The British Library : Speaking to camera

Use of video produces eye-catching and innovative executive profiles.

The Site

The British Library, the national library of the UK, presents its online annual report and accounts on a mini-site which makes extensive use of Flash video. Each of the six Executive Team profiles in the Governance section has a video option in which the executive talks to camera about the work of their department. The profiles are accessed from a photo matrix on a team index page. Video is the featured option – the individual pictures have a ‘start video’ arrow, with Transcript and My CV as alternatives in a footnote line underneath name and job title. Clicking the arrow leads to a personal profile page with a viewing frame as its central feature. The CV, transcript and an audio file are offered in the right-hand navigation.

The chairman and chief executive are not included in the team pages but have their own multi-clip sections (accessible from the primary navigation) in which they can be seen and heard addressing a range of topics.

The Takeaway

Video profiling has generally been the preserve of the more progressive careers sections on company sites. The British Library’s executive videos demonstrate that good ideas can work equally well in different contexts if you have the imagination – or perhaps the nerve – to spot an appropriate opportunity. And the library’s new-look annual report, itself a bold attempt to make the public body more openly accountable and approachable, could not be a more appropriate setting. Not only does the video style make the profiles themselves more human and alive, but the confident use of the technology sends out the message that the library has a place in the modern world of YouTube and Facebook and is perfectly at ease there.

The library takes a noticeably more traditional, written-word approach to board profiles on its main site, so early-mover honours are still up for grabs in that area.

First published on 06 November, 2007