Virtual Libraries in the New Metaverse: An Exploratory Study on Community Libraries in Meta Horizon Worlds

1. Introduction

Libraries have existed in virtual worlds for around two decades. Within virtual worlds such as Second Life¹⁾, librarians have created virtual libraries and offered a wide variety of digital collections of e-books and media as well as virtual reference services (Chow et al., 2012; Dey, 2012; Grassian & Trueman, 2007; Hill et al., 2017; Mon, 2012; Parry, 2008; Webber & Nahl, 2011). Virtual worlds and virtual reality have also been used in Library and Information Science education to train pre-service librarians in skills they need for the real world as well as the virtual world (Condic, 2009) as well as educate library users (Chen & Tasi, 2012; Lim, 2021; Tudin, 2016). Virtual reality technology is an increasingly common part of library collections and services, especially in academic and medical libraries (Bardyn et al., 2018; Baryshev et al., 2020; Green & Groenendyk, 2019; Hannah et al., 2019; Lischer-Katz et al., 2019). Smith (2019) argues that virtual reality in libraries is a no-brainer, that can be used for services and educational programs, such as information literacy instruction. In addition to providing access to extended reality (XR) technologies, libraries are likely to expand their collections, services, and programs to virtual worlds within the emerging metaverse.

Recent technological advancements and interest from major technology companies have created renewed interest in the metaverse. Facebook recently re-branded to Meta as it focuses on the metaverse and developing its social VR platform, Meta Horizon Worlds (Griffin, 2021, October 29). The city of Seoul, South Korea plans to launch various services via the metaverse starting in 2022 (Lee, 2021). While much time, resources, and research have been invested by librarians and LIS researchers into Second Life, librarians should look to new virtual worlds likely to supplant Second Life, which is nearly two decades old. Kim (2020) identifies virtual reality, digital three-dimensional environments accessible through computers or head-mounted displays (HMDs), as one key technology for libraries to be ready for in the 21st century. However, there seems to be little prior work exploring libraries in the new metaverse.

This research project aims to explore and describe virtual libraries in the nascent social VR platform Meta Horizon Worlds²⁾, which launched in the USA in 2021 and became available in South Korea in mid-2024 (Meta Quest Blog, 2024, June 24). As such, the guiding research questions of this study are as follows:

• • RQ1: To what extent, if any, are libraries present in Meta Horizon Worlds?
• • RQ2: What characterizes the libraries in Meta Horizon Worlds?

2. Selected Literature Review

This brief literature review will discuss previous work on libraries in virtual worlds, and extended reality (XR) technologies in libraries and provide background information on the metaverse, XR technologies, and Meta Horizon Worlds to provide context for the reader.

3. Methods

Data for this pilot case study was collected via unobtrusive observation through multiple site visits to user worlds within the case VR platform of Meta Horizon Worlds from June to October 2024. All in-platform site visitations were conducted in VR using a Meta Quest 2 headset. Screenshots were captured from the author’s first-person perspective during site visits, with field notes taken after each visit. Descriptive information about the worlds was collected from each world’s listing on Meta Horizon Worlds, as listed within the in-world app or on the website. Data was collected from publicly listed worlds containing “library” in their title or description; no worlds featuring “도서관,” the Korean word for library, were available or accessible during the data collection period. The author only joined publicly listed worlds and did not interact with other users by only joining worlds when empty or using closed or private sessions as needed.

This study employs conventional qualitative content analysis of the observational and descriptive data collected from site visits, field notes, and world listings, using theory, concepts, and themes from the research literature to interpret findings in later discussion rather than guide data collection and analysis (Hsieh & Oh, 2005). Emergent themes and coding categories were identified and consolidated during qualitative content analysis via open coding, axial coding, and selective coding processes as commonly used in qualitative content analysis and grounded theory work (Corbin & Strauss, 1990; Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Charmaz, 2006). However, the goals of this study are to identify themes and descriptive categories as guided by the research questions and not to generate a contextualized theory, aligning it with qualitative content analysis rather than grounded theory (Cho & Lee, 2014).

