Wednesday, Aug 2, 2023
New equipment allows for increased VR experiences
by Diane Cornell
Rider’s University Libraries received a $4,700 grant to significantly expand its virtual reality programming. The funding from the Level Up Your Library Mini-Grants program of LibraryLinkNJ, a library cooperative, will provide additional equipment, including the purchase of a gaming laptop to increase virtual reality (VR) applications and a 360 VR camera to create original VR content.
The new laptop will supply the processing power needed to allow the library to expand its VR offerings from its current 343 apps to more than 5,000, says Dr. Sharon Whitfield, assistant professor-librarian and Rider’s electronic resources and user access librarian.
“In addition, this funding will allow faculty and students to create their own content,” says Whitfield. One of the first projects will be to capture a 360-degree view of the campus’ woods to allow future Rider community members to examine how climate change has affected the state’s woodlands. Another project would create an immersive view of the library’s historic typewriter collection.
Immersive experiences pull viewers into another real or imagined world by using a blend of visuals, sounds and technology. During the experience, users are able to manipulate and interact with their environment. The library has 360-degree VR videos available to stream.
Currently, VR app support is supplied to 10 classes, in subjects ranging from English to biology to dance. “Rider faculty who have supplemented their instruction with VR have overwhelmingly stated that their students were 'captivated' with the VR technology,” says Professor-Librarian Melissa Hofmann.
The Level Up funding is designed to support New Jersey library initiatives that could be expanded or improved through grants up to $5,000. More than 100 of the state’s public, K-12 and academic libraries applied for the grants and 24 applications were selected to be funded.