Friday, March 21, 2008

YouTube review of library video

My favorite YouTube video that I found when searching for libraries was “The Adventures of Super Librarian,” a short publicity type video for the McCracken County (KY) Public Library. I liked the fact that it was short and hit only the highlights of services, while keeping the whole message light and fun. The Librarian was dressed as Superman/woman, breaking the traditional stereotype of a bun haired older lady shushing everyone.

Another video that I found relating to academic libraries was “The Otis Library Tour,” a tour and informational video about the Millard Sheets Library at the Otis College of Art & Design. This video had fast, upbeat music and a lot of humor, yet it quickly conveyed some of the great services available in the library. The video ran through each of the areas of the library while highlighting the staff at each location. It is a small library, but they did a great job of showcasing it, such as the laptop lounge where the patron was able to rearrange the furniture. They also made the staff seem extremely friendly and eager to help – not everyone can do a back flip over the Circ desk to assist a patron, but they all conveyed an inviting image of the library workers in order to encourage student interaction.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS28qydjfsg

I think the YouTube format would be a great publicity tool for libraries, and maybe a short educational video would work as well. However, I think the short videos are better at capturing the attention of our college-age patrons. I’m a librarian and I got bored and quit watching a lot of them!

No comments: