Libraries as publishers of digital video

Dubbed as the next “Killer Application” (Hanss, 2001), digital video’s anticipated impact on computer networks is enormous. Few other applications are so severely impacted by networks incapable of delivering quality of service guarantees for the latency and delay with which video stations receive information packets. The goal of this chapter is to briefly discuss the teaching and research uses of video materials in academic environments, inform librarians of the various forms into which video materials may be encoded, the strengths and weaknesses of the media formats, and to argue for a comprehensive implementation plan when considering the distribution of video resources. We will conclude the chapter with an illustration of how one academic library employed database technology to create a video card catalog accessible from the Internet.