Friday, January 11, 2013

Case Study No. 0719: Ellen "Shoes" Carey, "Downtown" Deb Chown, Terry "Jackie" Smith, Hope "Brainiac" Schneider, and Eric "The Informer" Poulin

Library Promo 70's Theme
3:09
At Greenfield Community College using a 70's Charlies Angel's theme, the Library staff creatively promotes the Library services. Greenfield Community College was awarded 2009 Massachusetts Library Association, Public Relations Award in the Media Presentation Category for this video.
Tags: GCC Library Services Librarians
Added: 3 years ago
From: greenfieldcc
Views: 4,917

One day
At Greenfield Community College
A student was feeling a bit ...
"overwhelmed."
What can he do???
Let's find out!

[generic "1970s police procedural" music begins to play, as the scene opens with a male college student standing outside of the Greenfield Community College Library and holding his head in his hands]
STUDENT: I have a ten-page research paper due!
[cut to a closeup of the student's face, as he is obviously distressed (talking fast and pulling at his hair)]
STUDENT: I need journal articles! What are journal articles?! What am I gonna do? What am I gonna do? Where am I gonna find them? What am I gonna do?!
[a campus security car (sirens blaring) suddenly pulls up to the curb next to him, as two librarians (one male, one female) grab him and forcibly put him in the car]
ERIC: Go go go!
["Meanwhile, over at the library ... " appears on screen, then cut to three female librarians standing around an intercom sitting at the front desk]
BOB: [via the intercom] Hello, librarians. It's me, Bob. We received a report of a student in distress, and a dispatch has been sent to bring him over.
[the librarians look at each other with concern]
BOB: [via the intercom] He has a large and signficant project to do, and he doesn't know where to begin. It will require all of your librarian powers ...
[the librarians all smile and nod]
BOB: [via the intercom] But I know you're up for it!
[cut to outside the library, as the campus security car pulls up and the librarians force the student inside]
ANNOUNCER: If you have a research paper to write for a class, and don't know where to begin ...
ERIC: Move it! Move it!
ANNOUNCER: The GCC Library is here to help you!
[cut to the three female librarians casually sitting at their desks (one of them reading "Horror Films of the 1970s"), when the other two barge in with the student in tow]
ANNOUNCER: When you come to the GCC Library, we make sure that you are equipped with all the research power that you need!
[one of the librarians "jumps" over her desk and holds up a "GCC Library" mousepad (as "Ellen 'Shoes' Carey" appears on screen)]
[cut to another librarian turning in her chair and holding up her mousepad like a gun (as "'Downtown' Deb Chown" appears on screen)]
[cut to one of the librarians from the campus security car turning to the camera with another mousepad (as "Terry 'Jackie' Smith" appears on screen)]
[cut to the third female librarian looking at her computer before turning and holding up her mousepad (as "Hope 'Brainiac' Schneider" appears on screen)]
[cut to the male librarian from the campus security car - with sunglasses and a cheesy 70s moustache - holding his mousepad like a gun (as "Eric 'The Informer' Poulin" appears on screen)]
ANNOUNCER: Your library card provides you with access to billions of informational resources that the wimpy internet just can't get to!
[cut to a female student looking at the Google homepage on her laptop, when Ellen Carey holds up a mousepad in front of her face]
[cut to the librarians lifting books for exercise, as an older male librarian/drill sargeant observes]
ANNOUNCER: All with the help of a friendly library staff who have undergone a strict training regiment, devoting to making sure that you get what you need when you need it!
[cut to the male the student running up a flight of stairs inside the library]
ANNOUNCER: So come on up to see us! We're located on the fourth floor of the North End, just a short stroll from anywhere on campus.
[cut to the student (now out of breath) slowly making his way up another flight of stairs]
ANNOUNCER: And if you can't come to us in person, you can text or chat with a librarian who can give you research help and support all from the comfort of your own home!
[the students flops down on a sofa, as librarians from off camera hand him a laptop and cell phone]
ANNOUNCER: And when you use library resources, you know that you're getting information that your professor is just gonna love!
[cut to a male professor looking over the student's paper, then nodding approvingly]
[cut to the librarians all standing at the front desk, as the student enters and shows them his paper]
ERIC: Right on!
HOPE: Alright!
ELLEN: Groovy!
[the student turns (revealing the "A+" circled on his paper) and speaks directly to the camera]
STUDENT: With the help of the GCC Library, I got an "A" on my paper!
[he walks off, as the librarians all hold up a single fist and yell "Solid!", then the scene fades to black]

