Showing posts with label freebies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label freebies. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

New Arcadia Asylum Freebie Store Opens in Sunweaver Estates


By Bixyl Shuftan

Longtime readers know about Arcadia Asylum. These freebie stores, or libraries as they're officially called, have extensive collections of goods that can be picked up for free. A few days ago, a new one opened. This one was quite litterally down the street of the Newser office, in the HV Community sim. Like the others, Prof. Grey (BrianL61 Landar) is the builder and owner.

"Opened the doors yesterday (February 29)," Prof. Grey told me, "Full line library, including YadNi's Junkyard and Freebie Folly." The Sunweaver library's items are on three separate floors. The middle or ground floor has the works of Aley aka Arcadia. The lower or basement floor has the Freebie Folly items. The top floor, also accessible by the railroad line, is where the items that were part of YadNi's Junkyard are. The Junkyard had been one of Second Life's most popular freebie centers until it's closure in July 2015. Freebie Folly was a freebie store in Skidz, but it, "suddenly went vacant. The land still bears the Freebie Folly name, but it's a empty shop now." After attempts to contact the owner, Arcadia started displaying her free items.

Talking to Prof. Grey, that the Newser was nearby was an interesting detail for the place's location, but that wasn't all. "The land and road /water access was to die for." The railroad system got his attention as well, "I'm loving it. Can't run my SLRR stuff, but hey, a train's a train." Shortly after the store opening, the Sunweaver passenger train service was adjusted to stop at the Arcadia location.

The number of items packed in the place is truly massive. "This locations tops out at 9487 free items," Prof. Grey told me, "The only other location to match this is Anilis." Most of the items are not shown individually, but are in vendors that can be browsed with left/right arrows on the bottom. One can find avatars, vehicles, homes, furniture, plants, ships, boats, clothing, and much, much more. While some of the items are simple compared to what's available today, others are of decent quality. But in either case, one can't argue with the price.

By all means, give the Sunweaver Arcadia Asylum Library a look. Even if you have plenty of stuff, you just might find something interesting, or something you may want to tell a friend about. And if you haven't been to the Sunweaver area before, feel free to look around. This of course includes the Newser office, which is a little to the west down the road.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/HV%20community/211/93/26

Bixyl Shuftan

Monday, January 21, 2019

Arcadia Asylum Living Library


By Gemma Cleanslate


One of the most fascinating sites to visit in Second Life , in my opinion, is Arcadia Asylum Living Library.  Prof. Grey (BrianL61 Landar) built and owns this place . Originally it held the works of Arcadia, Aley (the same). . Prof . Grey has been updating it to add all the Yadni Junkyard vendors to it along with items made by Moard Ling , some of his own creations  and a few others early  creators.. Yadni’s Junkyard was such a fun place to visit in Second Life for years. He has closed it and has retreated to real-life to further his art projects. However he left all his junk behind with love.


Arcadia Asylum built so many fascinating installations during her many lives in Second Life. She is gone now and sorely missed. I met her several times at her builds underwater, at her pirate town and in LEA . She was lots of fun to visit. So many of her pieces I see every where in SL to this day. Her many avatars are great to play with too.


I call this library a museum because it holds so much of the early days of  Second Life. Prims that made everything before mesh was even thought of. Every item you see in the vendors there is free! Not only is it free it is full permission. One can take anything there apart and create a  new item from the parts. The only thing one cannot do is sell any item. I have seen many of the items used as decorations in regions, clubs, homes across the grid. Some of Yadni’s buildings are the basis of some shops or decor outside in town centers.

Prof. Grey says,”My goal is to help preserve the works of SL's Great Creators and Collectors like, Aley.Resident,  Arcadia Asylum,  YadNi Monde, Moard Lin and help to distribute them for all to enjoy.I ask nothing in return, if you'd like to help Please let me know.If you would like to have/start a library of your own, Please drop Me a notecard.”


