The Use of Video Tutorials to Enhance Library Instruction at a South African Higher Education Institution

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to report on how a team of librarians from the University of Cape Town (UCT) Libraries introduced and implemented a project involving instructional video tutorials. Faced with a growing number of students, a decline in the number of library staff as well as the limited ability of librarians to reach out to students through traditional means of face-to-face library instruction, the librarians started creating video tutorials using Camtasia Studio. Another impetus for developing video tutorials was the introduction of lecture recording at the university and the need for the library to align itself with these developments at the institution. Through a narrative, the paper outlines the video development process. The challenges encountered are presented and a set of guidelines drawn up to ensure efficient and effective production. The number of videos created grew from one in 2012 to 62 by 2018. An examination of video usage analytics indicates that the average view duration of the videos is between 52 per cent and 71 per cent. The guidelines presented in this paper will provide valuable insights for other librarians to develop video tutorials. The paper is a valuable addition to existing literature on the subject and more importantly addresses a unique South African experience.