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Immersive Services in Libraries: Perspectives and Views of Library Professionals


Affiliations
1 Assistant Librarian, Central Library, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur - 721 302, WB, India
2 Professor, School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Library and Information Science, IGNOU, New Delhi - 110 068, India
 

The paper aims to determine whether AR and VR library services are useful and, if so, what are the associated opportunities and challenges. Based on the literature review, 40 libraries that have implemented augmented virtual reality services were identified. An online survey of library professionals belonging to the 40 identified libraries was conducted. Sixty-nine percent of libraries use HTC Vive as their preferred VR headset device. Further, 54 percent of the respondents stated the circulation of VR devices as a new service. Findings show that libraries are offering new services such as 3D Model Gallery, 3D Scanning, 3D Printing, and Data Visualization. SWOT analysis of immersive services in libraries identified VR content archiving, copyrighting of 3D content, and constructing metadata schemas for virtual content as the challenging areas that need further research. The study will be useful to library professionals who plan to introduce or experiment with augmented virtual reality services.

Keywords

Augmented Virtual Reality (AVR), Immersive Services, Data Visualization, Virtual World, Library Tour, Collaborative Learning
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  • Immersive Services in Libraries: Perspectives and Views of Library Professionals

Abstract Views: 118  |  PDF Views: 78

Authors

Samrat Guha Roy
Assistant Librarian, Central Library, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur - 721 302, WB, India
Uma Kanjilal
Professor, School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Library and Information Science, IGNOU, New Delhi - 110 068, India

Abstract


The paper aims to determine whether AR and VR library services are useful and, if so, what are the associated opportunities and challenges. Based on the literature review, 40 libraries that have implemented augmented virtual reality services were identified. An online survey of library professionals belonging to the 40 identified libraries was conducted. Sixty-nine percent of libraries use HTC Vive as their preferred VR headset device. Further, 54 percent of the respondents stated the circulation of VR devices as a new service. Findings show that libraries are offering new services such as 3D Model Gallery, 3D Scanning, 3D Printing, and Data Visualization. SWOT analysis of immersive services in libraries identified VR content archiving, copyrighting of 3D content, and constructing metadata schemas for virtual content as the challenging areas that need further research. The study will be useful to library professionals who plan to introduce or experiment with augmented virtual reality services.

Keywords


Augmented Virtual Reality (AVR), Immersive Services, Data Visualization, Virtual World, Library Tour, Collaborative Learning

References