I asked Prof Grey how many items he thought he had there and his answer was, “we are at least 8000+ items now i started taking a count but it will be a while til i can have a total, i figure safely between 8 & 10 thousand items total.” He is also looking at gathering more Greenies items. Go enjoy looking through the vendors for anything you may want.

There are other libraries across the grid helping him make the items available and you can pick up a list of them at the library. Some of the actual exhibits are still available to visit in Second Life and you can find out about them there too.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Anilis/37/160/113

Gemma Cleanslate

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Furry Fashion's Halloween Area


By Bixyl Shuftan

Furry Fashion is going all-out for Halloween. Besides being part of the "Quest Fur Cover" shopping hunt, they also have a special Halloween area above the sim. Besides the frightfully fun scenery, it also offers a Halloween Hunt with thirty items to find.

I had a few words with the owner of Furry Fashion, Amethysia (Amethyst Crystal), about their display. She told me, "Albright and I are both pagan and adore Halloween, witchcraft, etc. And we went to the occult shopping event a few months back and got the idea from buying way too much there, heh. Then she managed to get hold of a rare DRD mansion from a gacha that was just perfect as a witch house. And we just built around the house using it as the centrepiece. Over the years we've done everything fr a sim wide maze to a zombie game map to a asylum so we wanted something we hadn't done before. It's getting quite difficult to come up with new ideas after so many years.

"There's not only the witch house, but a skeleton basement (decorated by Klomonx), and a graveyard and a maze hidden under the basement. The hunt objects are red balloons - inspiration taken from the new "It" movie and encouragement from FF Admin I might add. And as usual QFC and Sim Merchants got offered free shops too for displaying their Halloween/fall products on top of the hunt. We'll be having a full weekend of Halloween parties in the Halloween area for the final October weekend."

Asking about the influence of the movie "It," Amethyst told me, "Yeah, 'It' is the new remake of the Stephen King movie. (I'm) not a clown fan myself, but several of the staff got hyped about it and when the suggestion of balloons was made for the hunt item, I was encouraged to use it, heh."

So what was the feedback from those who braved the area? "Most enjoy it," Amethyst answered, "Some say it's too scary, especially with windlight, heh. I plan to add extra prizes towards the end of the month as we get closer to Halloween too. Security have been doing shifts up there to make sure cheaters don't win. They've got to dress up in  Halloween avatars and outfits, and I think enjoy it." I asked what kind of Halloween avatars, and she pointed to the small avatar near me, "Rick behind you has been making Halloween stuff too. That's a mod he made that he's wearing right now. It's a Halloween pup version of the Crux. Rick's one of my staff leads." The pup's ears showed a definite Crux style, but the modded avatar was less strange and more cute in appearance, "He might even get me to wear it," Amethyst told me with a smile.

Amethyst reminded me as a business, Furry Fashion had multiple openings for jobs, "I've been pretty busy anyway. We're open for every position right now, and all staff are pitching in (smile). (It) always gets this way for Halloween. It's our favorite time of the year. I'll do a Xmas thing as expected, but Halloween is everything for me." Amethyst stated she wouldn't play Christmas music until well into December, "I was in catering, in a hotel kitchen, the same Xmas CD on repeat Oct to Jan., 7AM to Midnight every day..." One of Amethyst's staff spoke up, and that led to a conversation on the subject that lasted a few minutes.

Finally someone came over inquiring about where to find the Halloween area. Amethyst mentioned of the people doing the Halloween hunt, "we've had over 500 hunters so far." She offered to show me the place. Looking around, what I noticed the most was the darkness and fog, which gave the place an erie spooky air. There were various stalls, made to look like old buildings, where various merchants had their goods, outfits, avatar mods, and other goods.

There was also the witch house, which had a few cats and a "broom parking" area on the outside, in addition to a spooky cemetery next to it. One could open the door and to inside, looking among the rooms. Some rooms were stranger than others, one room full of books, another with ingredients, another with scrolls. Underneath was the cellar, which had a few skeletons and the entrance to the maze. I had my headphones on, and could hear various barks in the distance, screams, cries for help, and near the witch house cats meowing.

