Vote for the Library!

Earlier this fall, we got into the election spirit here in the Libraries and decided to host a little competition.

We challenged Duke students to “be our Super PAC” and make a mock election video explaining why the Duke University Libraries get their vote.

Was Perkins their ideal of hope and change? Did Lilly have what it takes to fix the knowledge economy? Should librarians rule the world? With so many hearts and minds up for grabs out there, we thought we could win a few.

The rules were simple. Videos had to be 90 seconds or less, and they had to look, feel, and sound like an actual political commercial. Parody, irreverence, swelling music, patriotism, fear mongering, and nostalgia were encouraged. We also encouraged students to use the new Multimedia Project Studio in Bostock Library, which has everything you need to edit and produce your own videos.

Eligible video entries were posted on our blog and on the Libraries’ Facebook page, where we invited people to vote for their favorite. It was the epitome of the democratic process in action.

We received a number of creative submissions. But it was two sophomores, Jordan Thomas and Reem Alfahad, who won first prize: two tickets to this year’s Duke vs. UNC men’s basketball game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Jordan’s and Reem’s video demonstrates not only their great imagination, terrific sense of humor, and talent, but also their superb appreciation for what we try to provide our students, faculty, and library users here at Duke. Early in their careers at Duke, they already recognize that our librarians are knowledgeable and accessible, that our library spaces are comfortable and inspiring, and that our collections—both print and electronic—are vast. They also did a great job of making it look like an actual campaign ad!

But don’t take our word for it. Check out their video on our YouTube Channel and see why they helped us win another term as the best library system at Duke by a landslide.