YouTube

Absolutely – I think there’s definitely room for library videos to be a fun marketing tool ; “.. introducing the children’s section of our library – oh, it’s lapsit time, excuse the noise ….” No really, it could be rather useful, esp perhaps in informative areas for researching in the genealogy area for example, where a video clip could show someone going through the process of locating a microfiche, viewing it thru the reader, finding names, etc for further researching – explaining the steps & how it works. I’ve always felt, baking a cake was much easier after watching how it was done. There are some really fun clips, don’t we love watching what animals or other people do (there’s nothing quite so funny as someone falling over). I chose this video as I admire the artist & enjoy the composer & believe others do too – isn’t that part of creating video, to share with others, we want others to join in – people are brought together through this medium – video brings you ‘closer’, don’t you think?
I can see poetry, short story clips being added to our website, where NZ writers read their own work - now that would be good for the children’s catalogue ; clips with Margaret Mahy reading one or two of her most popular books ; the authors know where that emphasis should ‘really’ be.
I think libraries can pick & choose how best to use video to suit their individual situations; as we grow with technology & as our focus is assisting and informing, videos will be a part of this process. Features such as ‘other videos like this’ where the computer recognizes a visitor’s search & suggests what else may be of interest would be very useable.
My pick – Yo Yo Ma ‘Libertango’ ; Astor Piazzolla: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmwpR5_49uk (or see at margin)
Interesting how Westminster Libraries have promoted their services: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENUsbM0OWto

(Pic c/o Sydney Morning Herald)