At Petaluma Library, a virtual world awaits

From the pages of classic literature, sci-fi, non-fiction and every genre in between, libraries have long been havens for exploration. At the Petaluma Regional Library, recently-acquired virtual reality equipment is promising to offer community members a new frontier.

Alongside Sonoma County’s other 14 branches, the Petaluma location launched its virtual reality program earlier this month, joining a state-wide initiative that places the technology in libraries to encourage educational uses.

“You can tour the pyramids of Egypt or you can interface with animal species you couldn’t find here in Sonoma County,” said Vicki Terbovich, IT manager for the Sonoma County Library system.

Terbovich said Sonoma County Library recently added updated VR headsets Oculus GO, Oculus Quest and ClassVR to its collection. The county-wide library system began collecting VR equipment in 2017 via a grant program led by the California State Library.

“The State Library is trying to get these tools into the hands of people that may not otherwise have access to those tools, and that’s something we’re really on board with,” said Sonoma County Library Digital Literacy Specialist Bridget Hayes.

Currently, the Petaluma location has its own Oculus GO headset, and Hayes said sharing among other branches is a possibility as the VR program matures. Staff at the Petaluma branch are currently working on creating specific VR programs and events to offer community members next year, as each branch finds its own way of offering the technology for public use.

“The state library just handed out the tech, and we have just been finding our way with it,” Terbovich said. “There’s been lots of great ideas from various members of our branches, and we are going to create an ad-hoc working group in December to look at the VR resources we now have.”

For Petaluma Branch Manager Joe Cochrane, the VR equipment is an exciting addition to the Petaluma branch’s existing programs that aim to introduce teens and tweens to newer technologies that are increasingly found in schools and workplaces. These include a weekly coding class and access to a 3D printer.

Cochrane said these tools help Petaluma’s younger generation discover the library and the resources it provides.

“If we as libraries fail to become modern and don’t find people where they are, then what are we doing?” Cochrane said.

As each library will develop its own specific programs and VR uses, Hayes suggests those interested in learning more about the technology ask their local librarian about branch-specific options.

Cochrane said public demonstrations of the new equipment will be held at the annual Lumacon educational event Jan. 25. An earlier opportunity to try out the equipment will be available at the North Bay Science Discovery Day Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds.

The Rincon Valley Library is so far the only library that has a weekly VR program that invites teens aged 14 to 18 to try one of the VR headsets.

Although the VR program easily piques the interest of kids and teens, Hayes said she wants to dispel the myth that VR is exclusively for youth and gamers. Possibilities range from providing comfort to patients in memory care facilities, teaching people about different lived experiences and giving individuals with limited mobility an opportunity to see the world.

“It’s story-living versus storytelling,” Hayes said. “VR is transportive, flexible, creative and can create empathy. The idea that you’re immersed in an experience gives people a richer and deeper experience with that learning, and people tend to remember it more.”

In 2017, the Sonoma County Library amassed three VR headsets from the California State Library. Terbovich said two Oculus Go units were more recently donated, and the library system chose to purchase a couple more, including the ClassVR units that allow a group of eight to engage in an instructor-led VR simulation.

According to online retailers, Ocuclus Go headsets currently retail between $199 and $299, Oculus Quest between $399 and $499 and ClassVR for $2,899. The Sonoma County Library system has 25 headsets in total, 16 of them are ClassVR models, one HTC Vive, two Oculus Rift, three Oculus Quest and three Oculus Go.

Terbovich said the California State Library granted the library two Oculus models and one HTC in 2017, however, library officials were unclear as to how many of the 25 were purchased.

Funds for the headsets purchased by the library come from Measure Y, passed by Sonoma County voters in 2016 to earmark one-eighth of a cent sales tax for library improvement.

(Contact Kathryn Palmer at Kathryn.palmer@arguscourier.com.)