Are you for REAL?! by Alyssa

If someone were to ask you what comes to mind when they say the word ‘library,’ I’m sure books would be at the top of the list. Even electronic books may come to mind for some who choose to use that format. But what about a bitmoji? Or a GIF? Believe it or not, libraries have begun to incorporate more virtual and augmented reality technology. While this may have been brought on out of necessity during the recent Pandemic, now that it is here, I bet it will stay. 

What is VR and AR? 

Virtual reality “implies a complete immersion experience that shuts out the physical world” (Gupton 2017). Examples of this are the Oculus game systems with headsets. 

Augmented reality “adds digital elements to a live view often by using the camera on a smartphone” (Gupton 2017). This is what filters in Snapchat and Instagram do. Many store apps, like Target, are also implementing AR features where you can view their products in your personal space to see if it meets your expectations before buying. 

How are libraries using this technology? 

The most popular AR feature that libraries and teachers have turned to during Covid teaching is the “bitmoji interactive classroom” where teachers created emoji versions of themselves and virtual classrooms for students to interact with (Jameson, 2021). This not only helped students still feel like they were showing up to a “classroom” everyday, but also helped them put a fun face to educators they were working with. And because it used a free app available on both android and apple devices, kids could also create their own avatars. Click here to see an example!!

In terms of virtual reality, this technology has been pushed for several years now both in libraries and schools. One reason for this was the idea that it would allow patrons to be able to virtually visit libraries anywhere in the world and experience browsing as if they were actually there (American Library Association, 2017). The same applies to how it already has begun to be used in classrooms. In 2015, Google’s Expedition program provided classrooms with Google Cardboard headsets to allow students the ability to immerse themselves in the curriculum that they were learning, like oceans and other countries (American Library Association, 2017). 

As you can see, VR and AR are only continuing to grow and enhance the library experience, but I hope that it only stays that way and never becomes more than an added feature.  

Works Cited:

American Library Association. 16 June 2017. “Virtual Reality.” Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/tools/future/trends/virtualreality. Document ID: fa6f3017-b2dd-fa34-fd8d-3f424c786c31 

Gupton, Nancy. 21 September 2017. What’s the Difference Between AR, VR, and MR? Retrieved from https://www.fi.edu/difference-between-ar-vr-and-mr#:~:text=Augmented%20reality%20(AR)%20adds%20digital,the%20camera%20on%20a%20smartphone.&text=Virtual%20reality%20(VR)%20implies%20a,shuts%20out%20the%20physical%20world. 

Jameson, A. (2021). Virtual Interactive Landscapes: Hold the Bitmoji. Teacher Librarian, 48(3), 40-43. 

Temecula Middle School. Library Media Center. 2021. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1HwqOgJDkHW6pG5I-FDFIyazLqmqwxdBKJ4pzzfSC76s/edit#slide=id.p