Book review: KJ Varnum (ed.), Beyond Reality: Augmented, Virtual, and Mixed Reality in the Library
Alan MacLennan · Journal of Librarianship and Information Science · 2019
This is a book review of: "Beyond reality: augmented, virtual, and mixed reality in the library", edited by K.J. Varnum and published in 2019 by the American Library Association. This slim volume is an interesting read. Arranged in nine chapters, it's a sampler of actual and potential applications of the three types of experience listed in the title. Augmented reality might be described as 'reality plus' – an overlay of electronically-generated content on the real world, such as is used in the 'heads-up displays' employed by fighter pilots and in some cars. Mixed reality involves some kind of electronically-delivered content, which is tied in with real-world locations, an example being the recent phenomenon of Pokémon-collecting, in which cartoon characters could be collected (often in proximity to real-world libraries) by use of a smart phone, which overlaid their images on the phone's video display of the user's surroundings. The effort required to communicate that concept in a single sentence is some indication of what a complex process is involved; the fact that it would have made little sense to an average reader of even ten years ago shows how far these concepts have penetrated popular culture. Virtual reality is an 'immersive' experience, often achieved through the use of head-mounted display (HMD) equipment, such as the Oculus Rift, which may permit the user to move around and interact with 'objects' in an environment that is completely generated by software.