4. Findings

4.2 Content Analysis

Qualitative content analysis identified several recurring themes in categorizing and describing virtual libraries in Meta Horizon Worlds: Art & Asset Libraries, Community Libraries, Personal Libraries, and Library Aesthetics: Games & Social Spaces. These emergent codes are described at the beginning of their respective sections below. While world creators may assign one category tag for their world on the listings, worlds often fall into multiple categories. Similarly, the coding of worlds is nonexclusive as many worlds exhibit more than one theme, as noted throughout. Screenshots from relevant worlds are presented; displayed usernames have been covered for privacy.

4.2.1 Art & Asset Libraries

Many community-created and maintained virtual worlds focus on providing access to virtual art objects and assets that can be brought into and used in other users’ worlds.

Some assets are built into Horizon Worlds’s Asset Library which can be accessed by any user when creating a world. The community also creates and provides access to art and assets of their design. Some of these are focused on certain types of assets. For example, the “devkit 01// shapes” world provides access to more than 600 different shapes, and the “theatrical lighting fixture library” offers various types of lighting assets for sale. “Vince’s Mechanics Library” provides demonstrations and access to different mechanical processes or interactions that can be created with or between virtual objects and assets built into Meta Horizon World’s Asset Library or those made by community members.

The Asset Library Games 2 is a world that allows users to socialize and play games from the Asset Library, as seen in Figure 1.

Fig. 1.

Asset Library Games 2

The “Community Asset Library” provides access to a large collection of community-made access and indicates how users can access them and attribute their use, as seen in Figure 2. The signage specifies that the assets are free to use by the community if they are properly attributed and not sold.

Fig. 2.

Community Asset Library * User name covered

Some Art & Asset Libraries housed collections of portals to other worlds in a library structure. For example, the “Horizon World Building Library” features a curated collection of world portals providing access to assets or instructional how-to guides for building worlds. As seen in Figure 3, the portals are arranged by type within an open library building.

Fig. 3.

Horizon World Building Library

4.2.2 Community Libraries

A few worlds appear to be designed to function as virtual community libraries, providing access to resources as well as programming, such as active events and passive exhibitions, in a fashion similar to real-world libraries. However, only two (4.55%) of the virtual libraries appear to have connections to real-world libraries: “The Geisel Library Dr. Seuss Matrix” and the “AANHPO Heritage World #AAPI #WOA #Asian.”

As seen in Figure 4, “The Geisel Library Dr Seuss Matrix” world replicates the brutalist architectural design of the actual Geisel library. It also provides a space for socializing and events. In the rear courtyard, users can listen to recorded readings of some of Dr. Seuss’ works with a light display and a large Cat in the Hat statue.

Fig. 4.

Geisel Library Dr Seuss Matrix * User name covered

“The AANHPI Heritage World” is a collaborative world featuring educational resources about and created by Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders and is sponsored by Horizon Worlds of Asia (WOA). It features a library of oral history recordings and educational resources that highlight aspects of AANHPI history, culture, and contributions to the world. It also includes portals to worlds featuring content from AANHPI creators. As seen in Figure 5, community members are invited to contribute their own stories to the oral history project. Some of the assets are interactive and contain historical facts with sources. As seen in Figure 6, there are quiz books/tablets that users can turn over to learn the answers.

Fig. 5.

AANHPI Heritage World (Set 1)

Fig. 6.

AANHPI Heritage World (Set 2)

Several community worlds provide or simulate library spaces and services. “The Library” features a modern building design complete with library stacks, a performance space, seating, and portals to other worlds, though the space was still in development. “The Library” also seems to focus on African and African American culture and history, showcasing art, historical facts, quotes, and other resources throughout the space, as seen in Figure 7.

Fig. 7.

The Library

The small world of “The Library of Banned Books” was created to “host book clubs, lectures, debates and creative networking,” as seen on the left side of Figure 8. The “Reading and computer club/libray” [sic] similarly provides a library space for reading, meetings, and relaxing, as seen on the right side of Figure 8.

Fig. 8.

