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Using Vlogs To Increase Web Presence
By Ingrid Lebolt, Arlington Heights Memorial Library
June 1, 2007
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24/7 – that's how people want to access information and services. They want it wherever they are located – a Web presence is a must. If you can't deliver, you are obsolete, a goner. So we try to deliver our services to the user when and where they want it. We to try to deliver it in new and interesting ways, because that too, is what keeps today's savvier computer user coming back.

Thanks to an LSTA grant to explore emerging technologies, the Arlington Heights Memorial Library was able to experiment with the use of video on our website. We have been creating and airing Vlogs since December of 2006.

The Choice of Vlogs

When you take a Blog and you add video you get a Vlog. So why this technology and not another?

It's not really a stretch.

• Non-print materials are ever increasing high-demand items.
• The visual offer interest on a web page. Moving visual offers even greater depth.
• “Visual” websites like YouTube and Flickr are on many people's daily Web surfing adventures - people like the visual.
• It's a door to a broader audience.
• And, added bonus, it gives us the opportunity to enhance our website, promote our other services, and involve the community.

What We Learned

The LibVlog (that's our official name – short for Library Vlog) has been rewarding and evolutionary.

Our LibVlogs are hosted on YouTube, making our videos accessible to a larger audience. When creating our videos, however, we consider our audience to be our community.

When we first started, the LibVlog appeared on the home page, pretty much as a stand-alone piece. 2-3 LibVlogs, consisting of both original programming and excerpts from filmed programming were scheduled each week. A What's Up piece (anchored by 2 staff members) appeared each Monday and the other LibVlogs varied, although we planned for a cooking piece and children's programming each month.

The What's Up pieces are successful. Our statistics show that people are still watching old What's Up pieces. We were surprised that Children's programs do not do well. They are the least viewed of the LibVlogs. The cooking programs did not do as well as we expected either, but do have a viewership. Music programs do very well, as we capture a broader market via YouTube.

We have found the wackier the better works. When it's funny people watch. It only goes to prove what Marshall McLuhan once said, “Anyone who tries to make a distinction between education and entertainment doesn't know the first thing about either.” Conveying information in an entertaining way makes it more palatable.

There have been two significant instances where we were able to capitalize on events that were important to our users and create special Vlogs for the events. The first was when the Bears were in the Super Bowl playoffs, the second during the Village elections. These Vlogs, and the information provided on the Web pages were heavily viewed. Although you may be able to anticipate interest and plan for some events, the ability to be flexible and able to quickly put something together is a great advantage.

Costs and Benefits

The most frequently asked questions are “what does it cost?” and “are they worth it?”

Most of our costs are in person hours.   If you work with an outside source, they can quote a price for you.  I believe Library Production Studios (which does the majority of our LibVlogs), is charging about $600 to record and produce a segment.  You can contact Josh Pfluger at jpfluger@ahml.info  for more information.

If you are interested in doing it yourself, we have an equipment list we are willing to share.

A typical new production at this point takes us about seven person/hours, broken down as follows:

• Script writing, including blocking, etc. 1 hour
• Filming 1 hour
• On camera personnel 2 hours (we usually have two people in a video – this does not include time for staff to memorize scripts)
• Editing 1 hour
• Rendering 1 hour
• Preparation for posting and Web page 1 hour

These numbers are down significantly from when we first started. We learned very early on that we greatly underestimated the amount of preproduction work involved.

At this point, we average approximately 250 LibVlog views per day. As with any industry, marketing makes a difference. Viewership spikes when we advertise, when an article appears in the paper and when there is some kind of buzz on the Web – blog entries, for example.

We have reaped some intangible but exceptionally valuable benefits from this adventure.

• The LibVlogs have greatly enhanced our Web pages and made people more aware of our programs, collections and services.
• From our users we have found that the LibVlogs have helped place a face on the library. Viewers feel they know our anchors. They feel more in touch with the library.
• Our staff is interested and excited and like being involved.
• We have created an amazing team, garnered from all areas of the library, all age groups and experience levels.
• The things learned from the way this team works together have provided useful lessons in other areas.

Right now the costs probably outweigh the benefits. But that's the case when any new technology is introduced. There are always investment costs to be made for any new venture. The benefits we see now are nothing compared to the benefits we will see in three years. We are investing in our future.

The Evolution

As mentioned, in the beginning the LibVlog appeared on the homepage, pretty much as a stand-alone piece. As we progressed, we added more information to the LibVlog's Web page, tying the video to the collection and services available at the library. Integrating with our other services provided a value-added component. That little extra work of providing links to our catalog made for a better product.

We started repurposing LibVlogs, offering them in other areas of the Web, making for richer content there. For example, a piece on our English as a Second Language (ESL) which appeared on the homepage, then in the archive pages, is now also viewable from the ESL page on the website. This provides a point-of-sale experience for users who might not otherwise see the piece. We foresee much more of this in the future.

For a “Save on Taxes 2006 ” LibVlog, the web team worked with the Reference department to develop special Web page focusing on the tax information and help which the library could provide.

We had always intended LibVlogs to be a media for community involvement. Our first What's Up LibVlog, and all since, has had a “man on the street” component. A member of the community introduces the video, thereby bringing the community into the process. We plan to grow this element of the LibVlogs by offering timely video pieces on areas of interest to the community and pieces created by members of the community.

We plan to open up all elements of the Vlog process to more of the staff, inviting their talents (behind the scene, camera, in front of the camera, wherever they are able) to become a bigger part of the process.

Our next hurdle is to prune those components that aren't working and to enhance the things that are. There's a great future ahead of us, bridled only by our imagination and our willingness to experiment.

About the Author

Ingrid Lebolt is the Web Services Director at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library. She is also the Project Manager for the LibVlog project.

 

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