[Web4lib] question about video downloads from a library catalog

[Geer, Caroline]

Gillian,

Some webopacs allow the inclusion of multimedia files, but I think that
the file itself needs to sit on a webserver or file server.  The link in
the catalog, which can be embedded (for example, we use C2 from Contec
Data Systems International out of New Zealand, and it has an
infrastructure set up for multimedia files).

But even if the opac didn't accept multimedia files to be embedded, you
could always put a link to the file (assuming it's sitting on a server
somewhere) in the MARC record (856 field).

Hope this information is helpful!  It sounds like an excellent idea from
you City Manager, and shouldn't be too hard to implement as long as the
streaming video file is already stored on a server and has a URL or can
be imported into and stored on your opac server.

Caroline Geer
Coordiantor of Information Resources
Margaret Estes Library
LeTourneau University
Longview, Texas 75607-7001
    903.233.3272


-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Gillian Wiseman
Sent: Friday, January 12, 2007 1:38 PM
To: web4lib at webjunction.org
Subject: [Web4lib] question about video downloads from a library catalog

This is a question from my city manager, and I am not familiar enough to
help him out; he has heard that there is software that would allow a
library to have video footage (in this case, city council meetings) that
could appear in the library catalog as a regular catalog entry, and then
allow patrons to click on a link that would allow direct viewing and/or
downloading from the online catalog.

Is this possible?  Would it depend on the library automation system?
Would it require other technology, and if so, what would be required?
This presumes that the video already exists in a downloadable format,
which the city's IT department can already handle (they're preparing to
have the video stream from our city website).



Gillian Wiseman
Electronic Resources Librarian
Waco-McLennan County Library
(254)750-5944
gwiseman at ci.waco.tx.us

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