Podcasts

Podcasts are free radio shows—like those on National Public Radio (NPR). One can listen to podcasts at any time in any place. Imagine hitting "play" and listening to your favorite podcast sharing the newest trends, ideas, experiences all while commuting, waiting on line, or doing chores. Podcasts are an effective way of archiving library programs and making them accessible to patrons who are unable to attend. This can be used in trainings or to share information at any time and at any place with faculty, students, and even the parents in the community that you serve.

Podcasts can be implemented into the library by having discussions about what you're reading, current events that are going on in the world, the library world, the most popular books that are trending, author talks, and podcasts even allow you to talk about the services that are offered in the library. This is a great time to go into detail. They can be short and sweet or longer and more elaborate. It all depends on the topic. These podcasts can be beneficial for everyone that has access to the library. You can also record events as a podcast that way people can go back and participate in the event online if they couldn't attend in person. You can use podcasts to give shout outs to awesome readers that week or highlight something great that is going on in the library. You can include book reviews, storytelling, or even interview an author. For the staff, you can give how-to's or reminders of what services are offered in the library and by the librarian. The options are endless!

Click on the link (Podcast Project: The Deep Web) to view our podcast project that we created about the Deep Web. I chose to use PodBean as my platform for my podcast because of how user friendly it was and easy to navigate. I know one of the hardest parts for me is realizing how beneficial podcasts can actually be. The part I don't like is hearing my own voice on a recording! I get nervous and feel like I fumble my words or that I sound insane. Getting over that fear would allow me to utilize this digital tool much more often with my campus and truly get everyone excited and involved.

Some podcast apps that I experimented with included Buzzsprout, PodBean, and Anchor.

Buzzsprout has been going since 2009, and they now have 100,000 podcasting users. Their core focus seems to be on creating a smooth experience for new podcasters. Their interface is easy to use and intuitive. The submission to iTunes or Spotify is done via clear step by step guides. The stats are easy to understand. You can use their free site or link to a WordPress website for more control. For the free account you can access up to two hours of audio. There are no ads however each episode is deleted after 90 days. It has great customer support and is very user friendly. The free account does lack a variety of options and would be considered very basic. It is a really great program for beginners!

Anchor is an all-in-one platform where you can create, distribute, and monetize your podcast from any device for free! Everything is free and unlimited. You can record from your computer, mobile device, or browser with up to 5 people at once! Sounds too good to be true right? The only downside is that although the service is free Anchor does reserve the right to distribute the content worldwide. This means they can take your podcast, reproduce it, and market it themselves if they chose to do so. Their customer support is also not the best, so if you need any help good luck trying to get the answers to your problem. Fun fact: Most people that have well-known podcasts do not use this site because it is more for beginners.

Started in 2006 and hosting more than 400,000 podcasts, PodBean is quickly making a name for itself. In fact, you might already be familiar with this New York based company thanks to its popular player, which works with iOS, Android and even Amazon’s Alexa. The basic account is user friendly and easy to figure out for beginners. I did not like that you cannot use PodBean on a desktop computer-it has to be used from a mobile device which I found a little frustrating. I wanted to record the audio from my computer however I didn't have that option to record directly from PodBean itself, so I had to record the file and then upload into PodBean. Because of how straightforward and user-friendly PodBean is even from a mobile device I preferred this app for podcasts. It is completely free. You get five hours of storage space and 100 GB of bandwidth per month. With this it has to be completely recreational podcast usage because you cannot monetize from it. To be fair, I have also used PodBean previously, so I was already comfortable with the options on the basic plan and how to navigate through relatively seamlessly.

Some educational podcasts that you should definitely check out are:

• The Librarian is In: The Librarian Is In is the New York Public Library's podcast about books, culture, and what to read next. Every other week, Rhonda Evans and Frank Collerius discuss the books they're reading, pop culture and the literary zeitgeist, and the world of libraries—and welcome special guests.

• Pint and Click: This podcast examines off-the-beaten-path recommendations of books, movies, television shows, apps, and music. Each week, hosts Dave Steinke, Tony Hahn, and Joel Sawyer bring in a piece of pop culture to share, and then the gang goes into a deep-dive discussion about it. The hosts are frequently joined by guests, usually fellow librarians or librarian assistants, and all bring a perceptive insight to the different topics at hand.                               
• Books Sandwiched In: This podcast features the library’s monthly book discussion of nonfiction books, led by local community figures ranging from local university professors to Knoxville’s mayor. Each book selection reflects the host’s professional or personal expertise, and while the host changes every month, each host provides a passionate examination of the text in question.                                                                                                                                        
• The Lone Reader: Librarian Cameron Johnson gives a concise appraisal of the book he’s currently reading. Each review clocks in under three minutes, and Johnson’s bare-bones style pinpoints why patrons will (or will not) flock to each selected book.                                             
• Shelf Life: Now forty-three episodes in, the staff has their format down to a science, where each episode lasts about twenty minutes and savvily introduces listeners to the staff and services of the library. The podcast is divided into several different episode types, some of which include: The Past is Present, where a staff member talks with a local history librarian about Libertyville’s history. Recent topics include how the library got its name and Libertyville’s nineteenth-century claim to be the source of the nation’s best water; Authors Out Loud, where staff members interview authors, most recently Lori Rader-Day; Locally Sourced, where local business owners are interviewed about a significant book in their lives; New at the Library, which highlights the latest services offered by the library; and Interviews with Bookies, where the host talks to one of the library’s “Bookies,” the librarians who provide the library’s book, movie, and music recommendation resource. These discussions are a great way for patrons to get to know these librarians and see how their tastes align.