Libraries and Media Sharing

A library’s existence relies on providing information in various media to its patrons.    New “media sharing” sites such as Flicker and YouTube are simply the latest tools libraries and patrons use to exchange information. Using these tools and the power of the Internet, the library can create online communities that share a love of learning.  

Practical ways of doing this include advertisements for various library initiatives, videos explaining the inner workings of a library, tools the patrons use, photos of collections, and staff and events at the library. Podcasts of speeches and round tables at the library or elsewhere in the community can be hosted on the library’s website so patrons can access them from a central location. The text of historical documents can be scanned and re-produced and then made available for the public on the Internet to see. This way it decreases the need for patrons to examine the actual documents and thus aiding in their preservation. 

Case Studies

Photos from the Library of Congress and photos from Duke Yearbook provide a great example of how a library can bring the past alive to students as photos saying more than pages of a textbook ever could about the time they were taken. The University of Michigan’s photos also show how a photostream can show the progress of renovation or building projects. 

Georgia Tech Mechanical Engineering provides an excellent example of how a library can use video to show users how to use tools, including electronic resources in a way not possible with manuals. Furthermore, by having them available on the Internet, patrons can access them anytime, anywhere, with an Internet connection. 

The Orange County Library System features a number of good videos, the best being the “go green with Orange”. It serves as an example of how a library can have fun while delivering an important message. In this case, the library makes a parody of an 80s paid commercial touting the amazing “green” powers of a reusable orange cloth bag.

As the above comments and examples have shown, there are nearly limitless ways for the library to share media using Internet media sharing tools such as Flicker and YouTube.