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MuseumPods
A Museum Podcast Newsletter
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April 2006 - Vol 1, Issue 3
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Quick Links |
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Podcasting: Where Museums and Libraries Meet |
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By Jill S. Stover. Undergraduate Services Librarian, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University
(Photographs courtesy of VCU Libraries)
jsstover@vcu.edu |
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Can museums and libraries learn something from one
another about podcasting? The answer is, absolutely! As stewards of society’s cultural and intellectual heritage, museums
and libraries share common responsibilities and strategies for bringing people and collections together. Like museums, libraries
are also seizing upon the exciting potential of podcasting to bring added value to their services and to reach out to new
and existing patron bases.
Podcasting is one of a number of technologies considered
to be a part of the “Web 2.0” phenomenon such as blogging, tagging, wikis and social bookmarking to name a few.
Web 2.0 manifested itself in the library world in the form of “Library 2.0.” The exact meaning, significance and
relevance of Library 2.0 is a subject of great debate, but there is some consensus that it entails fostering greater interactivity
between patrons and librarians by making the physical and virtual aspects of the library more inviting and collaborative.
To this end, librarians apply Web 2.0 technologies like podcasting to a wide range of marketing, instruction and service purposes.
Podcasting allows librarians to give traditional services
a new twist. At the Thomas Ford Memorial Library, story time takes podcast form with their Click- A-Story service. Parents can download stories for their children like The Shoemaker and the Elves, Hansel and Gretel, and Puss in
Boots, all read by library staff. The Kankakee Public Library gives the story writers themselves a chance to be heard with
their podcast series featuring author talks and other speaker presentations. Western Kentucky University offers a similar forum for speakers in
its University Libraries Podcast that also includes author talks and professors sharing their experiences doing research in foreign countries.
While entertaining, podcasts are becoming useful instructional
tools as well. Johns Hopkins University’s Sheridan Libraries Podcast don’t just tell patrons about what resources they offer, they instruct them in how to make the best use of the research
tools available. Here, patrons can learn about doing citation searches in the database Web of Science, conducting metasearches
in numerous library databases at one time, or about how librarians can assist in their research projects. At Virginia Commonwealth
University, the Reference Librarian for the Sciences and Engineering developed an instructional tool called Librarycasting
SE that is part screencast, blog and podcast. Libraycasting SE assembles educational and informational resources for those in the science and engineering disciplines that consist of tutorials
and the latest news. Also from VCU, Podcasts @ Cabell Library recently went live and will answer patrons’ most frequently asked questions about finding books, understanding the
catalog, printing documents, and so on. Instructional podcasts such as these allow librarians to extend their reach beyond
the one-time class session or reference question to help patrons at their time and place of need.
Another popular use of podcasting in libraries is to
promote new services and events. Decatur Campus Library of Georgia Perimeter College’s Li sten Up! podcasts relate news and information programming to patrons. The La nsing Public Library podcasts tell patrons about programming news for adults, teens, youth and information technology. VCU’s Tompkins- McCaw Library
News and Notes highlights updates in library services.
The library podcasts that are perhaps the best expressions
of the collaborative, Library 2.0 spirit come from teen services. Podcasts such as the Thomas Ford Memorial Library’s
Audio Reviews by Teens at the Library, Memorial Hall Library’s Lis ten Up!, and Cheshire Public Library’s Podcast invite teens to create content in partnership with library staff. Teens in these podcasts review books, share opinions, poetry,
musical talents and other forms of creative expression.
Podcasting is fertile yet new territory for librarians
and curators alike. We have much to learn about how to make the best use of this tool for the publics we serve, but these
early attempts show promise for enriching our collections and our relationships with users. Museums and libraries can learn
a lot from each other about how to extend the value of what we offer into the realm of new social technologies that provide
a higher degree of interaction with patrons via the Web than has ever been possible. Creativity, an understanding of user
needs and a willingness to take risks will help to ensure that our collections remain relevant and meaningful as technologies
like podcasting evolve.
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Museum Podcasting Team |
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