna-resource-center-i http://robinashford.posterous.com/more-new-work-in-the-karuna-resource-center-i
More new work in the Karuna Resource Center in Second Life #Karuna
This time I am testing whether or not I can send my snapshots to posterous directly from Second Life using the built in Second Life "Email Snapshot" feature. If this works it will be amazing.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1212944/Robin_Ashford_b_w.jpg http://posterous.com/users/KINb4uCprP Robin Ashford robinashford Robin Ashford
Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:23:50 -0700 Snapshots from the Karuna Resource Center in Second Life-July 2009 http://robinashford.posterous.com/snapshots-from-the-karuna-resource-center-in http://robinashford.posterous.com/snapshots-from-the-karuna-resource-center-in

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1212944/Robin_Ashford_b_w.jpg http://posterous.com/users/KINb4uCprP Robin Ashford robinashford Robin Ashford
Mon, 06 Jul 2009 10:50:10 -0700 World Community Grid Karuna Resource Center FightAIDS@Home Display Sign http://robinashford.posterous.com/world-community-grid-karuna-resource-center-f-0 http://robinashford.posterous.com/world-community-grid-karuna-resource-center-f-0
Robin_mochi_with_world_communi

This sign points visitors to the upstairs display room (snapshots posted in prior post-click "back to blog" link above). When touched in Second Life, the sign provides visitors an option to visit a World Community Grid (WCG) page where anyone can choose to join the new Friends of Karuna Team. The upstairs displays also give out additional information links on the FightAIDS@Home research project.

What is FightAIDS@Home?"

FightAIDS@Home is the first biomedical distributed computing project ever launched. It is run by the Olson Laboratory at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California. We provide free software that you download and install. The software uses your computer's idle cycles to assist fundamental research in discovering new drugs, building on our growing knowledge of the structural biology of AIDS. In addition, this research helps us study the mechanisms of multi-drug-resistance that the "super bugs" of HIV use to escape the current anti-AIDS drugs. And this research helps us create, test, refine, and share the tools and protocols that thousands of other labs use in their research against other diseases.

source: http://fightaidsathome.scripps.edu/


Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1212944/Robin_Ashford_b_w.jpg http://posterous.com/users/KINb4uCprP Robin Ashford robinashford Robin Ashford
Sat, 04 Jul 2009 09:56:56 -0700 World Community Grid Karuna Resource Center FightAIDS@Home Display http://robinashford.posterous.com/world-community-grid-karuna-resource-center-f http://robinashford.posterous.com/world-community-grid-karuna-resource-center-f

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1212944/Robin_Ashford_b_w.jpg http://posterous.com/users/KINb4uCprP Robin Ashford robinashford Robin Ashford
Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:15:22 -0700 Robin Ashford (SL Robin Mochi) Consumer Health Librarian at The Karuna Resource Center in Second Life - July 1st 2009 http://robinashford.posterous.com/robin-ashford-sl-robin-mochi-consumer-health http://robinashford.posterous.com/robin-ashford-sl-robin-mochi-consumer-health

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1212944/Robin_Ashford_b_w.jpg http://posterous.com/users/KINb4uCprP Robin Ashford robinashford Robin Ashford
Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:47:15 -0700 Karuna Resource Center Reference Desk http://robinashford.posterous.com/karuna-resource-center-reference-desk-1 http://robinashford.posterous.com/karuna-resource-center-reference-desk-1
Karuna_resource_center_new_001

After someone saw my posterous pic on twitter, I received a DM suggesting I try moving the sign down. I tried it and I think it looks better.
Thanks, Karen!

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1212944/Robin_Ashford_b_w.jpg http://posterous.com/users/KINb4uCprP Robin Ashford robinashford Robin Ashford
Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:42:04 -0700 Karuna Resource Center Reference Desk (another angle) http://robinashford.posterous.com/karuna-resource-center-reference-desk-another http://robinashford.posterous.com/karuna-resource-center-reference-desk-another
Robin_karuna_rc_ref_desk_003

This one is from the other side. June 27th is National HIV Testing Day in the USA, so I have that up as our featured resource sign.
http://www.hivtest.org/

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1212944/Robin_Ashford_b_w.jpg http://posterous.com/users/KINb4uCprP Robin Ashford robinashford Robin Ashford
Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:28:37 -0700 Karuna Resource Center Reference Desk http://robinashford.posterous.com/karuna-resource-center-reference-desk http://robinashford.posterous.com/karuna-resource-center-reference-desk
Robin_karuna_rc_ref_desk_002

I've been setting this up all day, I'm completely exhausted, need food, but at least it's getting there...
What do you think?

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/1212944/Robin_Ashford_b_w.jpg http://posterous.com/users/KINb4uCprP Robin Ashford robinashford Robin Ashford