What Is the Metaverse and Why Should Librarians Care?

Web 1.0 gave us the Internet. Web 2.0 gave us mobile and social connectivity. The next phase (Web 3.0?) is giving us the Metaverse, a 3D digital copy of our physical world where we can connect and interact with others inside virtual spaces while removing time and place constraints.

The Metaverse was coined by the writer Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel Snow Crash and the concept is becoming more real and not considered science fiction anymore. In this webinar:

  • Understand what the Metaverse is and find out why we should care about it,
  • Learn how extended reality (XR) technologies work and are helping create the Metaverse,
  • Discover how the Metaverse can change things ranging from online gaming and fashion to education and finance,
  • Highlight X3D and other standards that will play a role in building and traversing the Metaverse, and
  • Experience the potential of virtual/augmented reality meeting platforms that enables people to collaborate in a 3D virtual environment from anywhere on earth.

Bio

Chad Mairn is a librarian, teacher, author, and self-described geek who frequently shares his enthusiasm for ‘all-things technology’ as a speaker at library and technology conferences. He is an Information Services Librarian, Assistant Professor, and manages the Innovation Lab at St. Petersburg College. Much of Chad’s recent interests have focused around mobile and emerging technologies. Chad has written a couple of book chapters and numerous articles on library technologies.

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