Tara Brabazon : the end of shhhhh in the Library

Tara Brabazon makes a spirited defence of the use of podcasts in her article in the Times Higher, 20 October 2010. She argues :

"In a time of shrinking funding, librarians’ savvy use of time- and space-shifting podcasts can aid diverse groups of students and scholars and highlight valuable resources".

Adventures in Library Instruction Podcast

The Adventures in Library Instruction podcast series is a mine of information from well-known practitioners like Buffy Hamilton and Lauren Pressley.
In the latest episode, Jason and Rachel interview Chad Mairn, and talk about a variety of technology issues and questions, including bringing technology to new populations, QR codes, the future of technology, research, and the library, and how to teach Wikipedia. Oh, and how to update an information literacy tutorial.


Pic shows Apple store in London on day of launch of new iPhone.

Why did we write this book?

Long time ago Jo Parker and I recorded a little audio file about the genesis of this book and intended to do a series of podcasts featuring all the contributors! Here., at last, are our dulcet tones...

As this series develops I shall collect them all on the left of the front page of the blog.

Podcasting in New Zealand

Angela Jowitt has written an informative article about use and devlopment of podcasts for instruction in academic libraries in New Zealand. (Jowitt, J.(2008) Perceptions and usage of library instructional podcasts by staff and students at New Zealnd's Universal College of Learning(UCOL). Reference Services Review 36(3) 312-336 Available via Emerald. Concludes podcasts do provide benefits for library instruction. This is reached via a rigourous survey at UCOL featuring 6 podcasts including accessing the Library catalogue; searching the library catalogue; My Account on library catalogue; and orientation tours.

Universities with channels on i-Tunes

University College London have begun a channel which will feature lectures, interviews via i-Tunes. This follows the example of Open University's channel. Maybe this free educational provision will attract a new type of student and encourage them to take the paying courses.

podcasting101 : a podcasting wiki

This wiki by Greg Schwartz (Library Systems Manager of Louisville Public Library) contains some useful links to some general librarian podcasts, a few directories, and some examples of libraries who podcast, but there are plenty of topics which could be filled out if you feel the urge! It is set up on PBWiki.