Jason Puckett.net

December 2007

Abstract

Podcasting, distributing digital audio and video recordings via RSS syndication, gives academic libraries a new means of reaching users on campus and off. Podcasts are unique in their capacity to be played on nearly any computer or portable media player, and RSS provides users with automatic updates whenever a new episode is published. Many libraries including those at the University of Georgia are exploring applications for podcasting such as broadcasting events, news and information literacy instruction. Podcasting can help supplement face-to-face instruction, reach distance education students, ease library anxiety and provide point-of-need instruction material for students with information needs.

Introduction

Podcasting is a method of distributing digital media files (usually audio, sometimes video, rarely PDF or other formats) that allows automatic notification and download of new files as they are published. The term “podcast” is a term coined from “iPod,” from the popular portable media player (PMP) device, and “broadcast,” although it is important to realize that neither an iPod nor any other PMP is required to listen to podcasts. In fact, a majority of users of educational podcasts play them on their computers, not a PMP (Deal, 2007). Most podcasts are in the common MP3 audio format that will play on any computer or media player.

The key difference between publishing a podcast and simply placing an audio or video file on a web site lies in the subscription capability. Podcasting uses RSS (Really Simple Syndication) technology to allow the user to subscribe to the podcast’s feed: that is, to automatically receive new episodes as they are published. (A library analogy: a podcast is like a serial; a media file without an RSS feed is like a monograph.) Many methods of subscription are available. A user can subscribe to a feed in many ways: via a web browser’s built-in RSS reader, a web-based reader such as Bloglines or Google Reader, or perhaps most commonly via “podcatcher” software such as iTunes or Juice. Podcatchers may include a built-in media player and/or allow the option of loading podcasts onto the user’s PMP for mobile playing.

Thousands of podcasts are published regularly, forming a sort of massive free internet broadcast network. The content of programs can be anything: comedy, education, politics, fiction, music, hobbies, and so on. The ease and minimal expense of producing podcasts means that show topics can be far more specialized than mainstream media. Several directories of popular podcasts exist, such as:

• iTunes Store
• Podcast Alley
• Podcast.net
• Podcast Pickle

The iTunes Music Store also includes a directory of (free) podcasts, offing iTunes users the convenience of selecting podcasts in the same software they use to manage their music collections.

Podcasting at the University of Georgia

The University of Georgia began investigating podcasting in January 2007 by determining how much work would be involved and what equipment would be needed. In April they began production work. Ian Thomas, Reference and Instruction Librarian for UGA’s science library, graciously took time to discuss UGA’s podcasting work via e-mail on November 26-27, 2007.

UGA’s podcast site is still a work in progress, but it illustrates the beginnings of an ambitious project. UGA is beginning by producing at least three separate podcasts. The Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies has published the most content so far, with its program featuring discussions of notable items in its collection. Thomas calls another planned podcast a “radio/podcast show” which will include interviews with local authors, campus news, and library-related events and information. The third program will feature instructional content such as brief video tutorials that the library already produces. The library plans to add more feeds, including capturing events and lectures and possibly providing transcripts of episodes.

The library expects to reach a variety of audiences with this wide range of programming. Students, both undergraduate and graduate, will find the news and information show useful. Researchers in political science and anyone from the public interested in the discussion topic might listen to the Russell political science programming. Thomas believes that distance education students are the most likely audience for instructional content.

The site will undergo revision before it is advertised to the public. For example, Thomas points out that at present only one RSS feed is available, which is not useful given the variety of content planned. He will be reworking the site to provide multiple feeds so users can select only the programs that interest them. UGA plans to participate in Apple’s iTunes U program and anticipates that this will be the primary access point for most users to find the podcasts.

Why Should Academic Libraries Podcast?

Our current crop of students are comfortable receiving information on a continuous basis and in many formats: on computers, smartphones, PMPs and more. Libraries have embraced the web as a conduit of information, but this is just one outlet through which students now seek information. As one study puts it, “This generation has changed the way libraries need to package information literacy as we have to compete with divided attention spans” (Berk et al 2007, p. 411). To better meet our users “where they live,” libraries must continue to investigate new channels of information.

Podcasts are platform-agnostic: they are not tied to a computer and can be played on many different devices. MP3 audio, by far the most common format for podcasts, is nearly universally portable. Any computer running any operating system is capable of playing MP3 files, as is any PMP and most modern cell phones. This gives college students the choice to control where and how they access programming, allowing them “to devote time to learn … whilst doing something else, adding value to what is otherwise ‘dead time’” (Berk et al 2007, p. 412). This explains some of the popularity of podcasting as a format.

