Well, youTube is one of those things that, even as someone a little behind the times technologically, I could hardly have missed and I was aware of podcasting as an audio-visual medium for conveying information. I hadn't really grasped the connection with subscriptions and RSS feeds though so am glad to have learned about that. I have a programme in mind I'd like to subscribe to - just wish I could remember the name of it, then I might be able to see if that service is offered by said programme makers!
Some of the youTube videos suggested by the Cam23 team were very entertaining. Romance of the Living Book was great and you could see that sort of thing achieving a cult following amongst students. I am hugely in favour of using the audio-visual medium to reach library users. Podcasts / audio-visuals can be entertaining, often humorous and can convey valuable messages at a time that suits library users, at the point at which they need it and can overcome some of the anxiety associated with using the library or not wanting to admit to lack of knowledge. Though this is of obvious benefit to distance users its value to local users should not be underestimated. Students have a lot to take in when they arrive at university. Particularly, in Cambridge where firstly they call on college and faculty libraries. They, therefore, may not visit the UL until some time into their studies and then be embarrassed at not knowing things and may have missed earlier induction programmes. The UL is not an easy place to use - largely because of its size.
Podcasting / audio-visuals nowadays entail little expense and I can also see a value not only in providing short introductions to resources available but also in providing information on new services / resources offered by the library or changes to usual procedure which it would help users to know about in advance. I'm not sure we can rely on users subscribing to an RSS style feed for podcasts though and feel that links on library web-pages and e-mail links would also be necessary.
Image courtesy of derrickkwa via Flickr CC
I'm mightily impressed with all your posts today (on your day off)! Above and beyond the call of duty. I may need to do something similar if I get much further behind actually.
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