Screencats, uh, casts

Wikipedia defines a screencast as "a digital recording of computer screen output, also known as a video screen capture, often containing audio narration. ... Just as a screenshot is a picture of a user's screen, a screencast is essentially a movie of what a user sees on their monitor."

Why would a library or archives be interested in screencasting? It's great for demonstrations, presentations, tutorials, and training. You record what's on the computer screen; enhance that with sound, text, and/or other images; and then publish it in a format that's right for the needs of your particular audience.

It's really ideal for distance learning, and for web-based presentations where an Internet connection is either not available or not reliable. MINITEX, for example, uses screencasting for many of its library webinars. It's also good for online tutorials on how to use something on your website.

There are lots of screencast tools available, some free, some not. Here are a few:

• BB Flashback ($)
• Camtasia Studio ($)
• Captivate ($)
• Demo Builder ($)
• Fireshot (free), a Firefox extension
• Jing (free)
• Skitch (free)
• SnagIt ($)
• Snapz Pro X ($), for Mac
• ViewletBuilder ($)
• Wink (freeware).

The MHS Library is particularly interested right now for showing patrons how to use Placeography. We also think it would be great for walking patrons through how to order a photograph or request a photo permission, a death certificate, a birth certificate, etc. Our IT Department has us looking at Jing.

At the March meeting of CALCO, the librarians from the Minnesota Attorney General Library gave us a quick demo using SnagIt. Some of the tools are definitely a better choice if you want to add audio!