Podcasting and YouTube

Q: Write a blog entry discussing how you felt about the experience of using YouTube and what you think about this service. Do you see any potential uses for Podcasting in the library? If so what and why?

I had the opportunity to attend CIL 2008 (Computers in libraries), which hosted it’s second Annual InfoTubey Awards. These were some really great and funny videos showing how libraries can reach out to patrons using videos:

• The University of Ottawa’s Morisset Library for their video The Amazing Library 101 Challenge.

• The DePauw University Libraries for their video Visual Resource Center: Introduction

• The Monroe County Library System for their video MCLS Year of the Teen.

• QandANJ.org for their video Now Your Library is Open Late Night Too!. My Favorite!!!

• Allen County Public Library for their video Library Zombies.

Libraries should and are experimenting with using YouTube to reach out to patrons. My experience using YouTube has been positive and informative. There are millions of people using YouTube and libraries should definitely take advantage of that. It’s a new way to reach patrons that you might not be able to traditionally.

Our midweek question asks: Imagine posting instructional library videos on YouTube. Now imagine you have many instructional videos. So you make a channel and your patrons can subscribe to these videos and receive them as they are made. Is this a viable use or still fluff? Even if it is not fluff, is the video quality good enough for instruction?

I’d have to say that it is a viable resource, because your reaching out and providing services to patrons in a way that might best fit their needs. They could be used to reinforce what was taught in the class. Plus, maybe I’m a student and I can’t find time to make one the classes taught during lunch break. Well, you’ve just provided me with an easy and convenient alternative. As for video quality, I was always taught that you should never judge a book by its cover. I don’t think that video quality is as big an issue as the content! Sure, I’m the first to criticize bad video quality, but I think we’ll all agree that if it’s boring we’re most likely going to move on to something else.

Similar to videocasting, podcasting has a number of potentially beneficial uses in the library. I’d be willing to bet $100 that almost everyone has some sort of a digital music player aka iPod. Why not take advantage of this and provide patrons with another resource. The great thing about podcasting is that you don’t necessarily have to podcast about the library. There are a number of library podcasts out there that talk about other stuff. For example, they interview authors, professors, the student body, etc. In a medical library, perhaps interviewing or having medical staff talk about exciting studies or new findings can be of interest. They talk about current events, exibits, and just about anything you can think of.

Making videos and podcasts require lots of time and testing! Trust me, I’ve tried it. It’s fun and at times frustrating….but at the end of the day, if we can come up with something that will help a patron realize that we are here to help and want to part of the “cool” new technologies out there, than it’s definitely worth every minute spent doing it or at least trying it.