Casting a Wider Net: Using Screencast Tutorials to Advance Library Involvement in Supporting Research Practices

The Binghamton University Libraries' conducted a survey distributed to university faculty and teaching assistants through the University's Assistant Provost for Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment. An outcome of this survey was that the Libraries could create online tutorials to support the critical research practices of students. Online tutorials were created both as web pages and as screencasts. Support documentation such as production guidelines, best practices, suggested scripts, and step-by-step instructions using Camtasia were created. The screencast tutorials were then cataloged using MARC and Dublin Core standards, added to the library catalog (infoLINK), and placed as flash files on the Libraries' streaming server. The tutorials were also part of a discussion about the licensing of library faculty creative output. The tutorials are currently available on the Libraries' website for teaching assistants and faculty to use as part of course instruction on the content management system (Blackboard).