Sunday 27 September 2015

Rudaí23 thing#7: The wonderful world of podcasts

Okay, I'm going to cheat a little on this one. I have been grappling with the audio on my laptop for a while now, and whether it's because it's on its last legs or if there's just something wrong with the audio (I'm pretty sure it's on its last legs), I won't be able to make a podcast that is in any way listenable.

An Old Recording


However, here is one I prepared earlier! We did a podcast for a class in the MLIS I did a few years ago, and were introduced to recording techniques and applications that would help us in our experience. Obviously things change so fast in terms of anything to do with online stuff, but I have been looking around at what it takes to make a podcast, and the basics are still the same, apparently.

I used my podcast to tie in with a photography project that we were doing for the course (primarily because I found that I was stuck for something to talk about at the time). The programs we used at the time were PodOmatic and Audacity. After we were happy with our recording, we then uploaded it to iTunes. I see that Rudaí23 recommends SoundCloud, which is a great service that I notice a lot of bands and musicians use to upload new songs.


The wonderful world of podcasts




I have been listening to podcasts pretty much as soon as I got my iPod. Initially, I used it as a way of catching up with Newstalk's history programme (I'll just leave this here), and slowly branched out from there. I think podcasts and my interest in them reached peak with my discovery of Serial (which happened because I had been a regular listener to This American Life, another wonderful podcast). Serial brought podcasts to a new level, introducing the subtleties and complexities of the better TV series of the last few years, as well as having a fascinating look into how a presenter may (or may not) be influencing how you think about somebody's role in a particular crime. Only recently, I have been listening to a great series of documentaries called Crossing Continents by the BBC. There was a fascinating programme about drug addiction in Guatemala City and a really sad but amazing one called Losing Louisiana, about how Louisiana is losing its coastline at a rapid rate (and it's not necessarily down to climate change as we understand it, either) as well as featuring some amazing Cajun folk songs. Unless I'm missing something that's not something that I'm seeing on TV. Podcasts fill a niche and do it very, very well.

Issues with podcasting


There was a Q&A that I heard recently on The History of Rome podcast. Of course most of the questions were about the history element, but I remember one person asked about practicalities of recording a podcast. The presenter spoke about how he worked on a podcast (which would normally last for 20 to 30 minutes) for the whole week before uploading it, although this of course did not include time he spent reading numerous books and articles about the general period of history. He also spoke about the audio recording techniques (including an interesting note about how, after some advice, he records everything twice, so if there's a mistake, he can switch to the 'clean' recording) as well as concerns about investment in audio recording equipment. He also spoke about copyright issues regarding music he uses for his intro (he used a free sample track that came with his computer). Another interesting comment he made was on the concerns he had about bringing in advertising to his podcasts, which he allowed his listeners to decide (they were generally in agreement that he should be allowed to have them). It really opened my eyes as to how much time and cost goes into a podcast that takes up only 30 minutes or an hour.

Podcasts for libraries


And what about libraries? Context is everything. In my own situation, working in a small library in a small academic institution, I am going to go out on a limb and say that a podcast is never going to happen. It would cost far too much in terms of time and money, and is a service that I don't see being used in any way by the students or staff that we're supposed to be serving. It may serve a function in justifying the service either to the management or to the wider community, but if the staff and students aren't using it, then it might backfire. However, I think that podcasts for libraries that are cultural institutions is a brilliant idea. I would absolutely download a podcast from the NLI, the IFI, or one of the many fantastic museums that we have.

Of course (and this is true of almost everything nowadays) if you think about something, chances are somebody has already thought of it, and it's already in existence, ready for you to download or stream online. A quick search online brought me to this article with a list of podcasts geared towards librarians. And of course, there are many, many podcasts from cultural institutions such as the Library of Congress and the British Library. And it's not just limited to bigger institutions overseas (with, presumably, bigger budgets and a bigger potential listener base). Irish libraries are getting in on the act too.

Irish libraries and podcasts


Dublin City Council have a section devoted to podcasts, although the interface and accessibility leave a lot to be desired. I think it's interesting to compare this to DLR's podcast section which is much more inviting and easier to navigate. Regardless of this, it shows that there's an appetite for podcasts from Irish libraries, especially from the larger institutions. Knowing how to podcast, and getting to grips with all the technology associated with it, is something librarians will have to get a handle on.

Thursday 24 September 2015

Rudaí23 thing#6: A librarian gets all reflective

I think I'll probably always be behind on my Rudaí 23 tasks, so taking a break to go away on holidays probably wasn't the best idea (for completing Rudaí 23, but a great idea in nearly every other aspect).

Having said that, having time to reflect is probably the perfect thing to do at this stage. I can look back over the tasks that I've done, and have a look at how other people have been doing their blogs. Checking out other people's blogs (both those that are doing the Rudaí 23 as well as other librarian related blogs) is very interesting (although it does remind me constantly of how far advanced they all are. Of course, by 'far advanced' I mean actually keeping up with the time frame). It's interesting that despite Rudaí 23's name, this project isn't just an Irish thing: there are so many involved from the UK. It's great reading about their experiences, as well as seeing how the 'differences' they experience sometimes aren't all that different from what librarians in Ireland experience.

A great blog was Anaglow's talking about the radical conferences she was attending. It's a reminder of the difficulties that some in the library world in the UK are experiencing, but also about the radicalism which seems more prevalent there than it is in Ireland. 

I also came across a very interesting entry (in a very interesting blog) that made me question my use of images and that murky (or perhaps not so murky) area of copyright. I won't go into that in too much detail (as I am aware from peeking ahead that it's one of the tasks further down the list) but it is an example of how easy it is to overlook an important aspect of your job because social media is different, right? That brings me on to another blog which deserves praise because of how well written it is, but also its attention to detail in referencing everything that needs to be referenced. 

I'm also seeing a few blogs by people that I went to library school with and haven't seen in a while. It's a reminder that Rudaí 23 isn't just about improving your own abilities but about connecting with people in the library world, whether it's people you haven't seen in a while or people that you've never met before.

Reflection is something that is probably best enjoyed by those who have been keeping up to date with their tasks, so with that in mind, off I go to research my next post. Looking ahead, it looks like things are going to get a little more 'complicated' but also more interesting!