Starring:
Pavel Angelchev

With appearances by:
Katie Aukstitalnis
David "Miyagi" Ram
Thom "The Professor" Simmons

And featuring:
Bob "Charlie" Pura as "bob"

Filmed by:
Garry Longe and the Educational Technology Center

Special Thanks to:
Bill Mayrose
Greg Eaton
And the GCC Public Safety Department

And to:
Brad Bellville and the GCC Physical Plant

No library patrons were injured during the production of this film.
Several were annoyed.

Libraries Rock!!!!!!

---

From mass.edu:

On May 7, 2009, Greenfield Community College's Library will receive a 2009 Massachusetts Library Association Public Relations Award for a video commercial created to promote the library. GCC Librarian Eric Poulin and Library Co-Coordinator Ellen Carey will attend the MLA Annual Conference in Springfield, MA to accept the award. Eric Poulin developed, wrote, directed, starred in, and edited the video.

A take-off on the Charlie's Angels TV series and other 1970s cop shows, the video shows Library staff springing into action to help a student panicked by an assignment to write a research paper. With great humor and footage of GCC staff in action, the video shows students how "your library card provides you with access to billions of information resources that the wimpy internet just can't get to."

The three-minute video, available on YouTube and the Library's website http://www.gcc.mass.edu/library/ features performances by Library staff, Library student worker Pavel Angelchev, GCC President Bob Pura, Dean of Academic Affairs David Ram, Professor Thomas Simmons, and other college staff. Garry Longe, GCC Media Specialist was instrumental in the video's production.

The video commercial is one of the Library staff's many outreach efforts to connect with students and make the Library accessible. The video has been shown at New Student Orientation, Library "Boot Camp" and Reference Office Hours at the GCC Downtown Center and the East Building. The video lets students know they can connect with librarians via email, text messaging, phone, and on the web, as well as in person. The Library's usage statistics show the outreach efforts are effective. Database usage increased 33% from 2007 to 2008 and circulation of print materials increased 14% during the same time period.

The Massachusetts Library Association isn't the only professional organization taking notice of the GCC Library video. The American Library Association's e-newsletter, American Libraries Direct, featured an article about the video in the April 29th issue. Between August 2008, when the video was originally posted on YouTube, and April 27th, the video got 918 views on YouTube. After American Libraries Direct mentioned the video, it got over 1,000 views in just one week.

"The MLA Award is a nice acknowledgement that we're doing a good job with our outreach efforts. By creating the video and posting it on YouTube, we deliberately are using a social networking tool that is popular with the students we're trying to reach. And by poking fun at ourselves, we're challenging stereotypes of librarians and outdated notions of what libraries are" said Library Co-Coordinator Ellen Carey.

Eric Poulin said "The idea for the video commercial came after I researched and published an article about how librarians are portrayed on YouTube by non-librarians." We wanted to let students know that the GCC Librarians go above and beyond to make sure students have access to quality material.

Lindy Gougeon, GCC's Associate Dean of Teaching & Learning, said, "The video was fun for everyone who performed in and supported it, a pleasure for its viewing audience, and is a source of pride for the institution. We're proud of the Library staff and their hard work on behalf of our students. It is wonderful for them to get acknowledged by other professionals for their work. They are real pros at what they do, and they approach their work creatively and with a great sense of humor."

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