I’ve used and enjoyed YouTube for years – mostly for fun. There’s nowhere better for music performance clips or goofiness to enjoy.
However, I have also used it for instruction – to find an example of how to do something for myself or someone else. Recently, I was in a group of people when one woman asked about how to cut a fresh pineapple – two people immediately suggested she look on YouTube, and all of the rest of seconded. She did find an example, and didn’t have any trouble following it. I know there are guitar lessons, identification examples of obnoxious insects, cooking examples, political discussions, filmed classroom lectures and experiments, and more.
I think it’s highly valuable for instruction or play – if I were trying to teach my library users how to do something, I can easily see the use of putting up a clip on YouTube. This has the added advantage that other people can find it, too, more than just the usual constituents of any one library. Other people needing this instruction might come across it as well, and benefit from it, even if they are not in a position to use the originator’s physical library.
This is a library video that I came across last year – a student made it twenty years ago in Arizona, but it’s still really funny now. There are some funny haircuts, and some arcane library devices that I’ve never seen, but the librarians who helped the student make it were perfect!
The Betty Glover Library Workout Tape Ad…
