Optional Exploration - YouTube & User Created Content

I worked on all of the optional exercises all at once. How fun! I will report on them separately now.

YouTube and podcasts provide a cheaper way to create visual content and distribute it widely. Since we don't really do much of that now, there is a lot of potential. And we could incorporate it into our web page easily.

Online programming is an idea that was floated before, but never came to fruition. YouTube seems like a simple way to make this type of programming available.

I love the idea of virtual tours of the library and other aspects of the library (how to use databases, etc...). For the self-service patron, they could view the video and know exactly where to go. Having some of these simple questions answered ahead of time by the video would then free staff to spend more time on more in-depth questions. Camtasia is a start, but what is lacks visually is a possibility with YouTube.

Of course, the downside is that we potentially lose the personal contact with patrons. However, I would say that the videos could actually make make librarians more approachable because we have reached out to patrons in a new way and possibly reaching virtual patrons who would not otherwise have come to us.

YouTube and similar resources can also be a gold mine when answering questions. I sometimes remind myself that the visual element is much better for people who are visual learners or have difficulty reading. Particularly when learning how to do something, a video can be better than a written explanation. And some content available is historical, such as news reports from the past documenting a breaking story.

Patrons are generating content all the time, often on our computers. So it is definitely good to be aware of these. It is also becoming a greater expectation of patrons to be able to contribute content. So how could patrons contrubute content to the library? It may be a scary thought...giving up that much control. But this is something that we should consider for the future.