Podcast - Hook Line And Sinker

I like podcasts, even though I am not normally an auditory learner. I like when they are short and to the point, and maybe get me excited about learning something new by going to an event, reading a new book, or checking out a new website.

The podcasts residing on the LibSuccess.org site were pretty interesting for the most part. I LOVED the Boulder PL's teen podcast section - while the quality wasn't all that great, it was wonderful to hear the teens weigh in on current events, art exhibits, and more at their library. This could be a hit with our teens, if we could set up a podcast team and post it on the library website. The booktalks by adults were, well, only as good as the written preparation. I checked out some on books that I have read and ones that I have not. The booktalks for books I had not read actually got me interested in reading the book, or adding it to our collection. Then I checked out MedlinePlus's podcasts, and found them informative and accurate but boring. I think they should hire the guys who do RadioLab and have them make podcasts on medical topics! I found the audio quality OK on most of the ones I listened to, although the teens tended to 'eat' the mike a little too much, but that's OK.

I can see many possibilities for podcasts with our library. I would love to do something like the Lincoln City Libraries "Casting About" podcast - sort of like The View on books. And I did add it to my Google Reader subscriptions. You could perhaps get more people excited about coming to the library and checking out some interesting titles. Another use of podcasts would be advertisements for programs coming up - if you incorporated snippets of the performers or presenters, you might be able to whet more appetites and boost attendance. Something to think about to be sure.

I used to subscribe to a farm related podcast, but stopped because it became too much to keep up with. I might, however, revisit subscribing to podcasts if I find some consistently interesting ones and keeping the subscriptions to maybe two or three.