Rudaí 23 #thing9: Video

For this task, I went with Screencast-O-Matic to record my screencast as the instructions on the Rudaí 23 blog seemed pretty straightforward. The site is set up to encourage you to download the newer version of the software but I had a look at both options and preferred the layout of the older version, which you don't have to download. I had to update my Java  software and found that the "Old Recorder V.10" version worked better with Internet Explorer rather than Chrome for some reason, but once I'd figured that out I was good to go and started my recording.

I went with a simple 'How-to' video which shows how to add speech bubbles to an image using the GIMP graphics editor. I wrote out a script for the tutorial, figuring that would make the Youtube transcription easier, but after a few false starts I abandoned the script and just spoke as I would giving a regular one-to-one tutorial. Uploading the video itself to YouTube was painless too, I just saved the screencast to my laptop and dragged and dropped the mp4 file from there into YouTube.

High on my success so far, I decided to add subtitles to the video but this part of the task was trickier - I found the automatic transcription option frustrating to use. With this option, YouTube generates blocks of text from your video which you can then click into and edit. I did this but found that YouTube had missed out on over a minute of the text in the middle of my screencast. I added this text manually and published the video with the subtitles but the text didn't synch properly with the video. When I went back in to adjust this I found that if you go back to correct text generated using automatic transcription you can't simply add to the edits you have already made - you have to start again from scratch. I finally abandoned automatic transcription completely, transcribed the video manually and clicked to set the timings. This worked a lot better for me and is the option I'll go with from now on.

Here's the link to the finished product: How to add speech bubbles to an image with GIMP

I definitely think that library-produced video tutorials could be useful in the academic library I work in. We do a lot of tutorials based on the Refworks reference management software package for example and it would be ideal for this. It would be especially suited to our online and part-time students who can't easily avail of our one-to-one consultation service. The Refworks tutorials supplied on the official Refworks website are comprehensive, but there are specific guides to its compatibility with our electronic resources and IT systems that we could produce ourselves.

While I did find some of this task frustrating I know it's important to recognise that this frustration is all part of the learning process - indeed success is all the more satisfying once you finally figure it all out!

Rudaí 23 #thing8: Pinterest

I decided to look at Pinterest for this week's blog as I opened a Pinterest account about a year ago but feel I haven't really explored its features properly. I'm interested in looking at how it could be used in a library context as I have up until now used the account for precisely two things - to gather images of Bill Murray for a photo project and to collect low GI recipes. Consequently, this is what my rather sad Pinterest profile page looks like as I begin #thing 8.

Clearly, the Pinterest team thought my underpopulated profile looked a little suspect, as when I tried to access my account this week I was informed that it had been suspended because of inappropriate content! Thankfully, when I contacted the administrators they were able to reactivate my account within a few days with profuse apologies about the error and any undue upset caused...

Up until now, I put boards together using images and articles gathered only within Pinterest itself. Once I explored Pinterest for a while (a while being a black hole of hours of getting sidetracked by other people's pages) I learned how to pin websites into my boards and attach URLs to images I uploaded. I had a poke around the Rudaí 23 Pinterest boards too and it was interesting to see how they have used their account to provide support material for the course as well as to supply links to relevant articles. From what I've seen, Pinterest is mainly used by people (predominantly women) to collect images and articles for their hobbies, but for this week's task I had a look at some library-related Pinterest sites to see how Pinterest could be used in the libraries I work in.

New York Public Library's Pinterest account is the one that drew me in the most and with almost 32,000 followers I'm clearly not the only one who is taken with it. The boards are diverse, covering everything from NYPL's events to recipes and there's even a board dedicated to Downton Abbey-era images from their digital collections. Part of its strength is the way the account engages its users, asking them to contribute pins to traditional collections like the 'What are you reading' board as well as quirkier boards like 'Little Lions' which involves adding library-themed pictures of your cat to the site using the hashtag #NYPLLittleLion. By connecting their Twitter and Pinterest accounts in this way, NYPL managed to stir up interest in two of their social media accounts and the 'Little Lions' board alone has over 15,000 followers. Very effective indeed!

