The winner is.....Libraries and contests

The latest (April 2008) College & Research Libraries News has an article on using contests to promote libraries. Georgia Tech Library hosted a multimedia contest to increase awareness of the library's multimedia studio resources. UPenn Libraries also held a contest for the best video mashup. Both these contests serve to promote the library, but the videos are not necessarily about the library. The University of Minnesota Duluth held a contest in which students made videos that had to be about the library, or set in the library.

I'm intrigued by the idea of a video contest here at the Penn State University Libraries. Not only could such a contest raise the Libraries' visibility, it could also promote the University's Digital Commons.

Creating a good video is a lot of work, and it's true that students already have plenty of work. But with the right incentives and encouragement, I think students could come up with some cool stuff, as evidenced by the contests sponsored by the libraries above. Even if every entry can't win the grand prize, students who enter still get a chance to express their creativity, and promote the Library and the University at the same time. What's to lose?