YouTube is a video sharing service where registered users can upload an unlimited number of videos, add descriptions and tags, and share a permanent link to their video with others. Users can also make comments and forward videos to other people.

Case #1: YouTube at Harper College Library

Harper College Library in Palatine, IL has a humorous YouTube video linked from their blog. A video “host” and a Harper College student roll around on a book cart from one library service desk to another, essentially giving the viewer a tour of the library. It’s a creative way of communicating to users what the library has to offer; the use of music and humor make it an enjoyable video to watch, and the acting is done pretty well! I’m curious if the video would have more hits if it were displayed on the library’s homepage instead of on their blog.

As for tagging, this video is tagged with these words:

• Library
• Tour
• Welcome
• William
• Rainey
• Harper
• College
• Reference
• Librarian
• Circulation
• Cart
• Books
• Palatine

At first glance, I’m not too sure where some of the tags come from (like William and Rainey) and my first reaction was, why don’t they make “Harper” and “College” one tag, so that it is “Harper_College”? But I wonder if that would necessitate that people search using the underscore in their queries.

Case #2: YouTube at Birmingham Public Library

Birmingham Public Library in Birmingham, Alabama is clearly keeping up with Web 2.0 tools. The bottom of the the library’s homepage has attractive links to all sorts of 2.0 tools, such as Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.

Birmingham Public Library's homepage with links to Web 2.0 tools

BPL even has their own YouTube page because they have produced a number of YouTube videos–139, in fact! A sample of video titles: “Libraries Have Much to Offer,” “Oxford Art Online” (a database tutorial), “Birmingham Public Library Super Teen Movie,” and “Melissa Delbridge at Alabama Bound 2009.” The videos seem to serve a variety of functions, from promoting programming (like a teen word contest) to documenting staff activities, from database tutorials to author lectures at the library.

I’m impressed by the great range of videos, and as someone who previously worked in technical/user support for library databases, I was especially impressed by BPL’s idea to post their database tutorials as YouTube videos! Included in the “Virtual Library” section of BPL’s website is an A-Z and subject-based list of databases BPL subscribes to. Take the art database Oxford Art Online, for example:

BPL's page for Oxford Art Online

Under Tutorials, you’ll notice a link to a YouTube video that guides users on how to navigate Oxford Art Online. The description attached to the video is detailed and informative, but the tags are not as useful: “Jeimin,” “Final,” and “Cut.” I’m curious why the tagger chose these particular words; they seem to be intended more for the creator’s search needs than user search needs.