New York Public Library's 'Little Lions' Pinterest board

I discovered that both of the libraries I work in have Pinterest accounts and that there is great content, many interesting images and links to relevant material in both. Yet each has only a small amount of followers - learning from NYPL's great example, actively engaging users is the key to drawing people in and marketing the collections, events and initiatives in the library. NYPL's boards are spilling over with images from their document and digital collections, so using Pinterest to highlight the unique collections of the libraries I work in would be an ideal way to further engage users. Finding the time to follow other people's accounts and boards, to actively engage with users and to photograph and research the library's special collections is potentially very time-consuming however. There is a strong case to be made for the value of investing resources and staff expertise in developing a Pinterest account for libraries but the buy-in of management and staff would be key to its success.

Rudaí 23 #thing7: Adventures in podcasting

For this week’s task, I recorded a piece based on the Ireland's Films Lost and Found blog I wrote this month for the Irish Film Archive's Tiernan MacBride Library. I enjoy highlighting the archive's collections and my friends and colleagues have grown used to my enthusiastic monthly ramblings. I added more details to the blog, rewrote it in a more conversational style and recorded the piece while reading the rewrite. Even so, I had to start the recording from scratch a few times, when I stumbled over a word or skipped a line. The finished recording comes to about 8 minutes.

I used my Zen Creative MP3 player to record myself and transferred the audio file to my laptop which was hassle-free. I converted this WAV file to an MP3 file using Audacity, though I later discovered this was unnecessary as Soundcloud supports WAV files too. Once I created an account on Soundcloud and figured out how to add tags to my uploaded track (thank you Google) it was just a matter of following the step-by-step guide on the Rudaí 23 post to embed the podcast in this blog post.

I was introduced to the joy of podcasts about eight years ago by a friend who recommended The Ricky Gervais Show podcasts to me. With the help of the downloaded podcasts, I guffawed my way through a long train journey but I didn’t return to a podcast series again until last year, when I listened to Serial. This was mainly under pressure from friends and colleagues who were listening to the show and wanted to talk about it with everyone they met. I finally gave in and was immediately hooked by what is basically a true crime series featuring an actual murderer (or is he?), the witnesses and lawyers involved in the case and the cognitive processes of its narrator and executive producer, Sarah Koenig.

I think podcasts can be incredibly worthwhile – they give access to content that is free, original and interesting. You choose what you want to listen to and when you want to listen to it. Organisations like the BBC offer great Arts-related podcasts that I listen to occasionally, like this interview with one of my favourite writers, David Mitchell. Alternatively, if you subscribe to an RSS feed you don’t have to lift a finger to access those particular podcasts, the audio file is automatically downloaded to your computer and synced to your MP3 player.

For libraries, podcasts can be a way to connect with their local users as well as with international audiences. A successful example of this is the Ken Saro-Wiwa Audio Archive created by Maynooth University library.The archive features a series of podcasts in which people are interviewed about about Saro-Wiwa’s life as a writer and social activist, as well as about their own lives. The audio archive and Maynooth University Library’s special collections received a lot of media attention in 2014, boosting the profile of the library and of the university.  

In terms of education, podcasts are being used by universities internationally to provide students with recordings of lectures they may have missed, with research content and extended learning support. They’re a great benefit to auditory learners, can be accessed anytime, anywhere on portable devices and can also provide students with a way to share their learning experiences with each other.

When done properly, podcasting boosts engagement with listeners and adds to the reputation of an organisation. Content is easily created, downloaded and distributed but it’s important that the content is gripping, the programme sounds professional and the podcasts are scheduled to go out regularly. It’s something that could be used in the libraries I work in to promote upcoming events, interview writers and academics and highlight special collections. A lot of time and support as well as training would be needed by the staff involved to ensure the podcasts are of a high quality and they would have to be carefully planned in advance. A good example of a successful library podcast series in Ireland can be found on the Dunleary Rathdown Libraries Podcast page, which gives access to recent DLR author events.