Second Life in academic libraries?

By now, most of us have heard about SL (Second Life). It's difficult not to. When Det. Mac Taylor is chasing a killer in Second Life in a recent CSI NY episode, using the word "avatar" over 30 times, it looks like the virtual world of SL becomes real .

Some have already ventured into this world and liked it, some are yet to discover it. SL has lots of potential. MSVU's own SL expert Denyse Rodrigues (Extended Services Librarian) and I delivered a workshop on Second Life in a Halifax Public Library branch and observed the reaction of the patrons. You just let them fly for the first time and they are hooked. We had a mom with her son and it's hard to say who was more excited.

Of course, it's not all play in Second Life. Professors and librarians are already there, distracting visitors from virtual dance clubs. Harvard, Stanford, Princeton and many others are experimenting in SL. MSVU professor DeNel Rehberg Sedo and the aforesaid Denyse Rodrigues created and delivered a PR course in Second Life and found that "the epistemological nature of both f2f and virtual classroom settings are collaborative, interactive and performative".

From the main Second Life virtual reference desk to the Info Island libraries, there are quite a few librarians providing help in this new world. I am interested in finding out how many academic libraries are or plan to be in SL? In the world of face-to-face, phone, email, chat and IM reference, is there appetite for yet another way to reach the patrons? What do you think?