SimLibrary - When Danish Libraries Go Digital

Over the past few years I have been engaging a lot more with various entities in Denmark. One such group that has recently caught my attention is the Danish library system. Now I do remember coming across this report years back about the city of Aarhus Main Library's Transformation Lab and being impressed.



Recently Dave Arendash, CTO at SpiralConcepts, and I were invited to present at SimLibrary, an event highlighting mixed reality technologies for libraries, held in Odense, Denmark.

From the SimLibrary Website (translated from Danish): SimLibrary is a cooperation between Odense Central Library, Aalborg, and Herning libraries with Euman A / S, and Educational Media Centers in the project cities. The SimLibrary project aims to develop libraries to a prominent place in the digital experience community with young people as drivers in a user-driven innovation process. To create virtual and physical environments that encourage young people to form relationships. The goal is to develop new delivery of physical and virtual library spaces by incorporating the Playingmondo 3D platform and create user-driven innovation processes in SimLibrary, with young people ideas as the basis for new library services. The project is based on user-driven innovation by young people actively involved in building the 3D world, SimLibrary and helps to create the library space, in a combination of physical presence and online communications.



3D Mixed Reality Gaming Work on the Playingmondo platform can be used for virtual playgrounds and play spaces where mobile technology, GPS and broadband used to support physical play and games as well as use and highlight local area spaces. 3D technology makes it possible to mix reality and the virtual world. The technology opens up entirely new possibilities for e-learning and provides unique opportunities to motivate movement in nature, urban or indoor. 3D gaming technology makes it possible to test concepts before they are created, making it a great interactive tool for user involvement in construction or upgrading of existing structures and facilities. 3D technology for mobile can make the virtual experience in a natural setting more realistic and lifelike. Mixed reality gaming is tool and teaching materials that support the need for delivery of "text" to the context and coherence in the movement around the many ude-/inderum (spaces / contexts). 

 Mixed reality gaming is also learning for children who use the children's reality - computer games and social media - as a tool and medium for learning. When mixed reality gaming based on game or competition in a good way and in the children's universe, the students are constantly measured and weighed as a natural part of learning. 

Development of a 3D model of a library can provide a basis for such the following applications: Ability to learn library better to know in advance Users of the library can use the 3D model on a web page to orient themselves and navigate the library before a visit. Users can play the library's existing Playingmondo games and themed walks by in 3D on the Web to move around with the keyboard and mouse and activate the items and effects. Play multiplayer games on mobile and web users will be able to play multiplayer Playingmondo game. 

In 3D on the Web, some players move around with the keyboard and mouse and activate the items and effects, while opponents or team-mate moving physically around the library with mobile phone and activate game elements. Interact with the library in new ways can imagine that library users can interact with library staff, visitors, and facilities at the library in new ways. Examples may be that virtual home can visit the library via web-based 3D version, go to a shelf, take a book out and look at it and possibly, the book. It can also contribute to social interactions between library users who are physically present (with cell phone) and those who sit at home or at school in front of the computer.

In our presentation, we outlined a variety of new technologies that are making their way to the mainstream, and our ideas of how they can be used to create a new type of library experience. Dave also showed an augmented reality example he created where a video about Deepak Chopra's new book played on the cover of the book once the camera saw it. Our presentation was a big hit, and I am very thankful I got the opportunity to participate.



The video I made on slide 11:

More information on the SimLibrary workshop can be found here. I recommend visiting the site with Google's Chrome web browser as it will translate the site from Danish to your preferred language.