I find podcasts similar to YouTube vidoes; however podcasts are published in a controlled environment as opposed to YouTube videos being published randomly on the Internet. I watched several library podcasts and found artistic license is in the hands of the publisher. The Silver Creek High School podcast I viewed displayed moving graphics of book covers with background music and while the music was clear and strong, but there was no voice over promoting the library or its services. One of the podcasts I listened to from Denver Public Library has no visual, but the audio is strong. Boulder Public Library offers several Teen Web Casts that are great sources of publicity for their teen program. The audio on the podcasts are clear with uninhibited voice overs; however a static image of the teen uploading the podcasts is the only visual for the viewer. I listened to a Kankakee Public Library podcast on Abraham Lincoln that was very informative and professionally created. The podcast began with a disclaimer giving funding information for the podcast, information about the background music and who published the podcast. Although the podcast itself did not have moving images, the site also offered a downloadable video, which underscored the professionalism used in creating the podcast.
I do think podcasts would be great on our library web site and as an archivist would like to see podcasts promoting our archives. Highlighting various archive collections on a rotating monthly basis would go a long way toward increasing patron use of the materials. I like podcasts and would like to see them used by Fort Worth Library.
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