As a part of the libraries transitioning to support remote teaching, the libraries saw the need for a more robust menu of asynchronous resources in the form of research guides and video instruction. This team worked over the summer to identify software, create best practices, and post sample videos for our staff to use in their own work. The team’s objective was not to create a restrictive set of inflexible templates and rigid standards. Rather the goal was to give library staff enough of a foundation for a consistent look while at the same time the space to creatively approach their videomaking at their own pace.
The team reviewed popular screen casting software and recommended Screen-cast-o-matic and Camtasia for the libraries. A reference guide was created that includes links to tutorials, advice for planning videos, and examples of scripts. Finally, two videos were produced: an explainer video for databases and an explainer video about citations. In addition, the team produced templates for more general videos introducing librarians and libraries.