podcasts for the future
Podcasts are a library tool that I have mixed feelings about. When I first read the topic for this week and started thinking about the concept of libraries with podcasts, I didn't see the need for them at all. It seemed to me like the classic example of libraries seeing a technology and using it because it's new and "in," not because it will be the best tool to serve the library's patrons. What information, I wondered, would be better on a podcast than it would be in text or pictures on a website? Certainly not library news or events--that does much better in a blog.
This difficulty of mine was addressed in the first few minutes of the lecture. It seems that the Golden Rule of podcasting in libraries is : don't podcast information that people normally would scan. Viewing a podcast as a sort of radio show for libraries, like Dowling College does, is a great way to make a podcast something special. Instead of containing information that patrons are already used to finding in text, it contains something different altogether, and therefore something worth listening to. The interviews and human interest stories it covers are also a great way to get word out about the podcast, as the people featured in them will probably tell others about it.
Another great use that I saw was Denver Public Library's teen podcast. Having multiple voices and segments kept interest, and, even though the teens clearly weren't professionals, they were engaging and refreshing to listen to after all the "official" librarian podcasts. This makes me think that a teen would probably be much more likely to listen to the DPL's teen podcasts than they would be to listen to a normal library podcast, and therefore would perhaps become more aware of the library.
While I couldn't picture my library right now using podcasts, I could see their usefulness in the future. This library is connected to a very small college that offers online courses as well as face-to-face classes. In the future, when the library has more access to online databases, podcasts could be a good way to provide library instruction to distance learning students.
