If you’re looking for some light relief at the end of the year before Xmas, or if you’re looking for inspiration on how to market your research library, certain spaces or specific services in a different way … I have selected 10 videos showing a range of informative, creative and comical ways of conveying a library message from personal anecdotes to silent movie or drama story-line or film parody to rap.

This month’s blog post highlights a range of library videos from around the world. You may question whether some of these examples fit into your local culture. Testing any of these out on your scholars and students before investing is the answer.

Consider how you can use the assets of your institution and how you can further education to create such a creative promo or instruction. Engage with faculty or service centres to involve video multimedia production teams, dance groups or singers for such a creative work; make a competition out of it.

And now sit back and be informed and entertained:

The Perfect Desk, Cambridge University
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hjzNNvaELA

Cambridge University’s video uses peers to address fellow students / researchers by sharing their views and experiences in a personal but informative way. Personal and amusing anecdotes and insights in all kinds of library spaces provide a great impression of what life for a young scholar is like, and why it’s worthwhile.

 

The Magic of the Library – A Fun Presentation of The University of Bergen Library
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wytQ3pudf5k&index=31&list=RDMAYBhIiB82E

The library director of the University of Bergen takes on the lead role in a creative and comic but informative film on the value of the library. Plenty of metaphors are used to imaginatively amuse and inform. At the same time, it includes lots of visuals from the library’s collection and different spaces.  “The University of Bergen – Your Source of Information.”

 

Collingswood Library Promo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11Wx25Mk-Ek

Collingswood Library creates an amusing silent movie to inform users of a recent fund-raising campaign.

 

The Research Games – Part One, Texas A&M University Libraries
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-hmcx99Kks

This Texas A&M video is a parody on the Hunger Games teaching students not to panic when they need to write a research paper showing that there are many ways to get support. The one that knows the way, wins.

 

The Lord of the Libraries, The University of Kansas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdTAv4dCZMg

This University of Kansas library video is a parody on The Lord of the Rings. It takes us on a Tolkienised adventure of retuning the Book of Power.

 

Diagnosis Plagiarism, Yavapai College Libraries
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QSnOczodBs#t=53

Diagnosis plagiarism, uses storytelling to get an important message out on the rules of plagiarism. It takes place in the emergency room of a local hospital with surgeons, nurses and secret agents in dark glasses. A student just saves her paper in time on the operating table, whilst hearing how to avoid such a dangerous infection in future.

 

New Spice | Study like a Scholar, Harold B. Lee Library
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ArIj236UHs&list=RDMAYBhIiB82E&index=10

Harold B. Lee Library Productions is famed for its unconventional and professional library instructional comical videos. This quick-paced, short video has a strong message to raise awareness of some of the plusses of the library by a young scholar/actor. It might be too commercial for some countries, but inspires to package a couple of important bites of information in a short visual. “Study like a scholar, scholar.”

 

Gotta Be Scholar, Harold B. Lee Library
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYjG1llQVlA

Also from Harold B. Lee Library Productions, a rap with educative lyrics on what it means to be a scholar. “Put your grades up. Put your grades up.” “Step up and be a scholar.”

 

The Library Minutes, Arizona State University
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zApJETdSt_A

ASU provides short bursts of one minute bite-sized amusing but informative information to encourage students to take note and do more. One of a series of information pills to be found on YouTube.

 

Happy – Texas A&M University Libraries
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bja6bh7G-_g

Texas A&M takes you on a musical tour of its different library spaces in tune to Pharel Williams’s “Happy.” Students and staff, united in the same spirit.

 

Do you have a video you’d like to share with the community in the box below?