YouTubing The Library – the winners to be revealed

Budding film producers will be holding their breath this Friday, as the winners of the Christchurch City Libraries YouTubing the Library competition are revealed.

As part of the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of public libraries in Christchurch, the Christchurch City Libraries offered the public the chance to gain their very own 15 minutes of fame, with a special YouTube competition.

To be in to win, applicants were asked to create a stand out video and upload it to YouTube under the appropriate age categories, Kids aged 10 to 12 years, Youth aged 13-18 years and Adult aged 18 and over.

Videos had to be submitted between 1-22 July and last between one and three minutes. While the guidelines were fairly flexible, allowing the public to unleash their inner creativity, each video clip was required to include a scene in or outside a Christchurch City Library and feature the word "libraries" or “library”.

An expert judging panel will select the winners from each category and present them at a special screening event this Friday night at Christchurch Art Gallery. A host of great prizes are up for grabs including a laptop computer, a Sony camcorder, an iPhone and hundreds of dollars worth of vouchers. The winning videos will also be publicised on the library150.com website on Monday 10 August and shown throughout the library network.

Carolyn Robertson, Libraries and Information Unit Manager, Christchurch City Council says there has been a great response to the competition from the public, with imaginative entries submitted across each of the three age categories.

“We are really impressed with the quality of videos that have been sent in from the public. Each film maker has applied themselves to the competition very differently, drawing on alternative elements of the libraries in each video, from reading books, to using computers and meeting friends.

“The time and effort put in to these videos is astonishing and we look forward to rewarding the winners for their commendable efforts on Friday”.

YouTubing the Library is brought to you by Christchurch Art Gallery, The Cultural Precinct, The NZ Society of Authors and Christchurch City Libraries.

The screening ceremony takes place at the Philip Carter Family Auditorium, Christchurch Art Gallery on Friday 7 August, 7-9pm. The event is free to attend but bookings are essential. To secure a seat, call 03 941 7923.