Libraries and Librarians Get Creative on YouTube – Watch Our Top 5 Favorites

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There are some highly imaginative librarians and library-lovers out there and some of them have been making a big splash on YouTube. So, we decided to sort through and pick out our favorite library-related YouTube videos:

“Collingswood Library Promo”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11Wx25Mk-Ek
Created by the funny folks at the Collingswood Public Library in South Central New Jersey, this silent movie spoof aims to influence young people who might otherwise “resort to less glorious habits!”

“Librarian”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne_WXP7lUWM
Ever seen one of those 1940s black and white movies with the dark shadows and suspicious-looking characters? This video takes those film noir hallmarks to the library where two librarians plan to educate a boy who “has no understanding of library protocols.”

“The Wizard of Oz – a Tale of Library Circulation”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PWq_6s-lJY
This parody of the classic 1939 film had its premiere at the 2007 American Library Association Conference in Washington D.C. and was created by the imaginative minds of the Salt Lake County Library. “There’s no place like the library, there’s no place like the library, there’s…”

“Librarian vs. Stereotypes : We Listen!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw2nhQJNoZI
You’ve surely seen the “Mac and P.C.” commercials that have been airing for the last couple of years. The University of Texas at Arlington Library created this funny, yet surprisingly true video to try and clear up some of the stereotypes about librarians.

“Andy & Lou – At Herby Library”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHYKr0ubCAY
Last but not least, we have this hilarious snippet from the popular British television show Little Britain, which stars the hapless duo known as Andy and Lou. Andy’s famous catchphrases “I want that one” and “Yeah I know” place Lou in a tricky situation when the pair decide to visit their local library.

Do you know of any other great library-related YouTube videos? Let us know by leaving a comment here, or on Twitter or Facebook.

Library Zombies

After drafting a few videos to introduce students to library resources and services, we decided to make things a little more fun. This video is the first in a series of animated library craziness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w68doU1SxbY

Library video

From about a year ago: Libraries are gonna make it after all! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fqpY97S0xU

That was great! Short and

That was great! Short and sweet. I bookmarked it for next time. We're going to try to do these YouTube posts every 2 weeks or so.

library video

I've always liked the literal version of the Head Over Heels music video which takes place in a library: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0TYun-Nq1Q

I’m speechless. I don’t

I'm speechless. I don't think I'll ever be able to listen to that song the same way again! Really great stuff though. Also bookmarked for potential future entries.

Oh, Metadata!

I loved the library-related videos you've assembled. Here's a music video I recently composed, sang and danced to in our library stacks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8BmiWcaxyg After uploading this video to YouTube, I suddenly realized that the metadata (description about the video) was thin. That won't do. That simply won't do. Poor metadata is simply unacceptable. So I enriched that data. Now this song has suitably rich metadata. Phil Shapiro, Public Geek Takoma Park Maryland Library