Casting a Broad Net

I used Podcast Alley to look at some podcasts. Doing a search for "librarian" I ran across several, one of which, The Mr. Nice Guy Show, featured a radio personality turned reference librarian. His topics were mainly pop culture and news of the day, his approach a bit corny. Still, I did learn more about platypi than I ever expected. I subscribed to this weekly podcast on my Bloglines page, though don't expect that I'll listen to a whole lot of his shows.

It actually took me several days to remember my Bloglines password, but when I finally got to my page, I was pleased to see lots of new episodes of Fresh Air (on NPR) that I could listen to. Now if I could only teach the radio in my car to automatically archive these, so they would be ready whenever I want to listen to them...... But then I guess that's why God created mp3 players.

I also tried the suggestion of doing a search for a topic (in my case, using Google) adding the word "podcast". That yielded an interesting podcast on legal issues related to regulating offensive behavior by patrons. It was produced by a lawyer turned librarian turned library law consultant, so should be fairly authoritative. We as librarians tend to avoid dealing with offensive or illegal behavior by patrons because we aren't sure what our policies are, whether they are legally enforceable, and whether we will be supported by administration when the DVD thief or the urine-soaked patron complains to a higher authority.

In looking at what other libraries have done with podcasts, I saw that some are quite tech-savvy. The Kankakee Public Library has many podcasts available on their web site, with options for subscribing and for immediate listening to a streaming version. (Incidentally, many of the podcast sites I looked at made it easy to subscribe, but not so easy to just listen to one or more podcasts.) KPL has featured some well known authors and public figures, so I think their podcasts would have some lasting value.

The Denver Public Library offers podcasts of storytimes for children. I listened to small parts of several and found the quality of the narration to vary a bit. Without the presence of the story teller, children might lose interest unless the narrator is fairly skilled. Still, it's not a bad idea. My fourth grade teacher read A Wrinkle in Time to us, and I would be happy to hear that again while on a road trip.

In checking out the Library of Congress podcast site, I found some of author talks at the annual National Book Festival. Take a look at this utterly charming, witty webcast of Alexander McCall Smith from 2006.