FROM THE LEADS' DESKS ~ Who Are We?

Greetings all! 

Caledonia's Desk at Seanchai Library in Second Life

Shandon and I discuss Seanchai Library quite often: almost constantly, in fact.  We bash ideas around, share perspectives on what is currently in progress, in addition to discussing potential featured charities, and other more mundane details.  Because we are a lead staff of two, and because we are the longest-tenured active storytellers on staff, we thought it might be a good idea to share some of our thoughts on what we do at Seanchai, and where we are going.

The two questions that seem to come up most are:

• So, what makes you different from all the other language arts groups on the grid?
• Why Kitely?  What about Second Life?

Let’s address the first question in this post, and the other in a future post.  In many ways, this first response informs and drives the other.

What is Seanchai Library?  We are a virtual library that celebrates literature as a living thing, stories as an active adventure for listeners and readers alike. We have been successfully presenting literature, traditional stories, and other spoken word online for over six years.

We were founded on several basic ideas:

• Avatars do not read books, people do.  Good literature and great stories are essential parts of the human experience.
• Live, oral presentation in a virtual environment provide an experience that is intimate, immediate, and very personal.
• People who connect with a particular story will, and should, seek it out in all of its forms – reading, out loud, on stage, in films, etc.

We often get queries and suggestions that we “get together with” other groups on both the Second Life and Kitely Grid that seem to be doing the same thing that we are.  We almost always look into these recommendations, as one of our strategies over the last six years has been that the best way to build and serve a community is to develop a network of sympathetic, mutually beneficial relationships.  We have even considered more permanent partnerships with some.  The process is always enlightening, and leads to a clearer self-definition.

The metaverse is filled with stories: role play, author tools, in some cases the very nature of virtual creativity is based in the sharing of a narrative.  There are many groups doing many good things across many grids. We honor and respect that work. But we do not all do exactly the same things.  At Seanchai Library, we present a broad base of literary styles and genres, we do not analyze and discuss, some of us are writers but we are not about the writing process, we encourage and enable (when possible) people to connect with the titles and authors we share.

Encourage.  Inspire.  Those are our goals.  From there, our guests, friends, and family can make choices: read, write, discuss, explore, and create.  Certainly the opportunities to do so abound in Second Life and the OS Hypergrid.  Meanwhile, we remain steadfastly doing what we do best: bringing stories of all kinds to life in virtual worlds.  

Literally Yours,

~ Caledonia

Caledonia's new office on the top floor of Fallingwater in the Seanchai Homeworld in Kitely

Next, from The Leads' Desk . . . Why Kitely?  What About Second Life?

Until that post, you might enjoy this video which was part of our recent presentation to Seattle's Book-It Repertory Theater.  This vision is part of the story of  "Why?"