Competency 8: Multimedia

This is a terrific YouTube video from the Birmingham, Alabama public library advertising their teen summer reading program for 2007. I chose this video for my multimedia blog competency because using YouTube is a great way for a library to connect with teens, and this video does a great job, for various reasons.

First, because the video is on YouTube it reaches teens on their off hours, when they're not at school or work. At my library, we normally advertise the summer reading program at schools before summer vacation starts since that's one way to reach kids who don't come into the library. But identifying the library with school runs the risk of making it a place kids don't really want to be if they don't have to. Advertising teen summer reading on YouTube makes the library feel much more like a part of a teen's recreational life.

Second, the video is sharable - kids can post this video on their blogs or link to it, something they can't do with a paper flyer and probably won't do with a regular library web page.

Third, and very importantly, the video has good production values and is really funny. Eli Neiberger, who's famous in the youth library world for bringing videogaming to Ann Arbor District Library, often points out that to teens, having nothing is better than having something lame. This video is so well done that it makes the summer reading program look professional.



Citation:

Birmingham Public Library. Birmingham Public Library Teen Summer Reading Program 2007. Birmingham, AL. 31 May, 2007. Accessed March 21, 2008 at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWlicnl3HII.