Thing 21: Podcasts

I went to Denver Public Library's Podcast. There I listened to several librarians reading childrens books for storyhour. I really enjoyed hearing those books. A nice feature was that there is a link that leads directly to the card catalog and enables a listener to see where the book is available and request it if interested. This could form a connection between the child, parent and librarian which would provide familiarity to a shy child before they came to the library. They could recognize the voice of the librarian and might ease a transition into storytime.

I also listened to Booktalks - Quick and Simple by Nancy Keane. I was not familiar with the concept of Booktalks and took some time to read the information she provided about them. I thought the concept and the podcasts were very useful. I liked the way she provided just enough interest in the book to make you want to read it. This is something that might appeal to a teenager who likes to read. it could encourage them to try a different type of book than they usually do.

I would suscribe to both of these podcasts.


I also looked at an RSS radio news feed podcast (from podcaster platform.) It was from the UK and seemed to have a good "Top 10" list of podcasts. Unfortunately, when I went to download the software needed to view it, the security signature was not valid. Also, that site had a free 30 day trial, but would have a subscription fee after that.

Finally, I realized that my iTunes program had the capability to download and listen to podcasts. For now, that is probably the simplest way for me to download podcasts since i already have the program on my computer.

I do think that podcasts could be useful for my patrons. Both the Bookcasts one I described above and the storytime books could be used by library patrons. In addition, visually impaired patrons could use the podcasts to hear stories without having to go to the library. This could keep small children in tune with what other children their age were listening to at storytime.

In an academic library setting, cornell had a podcast concerning a conference on hip hop that was available on their website. It was a rebroadcast of a radio program. I think this would be useful to library patrons who were unable to listen to the program when it was on the radio. This type of archiving of recorded materials would be very helpful for any talks that librarians give about their collections.