University of Manitoba Demystifies the Archives

From Arcan-L, the Canadian archival listserv, Shelly Sweeney of the University of Manitoba Archives and Special Collections writes:

We are thrilled to announce (okay, we are always thrilled to announce) that we have produced a 4+ minute video on how to use University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections.  For viewing, please see: 

http://umanitoba.ca/libraries/archives/tutorial.shtml

Reaction from student focus groups has been very positive.  I should point out two things: the first is that there is an error in the video.  No need to tell us, we’re aware of it and are trying to decide whether it’s worth it to try and correct it.  (See if you can spot it.)  The second is that no archives were harmed in the making of this video.

 

Shelley

The explosion of online video, as evidenced by the popularity of such websites as YouTube and Viddler, clearly shows the power and impact of video on society. As per the Archives, in order to reach (and teach) a generation that is highly visual in its communication habits, the use of video to demystify the archives is a brilliant idea. Kudos to the University of Manitoba.

UPDATE 22/12/2008: In case you are wondering what was the error in the video, Shelley Sweeney recently revealed the gaffe:

So while the lack of gloves might be considered an error, the one we were thinking of is that one of the researchers places three photographs on the photocopier just as the voiceover is saying you may use a camera without a flash!