In places were various tombstones of the Furry Fashion staff. The first I noticed was Amethyst's: "I told you I was sick." I asked her about it, "Yeah, I let all staff pick their own graves, heh." She pointed to the one for Minty Melody: "Rainbow Overdose." Amethyst explained, "Minty is a unicorn in SL and rainbow addicted." She showed me a few others, which included, "should have gotten decaf." Amethyst grined, "I take no blame for the sayings, they all picked their own." She did say they tried to be fairly PG about their epitaths. Other than that, they all had a free hand with them.

Remember, there are 30 red balloons around the Halloween area to find, each with a free item. Looking around I found a number in less than a half hour. While many are just for women, some can be used by the guys. So visitors get some treats along with the tricks.

To get to the Halloween area, head to http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Furry/217/197/3501.

Happy Halloween from Furry Fashion,

Bixyl Shuftan

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Arcadia Asylum


By Becky "Sha" Shamen

In the article, "Saving Prims," we said, "... Arcadia Asylum, on the Mieville Pond sim.  Be prepared for an adventure there". A conscious effort was made, to keep that sim from taking over the article, because it was worthy of an article of it's own. Returning there, to take notes and pictures, we realized just how understated the line was. It's more than just "an adventure". This sim is a must see, Great Adventure and should be on everybody's to-do list. Aside from the 1,328 free items, there are several fun adventures, to be discovered there.

The landing point, for the sim, is a courtyard, in front of the Cog & Grog Freebie Center. On the other side of the courtyard, we find a teleporter that goes to the various areas on the sim. The areas include; Tropics, Steam Fair, Graveyard, Hobo Town, The Deeps, Space and The Library. Most of the areas can also be reached by walking, flying or just jumping into the water.

The Deep covers as much area as the surface sim and can be reached in three ways. Within the Cog & Grog, there is a stairway that leads under water. On the dock, next to the Chinese Junk, there is an entrance to Cap'n Nemo's Underwater Observatory, which uses tubes to connect to chambers beneath the surface. You can also just jump off any of the docks, to reach the sea floor. In the deep, you will find underwater habitats, plants, sea creatures. You can even get your own whale or even a kracken. One of the most interesting nautical items, the whirlpool, proved to be be a fun ride. I got one to take home, but, unless I terraform, won't get put out from my inventory any time soon. It has a lot of prims, but can be reduced by removing some of the items that circle the top.


 Taking the teleport to the Space area, we find spacesuits, spaceships, planets and asteroids. The most interesting "space" item is found at the courtyard of the sim landing. There, we find a giant cannon, which shoots a bullet shaped capsule to the moon. I had actually been back to this sim several times, before deciding to click on it and see what it does. Next thing you know, the camera switches to an exterior view of the projectile, with your av inside and stars zipping past. We end up on a lunar surface, staring at our crashed ship, with the earth in the distant background. Fortunately, there is a teleport, near by, to take us back down, but, as long as I'm on the moon, I look around for any other interesting things to explore. Sure enough, among the lifeless rocks there is one that has some color to it and there's a large hole at the base, with a churning mist within. Looking in, it seems to go down to a cavern with large gems on the walls. Naturally, Miss been there, done that, had to go into the cavern. All I will say is that, yes, there is an adventure and I went several times, to learn the way out of the conflict with the lunar inhabitants.

Now, safely back home, on my keyboard, I find myself wondering what other hidden adventures are yet to be had at Arcadia Asylum. You can be sure that this writer will return there many times, in the future. 
 
Hope we see you there,
 
"Sha"
 

Friday, August 21, 2015

The “Wingless” Free Avatars (2009)


The following first appeared in Second Life Newspaper in August 19, 2009

*  *  *  *  *

By Bixyl Shuftan

When I first came to SL, alongside the newbie human avatars as choices for one’s first look was one nonhuman, the old ringtail avatar Luskwood donated to Linden Labs. I did find a few free furred avatars in my newcomer period, but aside from the purple kitty avie, nothing seemed an improvement until I had the cash to buy a better avatar.

