LIS 9763

Media sharing is becoming an important part of libraries. As internet connections became faster, information was increasingly found in digital format, and people have gradually became used to experiencing knowledge and entertainment through the computer.

A couple of days ago, a man walked up to the reference desk and said, “I’m a little embarrassed to say but… I’m faculty and I’ve been here 5 years and this is the first time I’ve stepped foot in the library. I need to find a book and I don’t know where to locate it in the library.”  

How times have changed from when it was expected that people actually go to the library to find materials!

Whether it’s journal articles or entire books, audio clips, photos or video, you can pretty much find anything these days on the internet. Moreover, software like Flickr, youtube, and the like have made it easy to share whatever digital content you have. It’s now possible to upload and share your photos and videos with only a couple clicks of the mouse.

What I got from the readings and case studies this week, is that there are basically three main reasons for media sharing in libraries.

1) To advertise
2) To share special collections or archival materials
3) To educate (how to use resources, etc.)

Of the three, I think the advertising rationale is most difficult to pull off on youtube if you are using real people or actors. It’s easier to come across as professional in text and photos. In addition to the performer’s appearance, movements and voice, the filmmaker must think of camera angles, editing, pacing, etc. Not everyone is camera-ready and despite what many think, not everyone can direct, edit, or film well. Also, as Andrea Mercado mentions, when you film other people during events and try to post that footage or photo on the internet a lot of pesky issues crop up, like copyright and permissions, etc.

Sharing collections online (Library of Congress, Duke University) is a good way to make things that were previously hidden in archives become alive. This opens the library to an entirely new audience that may not known such items existed in your collection. Aside from whether or not the items are copyright protected, the only real barriers to sharing library holdings online is the time and cost of digitizing the collections. While Flickr and youtube are the more famous media sharing sites, places like the Internet Archive or OurOntario, may be more viable options depending on your collection.  

Using videos and photos to educate probably fits most into the mandate of academic libraries and tutorials can be created to help teach various things like how to search databases, etc. However, since photos and videos can also be made viewable directly from within the library’s own website, whether the pictures and video need to necessarily be shared with the larger internet community through media sharing sites like youtube and Flickr will depend on the library or the content that is being posted.  

I am finding that the principles of media sharing seem to have migrated, and there are more specialized media sharing sites cropping up that might be better suited to the library’s purposes. Whether it’s better to use the more famous sites that have the potential to have worldwide impact or niche sites will likely depend on the individual library’s target audience and the outcomes the library hopes to achieve.