Elon University students created a series of short YouTube videos this year that share with their classmates the resources available in Belk Library, how to use those resources, and ways that the library can serve as a source of leisure.
Working through the Center for Undergraduate Publishing and Information Design, with help from faculty in the Department of English, the students in a fall 2009 course produced seven how-to videos on the following topics:
1) Navigating the physical library;
2) Accessing databases from off-campus;
3) Printing with the print management system;
4) Printing in color;
5) Using the copier machines;
6) Using the DocSend to scan documents; and
7) Finding leisure and recreational resources in the library.
The goal of assistant professor Rebecca Pope-Ruark’s course “Publication and Project Management” was to create an environment mimicking a consulting firm, from which students would conduct rhetorical assessments, initiate research, use their research to make proposals to fit a client’s needs, and complete the proposed publication project to the client’s satisfaction.
Library staff said they believe the videos will play an important role in helping students navigate and efficiently use the resources available in the building.
“Belk Library doesn’t have a problem getting students in the door – the library is well-loved and well-used,” said Lynne Bisko, a librarian at the university. “Unfortunately, we don’t have the staff to reach all of our students through formal instruction sessions and not as many students ask questions at the information desk as we would hope.
“In the future, we hope that students will create more videos. The About Belk video blog was created for students, by students, and Belk Library wants to continue that tradition.”