 Later, I heard the newbie ringtail had been done away with as an option. So where could a newcomer go to get a furred av, particularly one with a quality look?

It was about that time I found out an answer: the Wingless Avatar package, a collection of quality avatars once sold, now free for the asking.

The Wingless Avatar package is a gift to the residents of SL from the avatar designer Wingless Emoto. He once sold his avatars through a retailer, but a dispute occurred and the business partnership dissolved. Unfortunately for Wingless, the contract signed stated he could not sell the avatars in the deals w ith him through anyone else. So Wingless decided to make them freely available, people able to grab a package at locations, or transferable from person to person. Some carry them not to wear, but to pass to newcomers to SL or those around for a while curious about furry avatars or wanting a different look. Some locations have individual Wingless avatars up for sale for 10L. But this is against the wishes of Wingless.

And the package has an impressive variety of avatars. There are many varieties of both wolf and fox-type avatars, cannids being a popular furred av in SL. There are also a few hyena and horse avs in the package. Rezzing the box on a sandbox and unpacking it, one gets a folder filled with each avatar, boxed. One has to rezz and unpack each avatar.

The avs come in both male and female skins. Highly modifiable, each av offers a choice of either plantigrade (walk on the heel like a normal human foot) or digitgrade (walk on the ball on the foot) lower legs. The latter looks more exotic, though someti ¥mes one can see the shadow of the invisiprims, and long pants worn end up looking cut off with a ring of fabric around the ankles. There is an option for small or large hands/paws. For the wolf avs, A Customization HUD gives you the option of showing canine teeth or not, and choosing the color of eyes, paws, claws, and the inside of ears. Another HUD, “Control,” allows for options for twitching ears, wagging tails, blinking eyes, and blushing.

It should be noted one doesn’t *have* to wear the whole avatar. I have seen some kitsune-style nekos who told me their ears and tails came from Wingless avatar parts. As there are several styles of hair that come with the av, this means a few
free hairpieces. A good place to look if you need one in a hurry upon getting a av with no hair.

The Wingless Avatar Package can be found in some freebie locations, though in any place in SL with some furs, it shouldn’t take long to find someone who has it and get a copy.

A truly great package of free avatars.

* * * * *

Six years later, the Wingless avatars are still around. Despite that they're free, they're not worn as often as before. It seems most residents who prefer a nonhuman look whom get a set of them replace them with a more recent avatar as soon as they have the Lindens. There are also other avatars available as freebies, either legitimately such as the AX avatars at Northstar, or copied without their creators' permission and made available as free packages, such as Avenity.  Still, the avatar does have it's place in Second Life. It comes in a variety of colors that remain unmatched by some other lines of avatar. Plus with some clubs having script limits, some residents will find their favorite avatars will have problems getting them in. But with it's smaller number of scripts, the Wingless will have less trouble doing so. And if one runs across a resident interested in a nonhuman look but doesn't know where to go, one can just hand over a package of Wingless avatars.

*Addition* With the InWorldz grid becoming increasingly popular, a collection of Wingless Avatars was imported there as well. So now the avatars are available now in two grids. 

Bixyl Shuftan

Friday, May 2, 2014

Arcadia Asylum


Arcadia Asylum, the mere mention of it, gets a lot of people excited. Not only is it a store with a huge selection, of awesome products, it also has the best prices in all of SL. Freebies as far as the eye can see, and even further.

To most people, a freebie means some half finished sloppy mess of an object. However, these freebies are completely different from other freebies. These could be sold for a very high price, yet their creators choose to sell them as freebies.

When asked why, Aley, one of the creators, told me that they are freebies, due to the fact that she doesn't want to deal with sales clients again, and she is a supporter of open source development.

