Thursday, April 25, 2019


Virtual Reality and Libraries – Erika Westrich

When you think of virtual reality, you think gaming - shooting zombies, crashing cars and fighting bad guys; but what if you could do more? What if you could walk through a book; see images played out all around you as an audio version of the book creates words and surround-sound in your ears? How about taking a trip, to a faraway land without ever leaving the comfort of an armchair in an air-conditioned library?
These things and many more could be in our futures as virtual technology advances. Companies such as Google and Facebook are creating or acquiring apps, programs and virtual technology devises to expand their portfolios’ and our lives. Websites/Apps like With.in (and their new, kid-friendly “Wonderscope”) are paving the way for content that will support and evolve the way we use a library. Every month With.in is adding new content to their site. Currently, the content is all new and original but it is just a matter of time before books, new and old, evolve into the virtual reality world; which book would you like to step into?



Works Cited:

Lambert, Troy. “Virtual Reality in the Library: Creating a New Experience.” Public Libraries Online. Public Library Association. 2019. www.publiclibrariesonline.org. Accessed 19 April 2019.

Roettgers, Janko. “A sense of Wonder: How Within Is Evolving Storytelling in Augmented Reality.” Variety. Variety Media, LLC. https://variety.com/2018/digital/features/within-wonderland-ar-storytelling-1203020435/. Accessed 19 April 2019.

Within. 2019. www.with.in. Accessed 19 April 2019.

1 comment:

  1. As a kid who loved reading books, I used to want to walk into them, just like Gumby and Pokey used to do! :) Wouldn't that be crazy if that becomes the norm?! Remember Viewfinders? The viewfinder users of yesterday are making the virtual reality mechanisms of today. Crazy stuff! What a wild ride!

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