Skip to main content

Making Library Videos: Types of Videos

(UPDATED 4/7/2022)
 
What types of videos can library staff create?  Nothing is beyond your imagination.  Let's consider a few options.  At my library, we have made videos in the following categories:

  • Book trailers, which promote particular books;
  • Program trailers, which showcase specific library programs;
  • Promo trailers, which feature certain library events, services, collections, technologies, or other resources;
  • Instructional videos;
  • Local history videos;
  • Music parody videos;
  • Readalouds (of children's books);
  • Singalongs;
  • Children's songs;
  • Puppet shows;
  • Video blogs (vlogs);
  • Readers' advisories;
  • Children's crafts videos (for library programs);
  • Public Service Announcements; and
  • Library board reports.
Sometimes, a single video may include several of these functions.  Would you like to see some examples?

First, a book trailer.

MPL Book Trailer #366
Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family's Story,
by Margriet Ruurs; illustrated by Nizar Ali Badr

Next, a program trailer.

MPL Reopening (COVID-19) Promo Trailer (2020),
by Mooresville Public Library

 
The programs themselves may be videorecorded.


Celebrating a Century of Frank Inn,
by Mooresville Public Library

This promo trailer features a technology service the library provides patrons.


Power Up Charging Stations Promo Trailer,
by Mooresville Public Library

Instructional videos can introduce patrons to new technologies in the library.


How to Use Our New Self-Checkout Kiosks
by "Flat" Cauli Le Chat

Auto Check-in at MPL
by "Flat" Cauli Le Chat

Local history videos can showcase the library's specialized collections or services.


Self-Guided Walking Tour of Historic Downtown Mooresville, Indiana,
(MPL Program Trailer #6)

Music parody videos are a fun way to promote your library.


Go Ask Reference, by Rachel Montgomery & Meghan Adams

Readalouds are some of the most popular videos libraries produce, although there can be copyright concerns.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt5bkxeYN4gOd-ykpDx10_T70tYb5LkBL

Story Time LIVE (This Week) Playlist
by Clinton (Indiana) Public Library

Singalongs are also quite popular.


Five Little Monkeys (Fingerplay Song), by Miss Michelle @ MPL
(Story Time Rocks! Video Series)

We often combined puppet shows with readers' advisories and children's crafts videos.


The Letter U u, by Miss Jaymi & Sammy the Toucan
(Early Literacy Fun Video Series)

Video blogs (vlogs) can also be readers' advisory videos.


MEG-A-RAE #10:  A Very Special Mystery
Episode, by Miss Meghan & Miss Rachel

Here's another children's craft/readers' advisory/puppet show hybrid.


Miss Michelle @ MPL:  A Special Thankful Episode,
by Miss Michelle & Aggie McPooch

Our most popular video is a children's song.


Animal Alphabet Song Video, by Miss Jaymi

Librarians may use videos to supplement (or replace) written reports to the library board. We have plenty of examples here, but here's one (below) from another library.

GPL Board Report (February, 2013)
by Greenwood (Indiana) Public Library Technical Services

 
Lastly, a PSA.


Return to Regular Hours PSA,
by Mooresville Public Library (2020)

 
As you can see, these videos are a lot of fun to make, and they promote an extensive variety of library collections, programs, services, and resources.  What types of videos would you like to make for your library?

Our most popular videos have each been viewed tens of thousands of times (our Animal Alphabet Song video has over a half-million views).  We currently have over 1,400 videos (as of 2022) on our YouTube channel.  It's not bad for a township public library.  We serve a population of roughly 15,000.

My point here goes beyond mere boasting; our experience shows that even a small public library with virtually no resources can make successful videos that the public watches and seems to enjoy.  If we can do it, anybody can.  All you need is a dedicated staff willing to put forth the effort.  The rewards are engaged patrons.

But there's something much more extensive operating here.  Having a video channel on YouTube or Vimeo reaches a worldwide audience.  Your library can develop a global footprint using such online social media platforms.  My library's combined social media (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, Flickr, blogs, and others), along with our website, has reached well over two million people since 2010, when we began our social media initiative.  Everyone who visits your online sites is a patron you are serving. Those statistics count.

Next time we'll discuss where you may find free, share-alike images to use in your library videos.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

See All the Fun You'll Have Working at the Library!

For many years libraries have used videos to promote programs, resources, services, community connections, local history, and many other  activities.  There is often an underlying implied theme:  the library is a fun place to be!   Patrons and staff have known this to be true forever.  Consider, too, that the library is a fun workplace , and videos can share this side of a library's character. I work in a small township public library ( Mooresville [Indiana] Public Library ) where fun is not merely a daily expectation, it is a requirement.  MPL's YouTube channel has a fleet of videos showcasing the smiles staff wear while working.  Let's see some. Beyond Books Infomercial by Mooresville Public Library Go Ask Reference by Rachel Montgomery & Meghan Adams Librarians Do Taio Cruz by Suzanne Walker We Love Mooresville Public Library by MPL Staff of 2019 Libraries & Old Dewey by Suzanne Walker and MPL Staff & Volunteers It's even possible ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Beyond Book Trailers: Using MARC 856 Fields for Other Online Promotional Media

In a previous blog post , we learned how catalogers could use MARC 856 fields to link cataloged books with book trailers (videos) summarizing their contents.  There are other digital media tools available that could be linked in 856 fields to promote cataloged books, such as: Podcasts; Readalouds; Blogs; Video Blogs (Vlogs); Video Book Reviews; Videos showcasing children's library craft activities related to specific books. Librarians use podcasts, blogs, video blogs (vlogs), and video book reviews to discuss library-related topics, including what they (or their book groups) are currently reading.  Podcasts may be audio- or video-recordings, while vlogs and video book reviews are filmed.  Blogs are traditionally online written content.  Podcasts, vlogs, and video book reviews may be done by a single librarian, or they may involve paired conversations or even group discussions.  Written blogs may have one or more authors.  URLs linking any of th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Avoiding Copyright Law Problems With Your Library Video Readalouds

For decades public libraries have presented readaloud children's programs to encourage reading and early literacy.  The photo (below) presents a typical scenario. Click Image to Enlarge Some libraries videorecord librarians reading children's books so that patrons may read along from the comfort of wherever they happen to be at the time.  Here are a few examples (click the boxes below to play the videos): Story Time Anytime!, by Clinton (Indiana) Public Library (see their Story Time LIVE video playlist ) Read Aloud, by Meghan Adams: Barn Dance, by Bill Martin, Jr., et al. Ms. Casey Reads a Chapter From Mr. Popper's Penguins , by Richard & Florence Atwater Videorecording someone reading an entire children's picture book could constitute copyright infringement, although some have argued that these types of videos fall within the "fair use" exception under Section 107 of the federal copyright act (17 U.S.C. §...
Post a Comment
Read more