LIS 9763

Media sharing is another new technology that offers us ways of sharing, self-expression as well as the ability to promote various media. 
In the article 7 things you should know about Youtube discussion focuses around the user’s experience of this form of technology. The article lists the valuable skills a user acquires such as visual literacy, experimentation with new media, and the ability to create media online. The main point is that Youtube is not about the content itself but about the way in which the Net Generation students collaborate to learn together. This is an interesting point made in the article. I usually think of Youtube as a space where people go to read about what is happening in the media; similar to reading a newspaper. I can see where Youtube can help develop the skills listed in the article, but I still think that needs to be coupled with traditional educational content. 
 
I enjoyed reading the Online Video Marketing: Ten Ways You Can Use Youtube to Promote your Online Content by Robin Good. I never looked at Youtube as a way of promoting libraries. This article explained how this type of technology works for promotional purposes. The article gave me some great ideas as to how I could use Youtube to promote my library. I could use Youtube for bulletins, media releases, library courses, or new programs we are offering.
 
Case Studies
I like the way Duke University Archives is posting pictures from old yearbooks on Flicker. This benefits both faculty and students by allowing them to view pictures of past graduates.  It is also a great way to preserve memories from the past. In time paper wears, and what better way to keep history alive then with digital technology.
 
The Photos on Flicker from the digitization project at the University of Michigan captures past memories, as well as a way for students to conduct research. I browsed through several of the pictures, and I took note of the one titled, ‘The History of First-Womens.’ It stated that the University of Michigan was the first large institution to admit women in 1870, and pictures of the women and their names.
 
Libraries have many options with the ways in which they can use these tools. With Youtube they can promote their services and new programs, and with Flicker they can digitize archives and pictures of Faculty, staff and students. However, there are always legal issues involved with names and pictures being posted online. For example, will libraries have to consider the implications of posting student graduate class photos online? Do they require student’s or faculty’s permission? This and other issues are some things libraries will have to look into.