28 Sept 2021

Outreach Content Creation: How to Produce YouTube Videos and Podcasts

Libfocus is very happy to post the second of the joint second placed entries in this years CONUL Library Assistants Award. Congratulations David RinehartMaynooth University Library


Introduction 

This blog post describes the processes and tools I have used to create YouTube video and podcast outreach content for Maynooth University’s Special Collections and Archives department. The central aim of the YouTube and podcast series was to expand our Library Treasures blog into the audio and visual platforms giving our collections greater visibility and discoverability, thus engaging a larger audience. I detail the tools used, collaboration, editing, and social media promotion. Further, I identify where improvements need to be made in addition to long-term goals. 


Screen shot from the second episode of Library Treasures video series 



Inspiration 

The inspiration for this project was sparked by the pandemic. Being a service that handles unique and rare materials, we tend to cater to patrons with specific interests or visitors keen on historical tourism. We were, thus, faced with the challenge of how to connect our patrons to these rare materials in some way. We took many measures to provide the service as best we could. The positive spin, however, is that we had the space to focus more on our virtual presence. While videos do not replace the in-house experience, it is still a way for us to remain connected to our public while giving the Russell Library space some life during a lonely time. 


Image of the Russell Library Reading Rooms taken by David Rinehart

Getting Started: 


YouTube series: 

Equipment: 

    • Camera (Canon EOS 2000D)
    • Tripod
    • Microphone
    • Computer


Software:

Hosting Service:

    

Image taken by David Rinehart of Hardware Used for Podcast and Video Series Podcast Series: 



Equipment:

    • Microphone 
    • Computer 


Software: 

    • Audacity (capturing audio)
    • Adobe Premiere Pro (works well for audio editing too)

Hosting Service:

 

Collaboration 

One of the greater challenges in creating this kind of content is, as a relatively new employee, identifying the collections and content to showcase. Collaboration has been key for a large project like this and a fantastic way to learn more about the work my colleagues are doing. I have collaborated with three colleagues – an archivist, a conservator, and a library assistant for the first three videos. 

The work load has been divided up in the following way: I establish a timeline while my counterpart writes the script, records most of the video, and takes the necessary images. I then record the 

introduction and outro for continuity. Lastly, I take all of the raw footage and material and edit it into the final product, post it to YouTube, and advertise on social media. 


Image captured by David Rinehart from The Scenery and Antiquities of Ireland (1842) for Adam Staunton’s blog post and episode 3 of the Library Treasures video series 


  


The editing process has been a steep learning curve. I have watched many YouTube videos and read many forums to learn about the techniques and tools available to me. For ease of editing, I have asked my collaborators to share the folders of images and videos with me via OneDrive in the order that they should appear in video, this makes it far easier to place the videos and still images along the timeline to sync up with the content being described. 

Social Media promotion is essential to get the content out to your target audience. It is important to think about which organization handles, individual handles, and hashtags would bring the content closest to your target audience. 

    

Screenshot of twitter post for Library Treasures Episode 2 



Results 

The first video has received 127 views since it was released on March 8th, 2021; the second video has received 48 views since its release on June 14th, 2021 and the third video has received 36 views since its release on July 9, 2021. The first video was created around the theme of women in the collections, e.g. Teresa Deevy, and released on International Women’s Day, which could account for the greater traction it picked up on social media. 


Reflection 

We have had team conversations about how to best get these videos to their target audiences and beyond. We made the decision to change the name of the YouTube series from Collections Spotlight to Library Treasures. We have had a blog of the same name running for years with many hundred followers. The video series and podcast are an expansion of this project and are meant to complement each other. Having the same name makes them more discoverable, as someone who has been following the blog may more easily search for or stumble across our podcast and video series. The three mediums will also have links to each other. 


Our long-term goal is to incorporate the blog posts, video and podcast episodes into LibGuides we are designing for our various collections showcased in Library Treasures posts. We are also developing a LibGuide exclusively for Library Treasures media, highlighting our more recent videos, podcasts, and blogs. This will greatly contribute to the lifespan and discoverability of the posts as they will have a permanent home instead of getting buried in a YouTube channel or deep down in a blog. 


Image created using Canva for third Library Treasures episode 



                


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