The National Library of Medicine’s Video Contest

“NLM & You:  The Video”

The U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), the world's largest library of the health sciences and a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Health and Human Services, is conducting a video contest.  The contest supports NLM’s mission of publicizing the availability of its information products and services, including but not limited to Medline/PubMed, MedlinePlus, GenBank, PubMed Central, ClinicalTrials.gov, Bookshelf, AIDS Info, and Profiles in Science. The NLM invites the public to create original short videos which promote awareness of these products and services.

About the NLM:

The National Library of Medicine marks its 175th anniversary this year!  Started in 1836 as a few books in the Office of the Surgeon General of the Army, NLM today is part of NIH and the world’s largest health science library.  Its collection has grown to comprise nearly 12 million books, journals, manuscripts, audiovisuals, biomedical data, and other forms of medical information.  NLM makes its resources available on the Internet (www.nlm.nih.gov), with information products and services that deliver trillions of bytes of data daily to millions of people around the world.  These information products and services have become a primary means for scientists, health professionals, historians, and the general public to access NLM’s wide array of resources, advancing biomedical research, improving clinical care, and enhancing public health.  For more information about NLM and its databases and services, visit our site at http://www.nlm.nih.gov.

What to enter: 

Video entries should promote an NLM information product or service, such as one of the examples listed above, by telling a story of how the product or service has made a difference.  For example, how has an NLM product or service helped you:

·         Solve a health problem or enabled you to help a loved one?

·         Carry out research or make a new discovery?

·         Make a difference in clinical treatment or help a client or patient?

·         Write a report?

Videos must:

·         Be 30-60 seconds in length.

·         Not contain violence, profanity, sex, attacks on individuals or organizations, or other inappropriate messages.

·         Comply with all laws where the video was filmed.

·         Not infringe on any third party rights.

·         Be your original creation.   Copyrighted music, video, or images may be used in your video if the owner of the copyright has granted permission for this use.

·         Not have been previously produced for compensation.  Videos already posted on NLM’s web pages are not eligible.

·         End with this text:  “Visit www.nlm.nih.gov”

·         Be posted to YouTube (www.youtube.com)  If you don’t have a YouTube account, it’s easy and only takes a few minutes to set one up.  The use of YouTube.com to accept contest entries does not imply an endorsement of the site or its parent company by the U.S. Government.  For further assistance, see uploading instructions at:  http://www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/topic.py?topic=16547

Contestants must also submit the online entry form url:  http://www.challenge.gov in order for their videos to be considered.  (Note that if there is more than one creator of a video, each creator must complete and submit his/her own online entry form.)

Captioning:

Captioning is encouraged.  Please see instructions on YouTube site:  http://www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=100077

Format:

NLM encourages video submission in high definition (HD) format but will accept a video in any format.

License:

By submitting a video in this contest, you hereby grant NLM a non-exclusive, royalty free, irrevocable license to reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works from, display, and perform publicly and otherwise use, and authorize others to use, my video or derivatives thereof for any Federal purpose throughout the world and in any media.

Releases:

You must have each person who appears or speaks in your video sign a written release giving you permission to use his/her likeness in the video.  If any person seen or heard in your video is under 18 years old at the time you submit your video, his or her parent or guardian must also sign this release form.  NLM reserves the right to collect these release forms.

Winners:

There will be one grand prize winner.  There may also be one or more runners up.   The grand prize winner will receive $1,000.00.  The videos of the grand prize winner and the runners up will be featured on NLM’s web site.

The grand prize winner and runners up must provide a digital copy of the original video files and transcript to NLM in order to receive the award and be featured on the NLM website. 

Judging criteria:

Entries must publicize NLM and use of NLM’s health information products and services and can employ comedy, animation, drama, music, or first person story to do so.  Videos will be judged on the basis of how effective the videos are in promoting awareness of NLM products and services.  Creativity, originality, quality, accuracy, and content of message will be considered.

Videos will be judged by a panel of public health and communications experts.  Judges are Federal government employees of the NLM or NIH.  NLM reserves the right not to select a grand prize winner or any runners up.

Who can enter: 

The contest is open to US citizens or permanent residents at least 13 years of age.  NIH and NLM employees, contractors and their immediate family members may not enter.

Entry deadline: 

Post videos to YouTube and submit entry form online by 5:00 p.m. EST on March 31, 2011.  NLM will notify grand prize winner and runners up via email by May 15, 2011, with a public announcement on the NLM website following notification.

Privacy policy:

 Personal information collected from video submissions will never be sold.  The information collected for this contest will be used to contact contest entrants regarding this contest and to identify and announce the names of the winners to the public. 

All personal information collected through the contest web site will be destroyed within 12 months of the conclusion of the NLM Video Contest in accordance with the agency’s records retention policy.  Videos posted to YouTube will be subject to the privacy policies of YouTube and Challenge.gov.

Questions: 

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