NT23: Thing 21, Podcasting.

I may do more than one posting on this topic, depending on how in-depth I want to go. I myself listen to several podcasts each week. My experience with Library-related podcasts are very limited however.

I found I really enjoyed the LibVibe podcast when it was still around; LibVibe was a brief, 15-30 minute weekly podcast devoted to breaking news in the world of Libraries and Information Science. I actually liked it better than the podcast associated with the blog "LIS News" which I follow periodically. I have an RSS live-bookmark in Firefox devoted to the RSS feed for LIS News, actually. The podcast for LIS NEWS is called LISTen; it's pretty good, but often pretty tech-y, too, and if you're a non-tech person it can sometimes be a little overwhelming. Sometimes I agree with them, sometimes I don't.

I even at one point downloaded the Audacity software and the MP3 extension mentioned. I had at one time considered becoming a guest contributor to a gun rights podcast that I followed out of Indiana with some frequency. I really only wanted to do one guest podcast on gun rights in Canada, something I had by that point acquired more than just a passing knowledge of, and thought might be of interest to other listeners of the podcast. I gave it a few dry runs, but found it was a lot trickier than it looks. Turns out I'm a bit of a perfectionist (go figure) and really REALLY dislike the sound of my own voice, and also, it probably helps to write a script and learn it until you can deliver from the script like a real voice actor and not SOUND like you're just reading from a script. So anyway, I still have the software loaded onto my desktop computer, but I haven't touched it in many months.

I can see how there might be good potential in doing library podcasts, but I would think a library would probably want to keep it pretty brief. Also, you would have to update often enough to hold the interest of listeners, give them a reason to devote space to your podcast on their podcatcher hardware/software as opposed to another MP3 of music or whatever. I like the idea of a down-loadable walking tour of the library. It is also possible to do video podcasting, though this is more complicated, since not all podcatcher hardware screens are capable of replaying video; only the more advanced iPods (8 gig and up) are capable of doing so, for example. And even then I can't always load video content onto my 8G iPod. Some of the formats are incompatible. I can watch them in iTunes, on my PC, but not on my iPod, for example.

I also like the idea of recording book talks and releasing them on podcast, but of course, this would require the written permission of the author; you wouldn't want to surreptitiously record a book talk and then release it on the library podcast without first securing permission from the author featured in the book talk.

Librarians could also interview students with digital voice recorders, compiling audio content containing students' frequently asked questions and complaints, followed by a voice-over of the library director or a reference librarian later addressing these questions and concerns. It should not take the place of a physical Q&A board in the library, but rather, it should augment such an existing feedback system already in place.

Podcasting is another Web 2.0 technology that *could* potentially impact and enhance library services, but it would depend on librarians providing quality content on an ongoing basis, along with a responsive patron base who comes to value such content from the library on a recurring basis. Library podcast content must be not only of high quality but also actively promoted to students, competing for their time and attention in an increasingly hectic academic work/study environment. As with other Web 2.0 applications, what a library can get out of Podcasting depends very much on what librarians are willing to put into it.

I think that's all I can think of to say on the intersection of Podcasting and Libraries.

As far as generic podcasts go, my favorites are German-language news media podcasts (usually actual excerpted re-broadcasts from radio & tv), which I tend to listen to of a morning while getting dressed for work, and also a select number of interrelated atheist, humanist, skeptic types of podcasts, including Chariots of Iron, the Non-Prophets, American Freethought, Dogma Free America, FFRF's Freethought Radio, CFI's Point of Inquiry with D.J. Grothe (who is also a Facebook friend of mine), and Reasonable Doubts, just to name a few. I will listen to these podcasts while doing chores (such as folding clothes after taking them out of the dryer, or washing dishes), or while just lounging around on my couch playing Playstation2 or doing nothing in particular. I also have a cassette adapter that lets me plug my iPod into my car's tape deck (hey, it's a 2002, so cut the lulz) and listen to podcasts while I drive around town running errands (grocery store run, post office trip, etc). I even sometimes listen to my favorite podcasts when going out to eat (though sometimes I prefer to read).

To my knowledge, there aren't too many general interest library podcasts besides LISTen these days. There are a few others, but I'm still missing LibVibe, which was by far my favorite.