Library of Banned Books (Left) & Reading and Computer club/libray [sic] (Right)

As seen in Figures 9 and 10, “The Library III/Children’s Bookend,” and its previous iteration “The Library II/Bookend Lounge,” provides a library space containing programming including exhibitions and events, such as community performances, hosts a curated collection of portals to other worlds, and promotes reading and anti-bullying with signage throughout the space.

Fig. 9.

The Library II/III (Set 1)

The screenshots in Figure 10 show an upcoming event poster on the left and the performance stage on the right.

Fig. 10.

The Library II/III (Set 2) * Username covered.

4.2.3 Personal Libraries

Some worlds featured personal spaces designed with library themes or features, such as personal libraries or reading rooms. These tended to be smaller in scale, focusing on one room rather than a full building though some did feature small buildings.

“The Sandwich Library” is a cozy one-room personal library featuring a roaring fireplace, flying books, an interactive map, and a purring cat, as seen in Figure 11.

Fig. 11.

The Sandwich Library

The “Sunflower Library” provides a sunflower-themed yet modern library space to “chill.” As seen in Figure 12, the “Winter Library” invites users to “hang” in a warm-looking private library with a snowy environment outside.

Fig. 12.

Winter Library * Username covered

Assets for sharing and reuse can be found throughout the sampled worlds, even those whose primary purposes are not providing access to art or assets. For example, “Mama’s Library” is another cozy personal library space or reading room. As seen in Figure 13, the creator displays a few of their art assets above its virtual fireplace. The creator also seemed to be integrating an eBook feature to allow users to read excerpts from different books. The personal library also includes a small, curated grouping of portals to the creator’s favorite worlds.

Fig. 13.

Mama’s Library

Some personal libraries replicate libraries portrayed in other media. For example, the “Belle’s Library” world is a recreation of the library in Disney’s 1991 animated film Beauty and the Beast.⁷⁾ As seen in Figure 14, the “Breakfast Club Library” faithfully recreates the library in the iconic 80s movie, The Breakfast Club,⁸⁾ complete with call number labels on the library stacks.

Fig. 14.

Breakfast Club Library

4.2.4 Library Aesthetics: Games & Social Spaces

Several worlds use library themes or aesthetics to provide ambiance or a setting for other purposes. This was seen most often as using library aesthetics to create the setting for games or to inform the design of space for socializing or hanging out with other users.

“The Library Bar 18+” exemplifies both as a library-themed bar that provides a place for adults to socialize and play bar games. The “EPIC TRIVIA: Stephen King Library” hosts a trivia puzzle game set in a library featuring information about Stephen King and his works, as seen in Figure 15.

Fig. 15.

Stephen King Library

“The Library: No Escape,” depicted in Figure 16, features an escape room-styled puzzle game, with subtle threats about a hungry grue. The “Silence in the Library” also has a survival game and the “Hidden Key Library” tasks users with relaxing or challenging them to locate a key.

Fig. 16.

The Library: No Escape

The “SPACE BAR” is a futuristic bar that provides a social place for “writers, readers, and all language lovers” and a curated library of portals to other storytelling narrative Horizon worlds. As seen in Figure 17, the SPACE BAR is still in development but welcomes both “feedback and collaboration.”

Fig. 17.

SPACE BAR’s Greeting Signage

5. Discussion

6. Conclusions

The results of this study suggest that while libraries exist on Meta Horizon Worlds, they are relatively few, and fewer still provide typical library services. That said, some community and personal libraries provide access to programming and resources and serve as meeting places. It also appears that virtual libraries in Meta Horizon Worlds will likely continue to be created and updated over time to a point where they may reach parity with the resources and services provided in other virtual worlds, like Second Life, or, perhaps, real-world libraries. As such, Meta Horizon Worlds may create an opportunity for libraries and librarians looking to expand their presence and services into the metaverse. Library and information science researchers, educators, and practitioners, such as librarians and archivists should be knowledgeable of and prepared for emerging technologies. As limitations to content and accessibility are addressed, real-world libraries may consider opening branches on VR platforms in the metaverse. If so, this may continue the long legacy of libraries providing access to resources and technology and meeting their communities where they are.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a Humanities·Social-Science Research Promotion of Pusan National University (2022~2024).

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