Module 4 OLJ activity – Arizona State University Library Minute
The Library Minute videos from Arizona State University Libraries tick all the right boxes
- They are short
- focus on one topic at a time
- give a lot of information in a short time without over-complicating things
- show where to go to learn more
- and there’s just enough daggy humour to make you smile.
They would be well-received by today’s university students who, like millions of other young (and not so young) people have made YouTube the second top search engine.
I imagine these videos, along with the other social media tools used by the library, help break-down communication barriers by making the library staff approachable and available in multiple ways both online and in real life. The ASU twitter stream includes study tips, timely information about extended hours, competitions and special events. Their Facebook page includes lots of eye-catching visuals with similar information to the Twitter stream in longer, less frequent posts.
Planning marathon study sessions this week? Check out our extended/late hours, available in many locations. http://t.co/YYfc3XtH9h
— ASU Libraries (@ASULibraries) December 3, 2014
Do you know where to find your #studyzone? #asu #finals #crunchtime @ ASU Polytechnic campus Library http://t.co/SFeBNtfFDt
— ASU Libraries (@ASULibraries) December 2, 2014
I am seriously impressed by the videos and I wonder how many man-hours go into making each one? The technological side would be relatively easy, even just with an iPad you can green screen (Green Screen by Do Ink), edit (iMovie), add effects and so on; but before they got to that stage someone (or several people) have spent serious time writing the script and story-boarding. They are evidence of a strong collaborative process and co-ordinated marketing plan. I would love to create similar videos for my library even though I don’t have the same level of resources behind me.
On a final note, this video, highlighting ways to have fun at the library is one of my favourites. Who wouldn’t want to connect with a library like that!