Case Study: Carmel Clay Public Library

Carmel Clay Public Library is located in Carmel, IN and services approximately 79,000 residents in with a collection of 275,000.

For more information contact: Brian Barrett:

What prompted you to start developing online tutorials for your users and how long have you been providing them?

We have been providing the online tutorials for 7-8 months. We wanted people that access our databases from home or outside of the library to have some sort of instruction in case they were not able to come to the library for hands on training. Also, having the videos on our website was a way to promote our resources that may not be so well-known to the public. For example, a couple of people mentioned that they weren’t aware of Demographics Now or Reference USA and they found the database to be very helpful in finding information that they did not realize was available.

What are your criteria for the creation of an online tutorial? (patron request, staff input, library subsidized resources, project driven)

We have not had any patron requests for tutorials, though we would be open to any suggestions that fit our mission. Other librarians or I basically decide what tutorial to create. We initially wanted to highlight our various online databases and show the public what they offer and how easy they are to use. We recently started offering downloadable Ebooks so we definitely wanted to create a tutorial on how to download them to the various portable devices. We would consider creating a video/tutorial for anything that has to potential to create lots of questions from patrons.

How do you leverage a tutorial once it is created? (i.e. multiple access points, marketing, promotion, etc.)

Once created, we add the video to the library’s homepage for several weeks so it will be viewed right when you arrive at our website. It is also placed on the online database page (which is a little harder to find) next to the link for that particular database where it will remain indefinitely. So if someone wants to access Reference USA, right below that link, there is a video showing them how to use the database and the notable features. The tutorial is also added to our library Facebook page.

How do you evaluate/review your online tutorials? (Staff review, user review)

We do not have an official review process. The Tech Services department (who handles the video and online portion) and I discuss what we want to accomplish with each tutorial. I write the script and we complete the video portion. I then tape the voiceover while we record the various screenshots/mouse maneuvering. Tech Services splices/edits everything together and we are ready to upload! We may notice things we like or dislike about each tutorial and keep that in the back of our minds for the next one. We are also open to viewer/patron input.

What software do you use to create your tutorials? Please tell us what you like and don’t like about the software.

The software we use for the computer screen shots is Camtasia Studio 7. We chose it for its ease of use, flexibility, and cost. We found it was easier to work with than some of the more expensive brands such as Adobe Captivate. It could do everything we needed it to do for tutorials. Thereis quite a bit of online help to work through any problems we might have on editing. It has proven to be a good fit.

One of the Tech Services Employees at Carmel Clay provided the following response:

My videos are done a bit differently than how Cindy makes her tutorial videos. I shoot all the footage using a Sony Handicam and then edit the footage using Sony's Vegas Creative Software. It's a pretty intensive video editing suite that allows you to do everything from edit your footage together to creating credits to adding simple and complex effects. I've been using it since we began making videos - roughly around 2008 - and I've been happy with it.
Peter uses YouTube for ease of use, both in uploading content as well as embedding the content on our website. I have to convert my videos to the AVI format after I'm done editing them and, because of that, there's a slight loss of quality. It's not terrible, but it's definitely noticeable when you compare the two side-by-side.

How do you find staff time and expertise to develop the tutorials?

Once I decide on the topic of the next tutorial I spend time researching and becoming familiar with all of the features and information available. I practice accessing the information and try to place myself in the position of a patron who is using the database for the first time. I may also view any other videos available on the web on that particular topic.

Do you track or measure tutorial usage? If so, how do you do it?

Yes, we use the counter on You Tube to track the number of views. We noticed that our tutorial for downloading eBooks to an IPad was immediately very popular which probably means there is demand for more tutorials on downloading ebooks or using an iPad. Usage can be used to see what types of tutorials are being viewed and help us decide on what to do in the future.

What are your plans for the future with your tutorials? Do you plan to create more? If so how often? Will you be removing tutorials from the site on a regular basis? If so, how will you determine which ones?

Yes, we plan on doing several more tutorials in the future. Our library recently received a grant from FINRA so we will be creating several tutorials in regards to investments, personal finance, etc. We also plan to highlight more of our online databases, our collection, various libraryservices, etc.

Do you have any advice or tips for a library that might want to launch an online tutorial project for their users?

Try to keep the tutorials at a reasonable length, although this can be difficult because some databases provide copious amounts of information
Think through the process beforehand and use a script, we haven’t been very successful when we just try to “wing” it.
Uploading to YouTube can create some distortion and a little loss of quality so it is important to make use of the zoom feature to focus in on certain areas of the tutorials to make it more easily followed. Don't get carried away with the zooming in and out though... it needs to be fluid.
Keep a notebook at any public desk to jot down ideas/question for future tutorials. Find out what the public desires and needs help with

The below were suggestions from the Carmel Clay Tech Services department:

It's always important to have a strong idea and a script before you embark on making videos. Always try to make it entertaining, something that people would enjoy watching. I try to spice it up with a clever idea or a piece of music - or, hopefully, both - that will entertain whoever is watching the video. People want to have fun while they're watching videos online, and because of that I try to make the videos as enjoyable as I can.
Perhaps the biggest challenge I've had is trying to get people to appear in videos. While everyone likes the idea of having videos on the site, hardly anyone enjoys being filmed. Once people get into the process of filming they lose themselves and enjoy it, but at times it's been like pulling teeth to get people to participate. So I guess I would make sure that if a library is doing this they need to know they have people who don't mind being on camera.

What was involved in your decision to use YouTube as your primary means of hosting for your tutorials?

We believed that more people would have access to view the tutorials if they were also on YouTube. Rather than only have them accessible on our website, which obviously has much fewer traffic than YouTube, we wanted the tutorials to be available on another site have the possibility of reaching a greater audience.

Developing Online Patron Tutorials