Joyce Valenza

Time for TL Tube?
July 30, 2007

My last post on student video got me thinking:  How are school libraries and school library programs represented on the Web in the world of student- and teacher-produced video?

I did a little digging through my own wiki links, through YouTube, and TeacherTube, and Chris Smith's Web 2.0 Videos/PPTs and through Nancy Dowd's Library Videos Blog.

I must admit the results were disappointing.  With all the tools available, with all the student talent out there, with our new ability to store and share video online, I expected to find far more.  Think of all we might contribute this coming school year--not just in terms of library infomercials, but in terms of instruction that is just a bit more media-literate, and fun, and accessible.

Okay, I was disappointed, but I can share some highlights of my video search:

This spring Thomson Gale hosted its first "I Love My Library" video contest on its new librareo site.  Most of the 177 public, academic, and school library entries are available on YouTube.   The $10,000 winner was announced at ALA Annual on June 24th.  And it had a clear school library focus:

Dozier Middle School and Main Street Libraries (Newport News, VA)
Two students choose to reach beyond the Internet to complete their school project.

Four other films made the final cut:

Green Gables Elementary School Library (Lakewood, CO)A lovely animated thank you note from a young library user, now storytelling and film-maker.
Allen County Public Library (Fort Wayne, IN)
Libraries are critical, especially at times when zombies attack!
Towson Public Library (Towson, MD)
Hemmingway, the red bookworm, convinces the mayor not to cut the library budget.
Columbus Public Library (Columbus, NE)
A young man, in 3-D pop-up book shares that we can all discover a new world at our public libraries. Great effects!

Posted by Joyce Valenza on July 30, 2007 | Comments (0)