I asked her if there was a set team that made the items, in which everyone had a specific part to play. It turns out, there is no set part to play. One of them may make it, and have someone else script it and texture it, or they may do it themselves.

When asked why they started making freebies, they easily answered this by telling me a bit of their history. They did not start in Second Life. Before they joined Second Life, some of them were already making models, and they simply continued, when they joined SL.

Though the items may not look as sleek, and be as expensive as most of the items in SL, they still have something not many other products have. They have customers who are always checking back, every so often, for something new. They have a team of builders at their back, and they have a bright future ahead of them.


TheonlyJohnny Resident

Monday, August 19, 2013

DrFran’s Alt Goes Shopping


By DrFran Babcock

Yes, I know that Second Life’s™ history is my obsession, but this grid is filled with so many things to do, and ways to be, that I can’t stand focusing on just one thing. With Bix as an editor, the writers are usually free to explore their passions, and that’s a great thing.

One of the things I had done for a while was to have a freebie blog, and it was relatively popular, but a lot of work to maintain. I have stopped that blogging, but I still felt the need to write about the better buys that are out there in this fabulous virtual world. If Hamlet can feature fashion (), so can this revered publication.

However, DrFran doesn’t have the time to go looking for freebies, so she sent out her secret alt, Livre, to hunt for her.  From time to time she will go out looking for items. The rules are that they have to be free, or no more than five Lindens.

The Fall enMeshed Hunt

Sadly, this hunt wasn’t completely set up by the time my alt went looking, but the first gift was worth showing you. It is a burlesque outfit that comes complete with everything including the skirted corset, panties, booties, and even black pigtails. The only problem with the outfit was the booties, in that the texture did not seem to render no matter what I did. However, at 0 Lindens, I am sure you could make use of the hair and outfit for Halloween, or for dancing at your favorite burlesque hall.

This picture was taken at the Moulin Rouge, a fitting location for a corseted lady. Credits:

enMeshed into Fall Hunt #1 Burlesque Outfit includes all you see, including the black pigtail hair (booties, too, but the texture wouldn't rez, so I didn't show it. Wasteland Clothing http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Green%20Goblin/26/115/38

enmeshed into Fall Hunt: http://enmeshedhunts.wordpress.com/enmeshed-into-fall-2013-hunt-hints/

Taste the Rainbow Hunt

This hunt has a lot of really nice freebies, including hair, and some wild glittery lipstick. Today, Livre is showing you the Blacklace Beauty rainbow eyeshadow and lipstick. I think with the right outfits that this makeup can really add a nice finishing touch that is a little bit funky, and a lot chic.

Taste the Rainbow Hunt information: http://chanimations.deviousmind.net/2013/08/09/taste-the-rainbow-hunt-2013/


Blacklace Beauty: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Blacklace/146/148/31

Group Gift Goodies

These were Livre’s favorite finds of her mission for freebies. The exquisitely detailed turquoise blouse was a group gift from Ruby’s Closet, and the group is free to join! The detailing of the buttons pulling over the chest is one of those things that makes me cry with joy. My only criticism of the shirt is the Nehru-like collar. I would have preferred a lower neckline. This did not detract Livre from wearing it all day, along with her group gift hair from Eater’s Coma.

The hair is a very nice gift from another group that is free to join. Your gift hair is actually a HUD that gives you every single color that the hair comes in. The mesh rigging is superb, and the braid moves along with your body. Livre chose the platinum, and it looked just right with the aqua top.

Credits:

Ruby's Closet Aqua Layer Top Group Free to Join http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Blacklace/146/148/31

Hair: Eaters Coma Group Gift This amazing hair comes as a HUD and will give you every color made just with a touch. This is the light Platinum. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SIXTY%20NINE/126/126/501

Me’LanGe Store Hunt

Livre’s last treat is a store-wide hunt for gemstones that contain all kinds of outfits and gift cards. I will show you two of them. One is a ballerina costume in lavender, and the other is a she-devil costume. Each of them comes complete with all the stuff you need, including boots or shoes, and cost only one Linden. The hunt is going on until August 30th, so you will have to hurry!

