WebJunction

Hey folks - this got moved from Greetings & Salutation's topic I Spied the WJ. Join us if you're interested in tossing around the podcast idea!

I'm interested in exploring podcasting.

Lots of folks still have dial-up or have various computer problems -- it seems to me that public libraries could download podcasts to MP3 files that residents could then borrow.

Heck ... we could build our own libraries of them, resident either on servers, CDs, or flashdrives.


Message was edited by: WebJunction

I've built "technical exploration" into the Adult Services Department/IT Department goals for the 05/06 fiscal year.

We'll most likely buy an iPod and fool around a bit ... we all need to *personally* feel comfortable with the tech before we can aspire to offer things to the public.

I also intend that our reference staff each pick a subject(s) they want to stay up on and arrange an RSS feed.

It's a possibility, Chrystie. I think there's a library on Long Island that's been lending audiobooks via iPod Shuffle (about $100 each). That seems to be a good solution to the intellectual property issue.

As it is, there's also an IP issue or two regarding podcasts. One is simply that a podcast is, in itself, copyrighted by default ... I think we can download to our server for lending via iPod (or other MP3 player), but can we make multiple copies from a podcast we've put on our own server? I dunno. Also, there's the issue that podcasters may not have gotten the rights for such music as they use in their podcasts ... many do not know that this is a legal requirement.


Message was edited by: librarybob to fix typo

By all means. Please do mention where you've moved the discussion.

I ran across this topic and was intrigued. I, too, have been interested in how libraries might use podcasts since at least February.

I have an MP3 player and have been downloading podcasts to my computer and transferring some to my player to listen to radio programs while I drive around Montana. Even in this limited capacity, I've run into some snags. AirAmerica seems to have stopped podcasting. I don't know if it's temporary or permanent but about 3 weeks ago, the podcasts stopped. Might have something to do with copyright or signing on with XML as an exclusive satellite provider. Democracy Now seems to have stopped theirs about the same time as well. I'm having my doubts about podcasting news.

Many podcasts are amateur undertakings. I suspect that's really their appeal. One friend tells another about "a really neat podcast" which serves their unique needs and interests but I think it would be extremely difficult for a library to select the best or even pertinent podcasts, which could be checked out.

Another potential for podcasts is library-created podcasts, but I've not yet been able to come up with anything concrete. The best I've had in this regard is a library recording a program, e.g., Story Time and making it available over the web as a podcast. But what is the appeal of a story read without access to the pictures? And doing that for other children's or adult programming pretty much defeats one of the aims of such programs - bringing people with similar interests together.

So, while there may be some potential for podcasting in libraries, I'm still waiting to be convinced. Now, blogs are another story. I've come up with a number of potential uses for those.

Following up on the programs you mentioned, the feed for Democracy Now works and is at

http://www.democracynow.org/podcast.xml

I just tried it by adding it to my Bloglines account and can listen to the streaming version with the Windows Media Player by clicking on "enclosure". I can't try it by downloading to a separate podcast/MP3/iTunes device here at my desk because of the limitations placed on my work computer by IT.

As for Air America, it is now on both satellite radio channels, XM and Sirius. In podcasting, I checked

http://www.ipodder.org/directory/4/podcasts/categories/radio/airAmericaNetworkShows
for links and they all come back "not found" so something has changed there.

Trying another approach, at

http://www.podcast.net/tag/airamerica

I see "The Learning Liberal Poplitics Hour" dated May 22 and a "Play" button. As an experiment, I click on it and Quicktime picks it up, streaming the podcast. The RSS link is at

http://www.podcast.net/rss/tag/airamerica

which I put in Bloglines and click on "enclosure".

It looks like Air America has moved to a BitTorrent approach. Look at the directory of

http://basedinreality.com/air_america/

The BitTorrent software is available at http://www.bittorrent.com and an FAQ is available at http://dessent.net/btfaq/ . Also check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bittorrent

If you like blogs for libraries, think of podcasting as audio blogging.

Thanks for the info on Democracy Now.

I tracked down the Air America podcast feeds to:
http://airamericaplace.com/archive.php

I was a bit confused and concerned by all the discussion about bit torrents but discovered that they work just fine with iPodder. The one lesson I learned early on was that you get two files instead of one and you need both.

I'm not sure about the value of making newscasts available via podcast in a library, however. The shelf life of news isn't long. As it is, I'm always a day behind by relying on podcasts. That's probably acceptable but is there any value in week old news? I don't know.

BBC does make programs that are probably worth downloading and cataloging in some way. I listen to the In Our Times series. Very interesting but also very intellectual.

All of this moving around and trial versions (BBC had been offering their podcasts for some time - now they're moving to a trial?) not to mention unanswered copyright questions lead me to the conclusion that podcasting is not quite ready for prime time.

The reason I like blogging for libraries is that it presents an easy way for non-tech folks to create and update web content. It's also a fairly easy way for them to acquire continuously updated materials for their web sites, e.g., NY Times feeds. I don't think podcasting's quite to the same stage yet. We in Montana, tend not to want to be on the cutting edge. We wait for others to break in the technology for us and then we jump on board. So go for it and be sure to share your results!

Suzanne

For those interested in a podcast about things wireless, put this RSS link in your aggregator.

http://www.wirelesstechradio.com/RSS/wtr-rss.xml

For those interested receiving interviews with book authors by podcast, try Podmedia's Just Books at:

http://www.podmedia.tv/pages/pmsjustbooks0-5551212.html

or, if you prefer a blog version, go to
http://podmediajustbooks.blogspot.com/

iTunes version 4.9 was released June 27, 2005 and now includes access to 3,000 free audio programs, including ABC News, BBC, Disney, ESPN, Newsweek and NPR. See

Information Week
http://informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=164903508

San Jose Mercury News
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/12006391.htm

Wired News
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,68029,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_7

It is available for both Windows and Mac from
http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/