ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries February 1 9 9 3 /8 1 Interactive video at Cameron University Library B y V ictoria K. S w in n e y Video projection can enhance instruction C am eron University Library is using a video classroom for b ibliographic instruction. T he system is b ased o n a V ideo Projection Sys­ tem w hich will project tw o kinds o f video and th ree kinds o f com puter o u tp u t onto a large screen. W e use a stan d ard VHS videocassette player, a V ideo Projection Camera, an d a p e r­ sonal co m p u te r to d em o n strate th e Virginia T ech Library System (VTLS) o n lin e catalog, Infotrac, N ewsBank, W ilsondisc, Silver Platter, an d traditional reference sources such as ency­ clopedias an d the serials list. Simply by p u sh ­ ing a b u tto n on a single rem ote control, w e can sw itch from an item screen o f the VTLS online catalog to a m ap o f th e library displayed o n the V ideo D isplay Camera. We can simi­ larly sw itch from a CD-ROM index to the seri­ als list a n d back. P lanned dem onstrations can b e u sed o r students can subm it their ow n search topics. Every sem ester w e offer approxim ately 150 instructional sessions w ith 8 to 35 students each. T he personal co m p u ter is u sed to connect to th e VTLS online catalog thro u g h th e Local Area N etw ork for live dem onstrations. If stu­ dents are unfam iliar w ith com puters, the key­ b o ard can b e displayed using the video dis­ play cam era (for exam ple, to sh o w th e location o f function keys). This system can also b e used for staff training in any area o f co m p u ter use w hich requires use of the Local Area Network. The personal co m p u ter is also u se d to d em ­ onstrate CD-ROM applications. Automatic load­ ing routines are o n the h ard disk an d each one is a m enu option. Various CD-ROM indexes m ay b e dem onstrated b y sw itching th e discs in th e CD-ROM drive an d choosing th e correct m en u option. Data CD-ROMs such as the Eco­ nom ic C ensuses an d 1990 C ensus data m ay also b e dem onstrated. This dem onstration m ethod is a great im provem ent o n bringing classes out to the reference area a n d gathering aro u n d the term inal w h ere only a few students are able to se e a n d m any w an d er off. Reference books, the serials list, an d even th e co m p u ter k eyboard are dem onstrated us­ ing th e V ideo D isplay Cam era. T he cam era looks like an o verhead transparency projector w ith a cam era at the top instead o f mirrors, but it projects a video im age through the projec­ tion system. It allows for a dem onstration o f traditional reference sources in th e sam e w ay co m p u ter sources are dem onstrated: w ith a live dem onstration. Students w atch as the reference b o o k is o p e n e d o n th e screen, they can see the location o f guide w ords, indexes, lists o f peri­ odicals, etc., w hich are u se d in finding cita­ tions. T he librarian can th en m ove a lever to zoom in o n the specific citation to explain its contents. V ideo display is flexible an d enables stu­ dents to easily see m aps, handouts, form s and tools. It is also possible to sw itch from th e cam ­ era im age o f a library m ap o r h an d o u t to the co m p u ter for a dem onstration o f the tool just located o n th e m ap o r ex p lain ed in the h an d ­ out. This encourages students to add their ow n notes. N ew tools can b e dem onstrated w ith­ o u t m aking large n u m b ers o f h an d o u ts and tr a n s p a r e n c i e s o f b o o k p a g e s . F o rm s fo r interlibrary loan an d microfilm photocopies may also b e displayed, as can any o ther object w hich will fit u n d e r th e cam era, although focus be- Victoria K. Swinney is reference/bibliographic instruction librarian at Cameron University, Lawton, Oklahoma 82/C & R LN ew s com es difficult if the object is m o r e th a n a b o u t fo u r inches tall. T he V ideo D ata Projec­ tion System w as included in a university H igher E duca­ tion Act Title III grant p ro ­ posal. T he library lobbied to have on e o f these systems in­ stalled in the library class­ room for use in bibliographic instruction. This system w as then connected to a personal co m puter, w h ich w as also connected to th e Local Area N e tw o rk a n d a CD-ROM d riv e. T h e V ideo D isplay C am era a n d VCR are also connected to th e Projection System. A rem ote control d e ­ vice is u se d to sw itch the Projection System from the com puter to the Video Dis­ play C amera o r th e VCR. The system is d e ­ signed to be operated by a single person w ith m inim um distraction from th e presentation. T he classroom equipm ent is also u sed by o ther disciplines. Professors bo rro w the class­ Costs o f a v id e o d is p la y system S y stem C o m p o n e n ts In clu d ed Library in Grant E x p en se Video Data Projection System $8,660 HP-Vectra 286 $1,704 VGA Color G raphics m onitor 389 Hitachi CD-ROM drive 742 Sony VID-P10 Video Display Camera 3,045 C am corder 1,628 Laserdisc Player 1,145 tripod 132 amplifier 420 four stereo speakers 320 w all-m ounted rack 337 tw o Panasonic battery packs 100 character generator for cam corder 242 w iring an d installation 1,480 Total: $14,464 $5,880 room to show videos an d som etim es use the display cam era as well. T he D epartm ent o f Physical Sciences has show n particular interest in th e system and the display cam era for the dem onstration o f 3-dim ensional models. ■