We are being propelled inexorably into a visual information age.We are already there ,I hear you say.
We are at the end of the beginning!In spite of the great advances in the latter half of the 20th century from UNIVAC to Ipod ,I believe computer technology is still an infant or maybe just into kindergarten.The advances in the last twenty years have been startling,to the extent that older folk feel like they have been left behind forever. But as technology has grown in storage capacity and functional power the execution of this power has become much more user friendly.Not so long ago, if you didn't know BASIC or some similar language, then you were greatly limited in what you could do. Now, a press of a key can set off a myriad of digital functions with others waiting by just itching to be given the go ahead--press Enter.
The marriage of digital power to the visual media has been a revelation. A generation ago a Lord of the Rings; a Matrix, could not have been made or not to any level which may reflect our imaginations.Similarly, information is now more commonly being conveyed in a visual medium. This is not to say this peg fits all holes. A student reviewing a video of WWII for example,still has the time consuming task of making notes from a visual information source to put into an essay.A picture may be worth a thousand words but they often still have to be written down.
If one's only exposure to the images available on such sites as YouTube and GoogleVideo were the sort of thing that appears on "Australia's funniest near fatal accidents",one would be excused for thinking that they are mostly for entertainment. A bit of deeper searching turns up such sites as Mosman Library which feature many videos of expert talking heads . I love nothing more than listening(and watching) to informed,impassioned speakers on any given subject. Further searching turns up videos which explore subjects such as commercial issues,news,music,training,oral histories, cultural records and so on.Furthermore, such images can now be so easily captured on the digital camera or ubiqituous mobile phone.
Libraries could do very well with following the activities of libraries like Mosman. Oral histories where we see the person telling their own story rather than just reading a transcript would benefit from the human touch.(Fifty, one hundred,two hundred years from now this would be priceless to social historians-look at the clothes they are wearing,hear the accent,does anyone use that word anymore?) Opportunities also exist in library training for library users, recording of community events, a collection of historical events on video,or even the latest council meeting to provide a wider access for the local area residents to the decisions being made on their behalf.
On a personal note I have inserted a video of a favourite performer of mine,Tom Waits.
