Thursday, May 22, 2008

Podcasts

How could podcasts be used in a library? Well, the most obvious way would be to make a podcast of programs such as booktalks, visiting author talks and even storytimes. Although it doesn't offer the same community involvement, it makes the library programs open to more people. For example, author talks might always take place at lunchtime on a Thursday. This excludes people who are busy at that time from hearing the talk, even though they might be very interested. By podcasting, more people could hear the talk.

I'm not sure about podcasting storytimes. Although it would be possible, I don't think it offers the same benefits as storytime in person for children. While it mightn't be a substitute, children might still quite enjoy being "read a story" over the computer- at whatever time of day their schedule allows.

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