video and video tutorials

If you haven't already seen a library produced video on You Tube or seen one embedded in your library Web site, you probably will soon. One of the qualities of a good librarians is the desire to connect and share with their patron community and in the age of social media, video is one of the most accessible ways to do this. The question that comes up for me when I think about library produced video is, "What are you going to say, and why should I watch it?" There is still a novelty associated with short librarian generated video that will certainly create a little buzz in your user community and perhaps raise a general awareness of the librarians and services available. Videos that present a hearty welcome and an orientation to the library may have their place, but when this novelty wears off, users are going to have little tolerance for information in video form that is not clear and concise and above all, useful. Library users are not visiting the library Web site in order to "surf" it. They are there for a specific reason and are not interested in anything but fulfilling that particular need. We can use the video format best when we use it for tips, tricks and solutions to specific problems we know our users experience while obtaining the information they need.  For example, if there is a known problem with the Web site surrounding access to article databases, a 20 second narrated screencast about selecting an appropriate database could be inserted (embedded) at logical point where users are forced to make a selection between two paths. There are any number of examples that can be thought of where a context sensitive help video could be unobtrusively linked.

The great bifurcation

I have felt pulled in a couple of different directions since I started this blog nearly five (!) years ago. I started it to post about professional interests as a librarian, and the occasional personal or amusing post about anything else. But lately it has been harder and harder to decide which way to go, but I've finally made a decision (with the help of a parent-in-the-trenches). My Library-centric worldview will now be here at "Internet Librarian Ship." "Lost in the Stupormarket" will be about life as a 40-something dad of small children.Wow, such range.