Week 9

Podcasts and vodcasts...Wow! What a range of resources presented by this technology, and its significance in circumventing the traditional restrictions of broadcasting (for both producers and consumers).

Via British Library, I listened to a talk about Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop, and then via the ABC, listened to a report on Australia's best loved play competition. The podcasts linked to the 'Library Success' wiki were an inspiration - I sampled author talks, teen webcasts, library tours, book reviews, and even a 'new books in the school library' session!

I also visited the 'Online education database', and was impressed by the range of resources (tertiary level)in various disciplines, from prestigious universities such as MIT and Stanford.

I can certainly see a wide range of library applications, including professional networking, library promotion, author talks, user education and library tours, staff training/induction, and more. As a library officer who's done a lot of children's work in her career, I'm particularly impressed by the ability of pod/vodcasts to 'capture' storytelling performances and make them available beyond the library walls. I remember back in the 80's wanting to share a performance at a children's book week conference in another city that I couldn't attend - I had all the effort of arranging for a Council media person to video my performance, which was then sent to the conference, which then had to be timetabled in to a schedule to ensure it would be seen (and I'm sure some attendees would have missed it). With podcasting - problem solved!!