Me’LanGe: http://huntsl.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/melanges-treasure-hunt/

So, that’s it for this installment of DrFran’s alt goes shopping. If you like this, let Bix know, and maybe he’ll put Livre on the payroll. Just kidding, of course.

DrFran Babcock

Monday, July 8, 2013

Celebration at the Arcadia Asylum


 By Gemma Cleanslate

It was with great pleasure that I attended a party that celebrated this first anniversary of the Arcadia Asylum Living Library and Freebie Center in Makazi. You may recall that the original library disappeared back in June 2012 and all the network vendors went down. It was a great loss to all fans of Arcadia. Horror spread across the grid because of the sudden closing. Interested people began to collect and form a new library in the same month (Aug 2012 article). 
 
The Anilis Freebie Center Becomes the New Arcadia Asylum Living Library.  Thanks To generous Sponsor Ship by Mingmanx.  A new group, The Arcadia Asylum Libraries & Exhibits group was formed to aid in collecting all the lost items.   Conrad Evaneir donated his freebie vendors to the library group. Professor Grey added the Mieville Branch Library, thanks to the owner of the region, Perryn Peterson, in August. The Anilis branch was moved to Makazi in November. It was decided to spread the vendors around so they would never be lost again and there are now almost a dozen affiliate libraries around the grid. 
 
The party was a celebration of the efforts of the group over the past year as they continue to add to the collection as items are recovered and as Aley, as Arcadia is known today, makes new ones they are added to the collection. It was a pleasure to see most of the collection on a plot at SL10B in June. There were many colorful avatars and costumes at the party as there was a contest for the best male and female costumes. Gunner von Phoenix (masterperry) provided the music. 
 
Prof. Grey (BrienL61 Landar), the curator at Mieville, commented  “And, what can I say, all of this is thanks to ALL of you -- the donations you make, the time you spend talking about the great freebies or Arcadia Asylum, the time you take to share what you have gotten ... and most of all, thanks to you Aley for your creative generosity. With out your support and the donations you toss our way these doors wouldn't be open.So now that we have done the work, it is time to celebrate our successes.” 
 
Pay a visit to the library and see what treasures you can get all for free thanks to Alley and the group that is preserving them. Make sure to drop over to check out all the treasures. 
 
 
Gemma Cleanslate

Thursday, January 17, 2013

The Steampunk Meets Flowerpower Hunt


By DrFran Babcock


 Admit it, you love hunts. For me, a hunt is a way to chill out from a hard day in the non-digital world, or when things get drama-laden here. Which never happens, right?

 
Well, if you are like me, the lure of freebies, meeting people, and finding just that special treasure keep me searching. The Peace on Earth Hunt, over for now, is my favorite, but the name of this hunt grabbed me. I love Steampunk, and I am a hippie. What could go wrong?

 DrFran was a little busy with real news, so she sent her alt: Mai Waffle out to do the hunting. Below are the things she found. The hunt item you are looking for is a gear that is pink.

There are 25 items in the grid-wide hunt, and Mai was able to find all but one. She enlisted the help of Oakesy Ogg to help her show off the items that had both male and female items.


IMPORTANT: The Newser is usually not on the Hunt trail. If you are interested in seeing more hunt reports, please let Editor Bixyl Shuftan know. Thanks.
 

The Steampunk Meets Flowerpower Hunt runs from January 1st – January 31st. The blog for the hunt, with hints and teleports is here:
http://insidethepeapod.tumblr.com/post/39071952659/steam-punk-meets-flower-power-hunt-212

 DrFran Babcock

Editor's note, Luminous Designs has informed the Newser it will soon be joining the  hunt.

