Write a blog entry discussing how you felt about the experience of using YouTube and what you think about this service.
I’ve used YouTube a lot for fun, and I’m amazed by all the stuff one can find on it. I find searching a bit of a pain on it, especially for popular tags. I think it is great that libraries are using it, and I heard some good ideas at Computers in Libraries. I think YouTube is most effective when the video is embedded in context (a library’s web site, for example). I like how instructors in this course have selectively used video to illustrate points. For this week’s assignment, I spent some time looking at InfoTubey winners and am embedding (fingers crossed!) a favorite of mine, courtesy of QandANJ.org, Gibbsboro, New Jersey.
Do you see any potential uses for Podcasting in the library? If so what and why?
There are absolutely uses for podcasting in libraries. NLM has a regular podcast, which summarizes a recent development in research or health news topic for consumers. I think the best use is providing access to existing resources, such as lectures (I’ll be listening to the Claude Moore library’s History of the Health Sciences series for a while!), or directing users to podcasts that might be of a particular interest. I’m not sure how many people would listen to regular podcasts about the library, but there may be potential there depending on users and the library.
