Library Revolution

Good luck to Smithtown Library…. I’m rooting for you!

Great video, BTW.

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OMG How did I not see this video before? I’ll share because I can’t be the only one who has never seen it… (can I??)

I can’t remember the last time a “librarian” video made me smile like this.

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My husband stumbled on the new Sesame Street Videos beta site today… I can tell by my son’s delirious squeals of joy that we will be spending a lot of time on this site.

One video I found “very <ENTER>taining” can be found by going to the site and searching “elmo computers.” The video is called “Where Are the Computers?” (sorry, no direct link…) Take the time to watch this one and see how The Street portrays libraries these days. A far cry from the old “No Cookies In the Library” days!

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I just had to share this little gem from the 1960’s.

I gotta get me one of those “electronic correspondence machines.” Imagine how cool it would be if I could communicate instantly with people around the world!

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How much do I love this video?

“There is no ‘top’ to the World Wide Web.”

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A few of my favorite Harry-themed videos for your amusement on the eve of “The Big Day.”

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I was asked to recap the video posts I’ve put up over the past month. So here they are:

LR Film Festival Part I: No Cookies in the Library

LR Film Festival Part 2: Waste of “Time”

LR Film Festival Part 3: Shirlington Rocks!

LR Film Festival Part 4: No Book For You!

LR Film Festival Part 5: 24 hr book machine

LR Film Festival Part 6: 1946 Librarians

LR Film Festival Part 7: Thought and Searching

LR Film Festival Part 8: Short Pencils

LR Film Festival Part 9: RSS in Plain English

And one more for good luck:

I think there are some interesting lessons to be learned from all of these library-related videos… and from the many, amny other ones that are out there and that I love but didn’t post about. It’s so important to think about the way libraries and librarians are portrayed and how they portray themselves in the media. How are we being seen by our potential customers, and how does that impact of user expectations?

I’ve heard it said (by non-library professionals, mostly) that libraries have it made because everyone knows them and knows what they have to offer. I have to say, however, that making that assumption is a huge mistake. The image of “what a library is” is very strong, true. But how many of our potential customers really know what we have to offer? Talking to real people about this (both library users and non-users alike) might surprise you… I think that very few community members know what it is we do, what their expectations can be and what to demand of us.

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I came across this video today, outlining RSS and aggregator use in a really clear, basic sort of way.

I wish I could get some librarians I know to watch this… and then start playing around with RSS. I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but so many otherwise great librarians could benefit from learning this stuff and starting to use it to keep up with the trends and advances in their field.

Usually, when I mention the idea of incorporating reading online professional literature to “non-techie” librarians, I either get a blank stare or a simple, “oh, I don’t have time for that!” Or both. Of course, using an aggregator is designed to save you time… provided you don’t use it like I do and fall into the trap of reading absolutely everything!! But it can really work to keep you up to date and in the loop while not eating your entire day away at the same time. And I know some librarians who could use some strategies for keeping up with their profession!

So if I had a chance to sit down and teach an RSS/”keeping up with professional trends in the 21st century” class, I might start with this video. It’s short, clear, and non-technical enough to not be intimidating for people who get a little scared off by buzzwords and techie talk.

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I loved this little video when Martha posted it last week on The Vital Library.

I thought that was so cute… especially the shot of the librarians with their saws.

Sure, it doesn’t have much of a moral lesson to it, as we have had with other LR Film Festival entries, but I thought this was to cute to leave out.

And it reminds me of a library I worked with recently - they were trying like mad to get their in-house OPACs to print out little strips of paper for the patrons with basically just the title, author, and call number on them. You know, so patrons could look up the title they wanted, press print, and have something to take with them to the stacks. Sure, they could get it to print, but it never quite got to be exactly what they wanted. The paper was too big. Then too small. The type wasn’t the right size. It printed out too much info, then too little. One thing after another.

Then they finally got the setup tweaked enough so that it was printing what they wanted. But the patrons still weren’t using them. Not all the signage in the world would prompt the patrons to hit the print key, and they were too impatient to wait for the printout. Turns out all the patrons wanted was a pile of scrap paper and some little pencils. Maybe low-tech is the way to go, sometimes!

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