Lori Bell: Project Administrator, PI

Director of Innovations at the Alliance Library System in East Peoria Illinois, Lori Bell is the driving force behind the strong multi-type library presence in Second Life, now consisting of more than 1,000 librarians. Alliance has demonstrated its commitment to supporting pioneer endeavors to support people in a virtual environment, exploring the future of the library profession by fostering a highly networked, collaborative environment. Her efforts have also attracted a large number of universities to the virtual world.

Lori has written and coordinated a number of grant projects from different sources; this is one of her main duties in her current position. Two of these projects are former Greater Midwest Region/National Library of Medicine projects including "Project Healthy" and "HealthInfo Central Illinois."  Project Healthy was the recipient of the NCLIS 2006 Health Award for Illinois.

Lori has worked in a variety of library settings including a large hospital library. She has written numerous articles on library technology, is a columnist for "Computers in Libraries," and was named a 2004 Library Journal "Mover and Shaker."  Bell has also served as an adjunct instructor in Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois and Dominican University and she will be spending approximately ten hours per month on the project.

Lori's role in Second Life has involved creating and conducting training sessions on searching, identifying quality health information, and helping to foster a large network of health support groups as a way to extend awareness and involvement.
 

Jena Ball: Project Coordinator

Jena Ball is a writer, educator, and storyteller with an avid interest in how virtual reality is shaping how we see and interact with one another.

The founder of The Nature of Writing, a firm specializing in creating custom content for educational purposes (textbooks, online classes, Web sites), she has penned everything from marketing collateral and syndicated columns to features for national publications. With more than 25 years teaching experience, she has worked with ESL students in Japan, junior and senior high school, junior college, and adult ed students. Jena's most recent projects include:

- creating customized writing courses for academically challenged teens in Colorado;

- co-founding the Virtual Worlds Story Project (www.tvwsp.com) and with it Storybook Island;

- overseeing the Garden of Experience at Karuna, the HIV/AIDS sim in Second Life;

- hosting and running Story and Poetry Quests in Second Life;

- blogging about the ongoing adventures of her intrepid little avatar in Days of Our Second Lives: www.daysofoursecondlives.com.

Robin Ashford, MSLIS, Reference and Distance Services Librarian, George Fox University (GFU), Portland, Oregon. Robin works primarily with graduate and doctoral students at the Portland Center Library of GFU. Her undergraduate degree is in organizational management. She earned her library and information science degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her library experience includes reference service, library instruction, collection management, and administration. Robin connects, shares and collaborates with librarians/educators in SL from around the globe.
 
She recently taught her first credit-bearing course in SL as an adjunct instructor for her university's School of Education. A strong interest in emerging technologies has led Robin to experiment and participate in multi-user virtual worlds, video production and screencasts, social media, augmented reality, spimes and more. Robin Mochi is her avatar's name in Second Life and other virtual worlds. Robin blogs on emerging technologies and regularly shares on twitter.

Tom Peters: Project Evaluator

Tom Peters is the CEO of TAP Information Services (www.tapinformation.com), which provides a wide variety of services supporting libraries, library-related organizations, government agencies, technology companies, publishers, and other information-intensive organizations. Tom has worked previously at the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC, the academic consortium of the Big Ten universities and the University of Chicago), Western Illinois University in Macomb, Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Minnesota State University at Mankato, and the University of Missouri at Kansas City. Tom did his undergraduate work at Grinnell College, where he majored in English and philosophy. He earned his library science degree at the University of Iowa. His second master's degree (in English) was completed at the University of Missouri at Kansas City. His library experience includes reference service, library instruction, collection management, and administration. His current interests include library services in virtual worlds, online programming using web conferencing software, and digital audio books. Maxito Ricardo is his avatar in Second Life.

Karuna Advisory Committee

Glimmer Gears: Designer, Builder

Glimmer is a visionary designer, builder, and scripter in Second Life, an d is responsible for the mountain on Karuna, with its gorgeous and inviting vistas, nooks, and crannies, as well as many other quality details throughout the build.  Not surprisingly at all, Glimmer is known for his innovative designs that blend reality with a touch of the spectacular. He is co-founder (with Jenaia Morane) of Imprint Designs, which specializes in helping companies create a dynamic presence in Second Life. He also peddles an eclectic selection of high quality merchandise under his own personal logo, Glimmer Gears Designs (GGD).