Monday, December 10, 2012

The Peace on Earth Hunt


By DrFran Babcock

I really suck at hunts, but every year I struggle through at least a part of the "Peace on Earth Hunt" because of two reasons: 1) I love good quality freebies, and 2) what I REALLY want for Christmas IS peace on earth.

So, fashionistas, here are two looks I put together from just about one quarter of the hunt. For more information, SLurls, and hints, go to this website: http://peaceonearthhunt.wordpress.com

Look Number One: ( I mix and match, and don't always use all items from an outfit)

ANGEL DESSOUS Mimi Gown 
ESHI OTTAWARA -Fuzzy Short Jacket
Beloved Jewelry Chantelle Gold/Ruby Earrings and Necklace 
CHICHICKIE! Serafina - All Colors (ColorTouch) 
[BLUSH] Selma Skin Tan - Nude
POSE: The Muse - Peace 3

Picture Taken at: Area 51 Winterland International

Look Number Two:

EAR CANDY ~ Earrings and Necklace, and Gold Mesh Heels, which you can't see.
SASSY! - Whitney gown 
AMACCI -  Hair Nena - Ice
AMACCI Skin - Oleana (Pale) - Peace - Cleavage

Taken at: Garden of Whimsey - Winter Wonderland
 
DrFran Babcock

Monday, August 20, 2012

Arcadia Asylum Library

 
Aley, the former Arcadia Asylum is a historical figure in SL. Her creations are so extensive it is hard to see them all. They are diverse and imaginative.You may recall that a few months ago I did an article about The Sea of Aley. (http://slnewserdesign.blogspot.com/2012/04/sea-of-aley.html )  where there was a hunt going on in LEA. In it I put a link to the Library of Arcadia where so many of her builds were located in vendors for the taking, all free! 
 
Sometime during the SL9B I got a notice from someone  that the library sim was closing! I put it away in my mind to check out, but thought what a loss!! I was talking to my friend Grey Nacht, and he told me that the library was being recreated in several sims so the vendors  would not be lost again. Grey has several freebie vendors at his sim, Pala. He referred me to Brian61 Landar. I took off to see the new site that Brian was creating and had a nice conversation with him. 
 
Again, here is another example of residents of SL having more concern than LL to preserve the history of Second Life. Brian told me, "The library closing was a wake up call to a  lot of us that if we don't get active and spread the collection around, it is very possible to loose it.“ Perryn Peterson owner of the sim, hearing that Arcadia’s works might be unavailable  donated a corner of the sim  to the recreation of the library. Brian is well under way in setting out the freebie vendors he said, “.It was decided to add this exhibit hall to feature builders and artists from all over SL who have contributed to SL thru their work. 90% of everything you see is Arcadia, but so far we have collected a small portion of arcadia's works. As more be comes available we will add them to the vendors and distribute the collection to anyone that wants a copy.” There is a group of SL residents working on recovery and preservation of Aley’s works. There will probably be more places with vendors eventually.
 
 Not only that but Aley has a hunt going on in the Blake Seas and other waterways.. Aley has set many  of her aquatic  and other  builds under the seas  hidden in secret ruins  that you can locate with her compass .You begin the hunt and get the compass at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Blake%20Diego/90/200/22 . Look around there before you leave because you will see all the hunt objects. Then, follow the directions to find the hidden treasures under the sea. During this hunt you will visit many wonderful underwater ruins, sunken cities, statues and other lost places you will never get to see unless you are a submariner. 

And to those who are interested in the history of SL you can at least go visit the vendors in Mieville. You can browse the vendors to see what is there, and  go ahead and grab a bit of history to hold in your inventory or, if you can afford the  prims, put it out on display. The first place is Brian’s land where he initially set out some of the vendors   http://slurl.com/secondlife/Anilis/16/176/2 . or visit Mieville http://slurl.com/secondlife/Mieville%20Wells/101/30/88 or at Pala http://slurl.com/secondlife/Pala/160/90/21 where you teleport to the spacestation.
Have a great hunt and visit to the libraries. 
 
Gemma Cleanslate