Author Archives: dcornwall

Two important aspects to the preservation of no-fee fully functional access to government information are raising people's awareness of government information and convincing them of the value of having government information. Cash-strapped libraries and librarians have new tools to make these things happen. Libraries such as Fulton County Public Library are using tools like YouTube to put a new face on the library. It is our belief that depositories and their friends can do the same for the somewhat mysterious Federal Depository Library Program. So we'd like to pull together the videos and sound spots (Internet & Radio) you've been doing or will do shortly, along with some resources for producing these spots. Please send us links to video or audio spots that either promote government information in general or Federal Depository Libraries in particular. Promotional Spots Audio Video

• Air Force at Your Library (3 min) - US Air Force documents and other resources set to the official Air Force Song. Hosted by Internet Archive, Capitol Hill Broadcasting Network, YouTube and MySpace.
• Army at Your Library (1 min) - Hosted at Internet Archive, Capitol Hill Broadcasting Network, YouTube and MySpace. Selection of Army resources set to Army Song. First Daniel video to employ four seconds per title.
• Ask the Government! - Approximately one minute PSA video produced by usa.gov to extol the virtues of the information portal. Posted 8/22/2007.
• Best Titles Ever! The Video - 13 titles from FGI's Best Titles Ever page set to electronic music.
• Civil Rights Movement in the United States by Sarah Gewirtz - 3:34 minute video posted 4/14/2007 highlighting civil rights reports set to a MLK speech.
• Communism in the United States by Sarah Gewirtz - 2:37 video of communism related documents issued by various federal agencies in the 1940s and 50s set to a Joseph McCarthy speech. Brillant! Posted August 22, 2007.
• Documents on Parade: Criminal Edition - Web sites and Dept of Justice documents set to music familiar to boomers.
• FDLP - The Final Frontier (Approx 2 min) - Space. The final frontier. Available at your Federal Depository Library since the dawn of the space age. Enjoy these spacy treats and then trek on over to http://catalog.gpo.gov for more great NASA resources. Music by Victor Stellar courtesy of Podsafe Audio. Posted 2/10/2007
• Let's Cook with Government Documents! (2:06, posted 2/9/2008) - Another brillant video by Sarah Gewirtz highlighting recipes for all walks of live and cuisines from government documents.
• Marines Get Around! (approximately 1 min, posted 12/24/2006) - Roundup of documents showing how active Marines have been in our nation's history. Posted to CHBN, YouTube, and MySpace.
• Navy at Your Library (39 seconds) - Hosted at the Internet Archive, YouTube and the Capitol Hill Broadcasting Network.
• Shield of Freedom (2 min, posted 12/30/2006) - USCG documents set to the tune Coast Guard's Chief Petty Officers March.
• You and Your USA - (01:48)A walk through civics pamphlets given to our soldiers and sailors in the 1950s. Produced by Sarah Gewirtz of St. John's University/College of St. Benedict. For more information about this video, please contact Sarah Gewirtz at SGEWIRTZ "AT" CSBSJU.EDU. Posted 1/15/2007.

Production Resources

• Visual Resources
  • Best Titles Ever Flickr Pool - Cover photos of weird and wacky titles issued from the Federal Government
  • Govdoc Covers Flickr Pool - Pictures of web sites, document covers and movie credit slides for reuse in others' videos. Also has a discussion forum.
  • FDLP Graphics - Official graphics from the Federal Depository Library Program.
• Audio Resources
  • On Classical Midi - Creative Commons midi files from Bach to Zimmer.
  • PodSafe Audio - - Modern music in many genres. May be reused under Creative Commons Licensing.
  • Podsafe Music Network - Modern music in many genres. May be reused under Creative Commons Licensing.
  • Public Domain MP3s from 1901-1920 - Public domain.
  • Internet Archive Open Source Audio project - May be reused under Creative Commons Licensing.
• Production Software, Tips and Tutorials
  • University of Wisconsin streaming video creation page - "tips, techniques and resources to help you get started designing and producing streaming media." Includes specific guidance on creating narrated slide shows. Thanks to Amy M Ostrom for suggesting this resource.
• Places to post video - All sites below offer FREE hosting
  • Google Video - Probably the best site to avoid being filtered out in schools and libraries.
  • YouTube - currently most popular video site on the Internet.
  • MySpace - Most likely to get filtered by schools and libraries, special target of Congress, but hey, it has a lot of young people. Need free profile to post your videos.
  • Capitol Hill Broadcasting Network
  • Internet Archive - sign up for free "library card"

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