Ricken Flow: AIDS/HIV Support group leader, DJ

I was diagnosed with full blown AIDS in 2000. My doctor was shocked that I was alive and did not have any serious illnesses. Even though I did not have symptoms, my stats were so bad she gave me six months to live. I have a t cell count of one and viral load in the millions. After three months on meds, I was undetectable. My doctor started using me as an example on how well the meds can work. She started have me talk to patients who didn't want to take meds, and that started my volunteer career in helping people. Karuna (the name of our new HIV/AIDS information island) means compassion and mercy, which reduces the suffering of others.

It is with the Karuna passion that I came into Second Life to see what I can do virtually to help those suffering with HIV/AIDS who otherwise would not seek support. I started a support group, the Nyumba Rafiki Community Center. I wanted to share my story of how I am still here. I owe most of it to not letting the stress of life get to me.I met Carolina Keats at the 2007 World Aids Day event where I shared my story. We become great friends and I have been a volunteer for the Health Info Island ever since.

I am honored to be this year's Chair for the World Aids Day for Health Info. It is my goal to expand the concept of Karuna to bridge the gaps between RL and SL.

I am a student at Kaplan University online studying Communications with an emphasis on Technical Writing. I am in my third academic year and searching for a internship.

Miguel Gomez: Director, AIDS.gov

Miguel Gomez has worked combating HIV/AIDS for twenty-three years. Since 2006, Mr. Gomez has served as the Director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service (HHS), Office of HIV/AIDS Policy's, AIDS.gov, an information gateway to Federal domestic HIV/AIDS and new media information and resources. In this role, Mr. Gomez works across HHS to increase the use of new media tools to promote HHS agencies programs, policies and resources.

Michelle Samplin-Salgado: MPH

Michelle has over eleven years professional experience in health communications, public health, project design, and management, with a specific emphasis on emerging technologies. Ms. Samplin-Salgado has managed the design and development for both federal and partner organization's online activities. As a consultant at John Snow, Inc. in Boston, Massachusetts she currently serves as the New Media Strategist for AIDS.gov.

Rolig Loon: Retired, Coordinator - SLL Outreach to Higher Education

I've been in Second Life since March 21, 2007. I am currently manager of the Only Yesterday and Info Island International sims for the Alliance Virtual Library and a library staff volunteer for the in-world reference services. I also design clothing and operate women's clothing stores (Sa Roligt!) at two sites in SL.

I have modest building and texturing skills and considerable experience in applying them in SL, having done extensive design and construction on both of the sims I currently manage.  I have not had a connection with health-related projects in SL prior to joining the Karuna effort.

Guus van den Brekel:  Medical Information Specialist

Guss van den Brekel's Second Life name is Namro Ormon.  Namro is Coordinator Electronic Services of the Central Medical Library of a large academic teaching hospital in the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG). He is a Medical Information Specialist as well as IT coordinator and responsible for Library Services Development and Innovation.

Developing and delivering library services in the users workflow is his main focus. In workshops and presentations (http://www.slideshare.net/digicmb) he delivers a strong plea for a focus-shift for librarians, a focus on the environments "where the users are", instead of expecting them to come to us. Exploration of relevant user environments, the use of new web-based technologies with Web 2.0 elements and a more structural, technical re-design of library information systems, is needed to deliver library services and resources at the place of need. In the next few years, the further development of social, educational and research networks, semantic search techniques and online personal start-page tools, will be dictating how users will look and search for information. The introduction of the Library Toolbar (http://tinyurl.com/33po8s) and his paper "Into the User Environment" (www.eahil.net/newsletter/journal_2007_vol3_n1.pdf) was well received in the European Medical Librarians community and beyond. The development, and systematic offering of "Library widgets" to users plus a Netvibes Universe (www.netvibes.com/cmb) for educational and instructional purpose is latest project. Multi-user Virtual Environments (MUVEs), such as Second Life, are interesting because of the great implications these environments will have on education, training and social life, but also on the exchange of information. In 2006 an NLM-funded project "Providing Consumer Health Outreach and Library Programs to Virtual World Residents in Second Life" (http://tinyurl.com/3d696n) was started in which he and his organization partnered. In 2007 a new project followed with the purpose to create exhibits, programs, and awareness about accessibility and assistive technology (http://tinyurl.com/2arbma) and about virtual world accessibility in general for Second Life residents, but specifically for people with disabilities. More information about Guus can be found at his personal blog called DIGICMB , http://digicmb.blogspot.com

Michelle Adams-Walton: Reference Librarian, Salinas Public Library, MLS Student, San Jose State School of Library & Information Science