Thing 18: YouTube

Let's check out YouTube. Usually a fun thing to do. Sometimes a waste of time. You know, hundreds of videos of cats playing the piano, or reading a book, or flushing a toilet. Sometimes there is quality video on YouTube, too. I watched the Adventures of the Super Librarian, the Super Librarian piece, and the Allen piece. The first two were cute. They displayed the librarian in a good stead, warding off pesky stereotypes, and creating a feel-good kind of aura around the library itself. Being the odd bird that I am, I was especially interested in the digitization video. It was quite interesting seeing how books are photographed. I found a real faux pas in the presentation when handlers touched the artifacts with bare hands. This is not good archival technique. You should always wear white cotton gloves to protect the documents from oils and dirt that invariably attach themselves to the handler's hands. Get right, Allen!