Podcasting serves not only as a method of distributing events, but also serves as a basic digital archive. Libraries’ development offices can take advantage of a free global audience for prominent events such as author appearances. Large libraries such as Emory University’s Woodruff Library use podcasting as a repository of internal events such as library-wide meetings, so that they can be reviewed (with links to presenters’ slideshows) and time-shifted for those unable to attend.

Academic libraries have begun to discover the potential for podcasts as a channel for promoting services, events, book reviews, and collections, but perhaps the most intriguing use is as a tool for information literacy instruction. A University of Michigan study found that podcasting learning material (providing an RSS feed for subscription as opposed to just placing it on a web site) increased the likelihood that students would download it (Deal 2007, p. 5).

Many libraries produce podcasts as an outreach method for distance education students, who are often unaware of available library services and unable to take instruction classes. For these reasons Thomas sees UGA’s distance students as the primary audience for its instructional podcast. He feels that it is important to consider user needs above all when planning a library podcast and provide a program of genuine use: “It’s a great new technology but I don’t think podcasting tours of the library, for example, is a good use for it. You need something that the average Joe is going to want to subscribe to, and create enough channels to cover your major patron bases.”

First-year college students are often intimidated by the huge new library in which they are suddenly expected to do research. The short “radio show”-like format of most podcasts encourages less formal interaction and could show a friendlier face to an imposing institution, helping to overcome this initial library anxiety. Mizrachi and Bedoya (2007) found that short, entertaining instructional videos appealed to students and encouraged them by demonstrating that using the library need not be intimidating. Their method of distributing video, via the campus TV network, was not widely appreciated by students, however. Since library podcasting is still in its infancy it remains to be seen whether the portability of the new format will help it gain more users in the long run.

Applications for Library Instruction

Some academic libraries take advantage of this new medium as a channel for conveying information literacy instruction. Despite the best efforts of information literacy librarians, not every student attends in-person IL instruction sessions. A podcast episode is no substitute for personal instruction, but is a convenient way to deliver help and information when the student might otherwise have no library contact at all.

Podcasting can also be a useful supplement to learning for those students who do receive face-to-face instruction. Studies have found that podcast supplemental materials can positively influence learning outcomes and student performance (Deal 2007, p. 8). Students don’t always absorb or retain IL instruction at the time it is delivered, particularly if the classroom session takes place before students have an actual information need such as a research assignment. Podcast-based instruction is always available on demand later and can be paused and replayed at will.

Instructional podcasting allows the library to reach a wider audience than classroom sessions alone. It makes IL instruction available to those outside the institution: visitors, students and librarians from other universities. Institutions such as FSU with a large population of distance students can particularly benefit from podcasting, since often their only interaction with students is internet-based. Libraries at some institutions are serving as repositories for class lecture material, such as the University of Colorado’s Wise Law Library.

Once produced, podcast episodes can easily be incorporated into other forms of online outreach. Many libraries publish web guides, both class-specific and subject-based. As a side benefit of producing an instructional podcast, audiovisual material produced for a podcast can be incorporated into any online guide by simply adding a link or embedded player. Even students who do not subscribe to the feed can benefit from the material, as instructors can provide e-mail links to podcast episodes that address specific student questions. Audio and video podcasts also help address a broader range learning styles than a text-only guide.

Librarians must consider how well a given IL topic would adapt to an audio format: “topics like plagiarism and the differences between primary and secondary sources have potential. Other topics like citation style would be more problematic” (Worcester and Barker 2006, p. 90). (An audio podcast can also be supplemented by placing PDF handouts in the feed, though; it is perhaps a lesser-known feature of podcasting that any file, not just audio and video files, can be podcast.) Podcasting does have the advantage, however, of allowing the library to publish instruction on topics that might not make it into a classroom session. In a typical one-shot class, the librarian might feel obliged to focus on the needs of the immediate assignment and omit discussions of useful tools like citation software, but a podcast can be a useful access point for this kind of information.

Libraries should put some thought into podcast topics before beginning a podcast. Simple classroom capture is one possible way to record a podcast, but it seems unlikely that many students would review an entire one-hour typical classroom session when they might have a question about one particular aspect of their research. Most libraries have adopted a shorter format focusing on a single topic at a time, such as “peer-reviewed journals” or “searching for primary sources.” Not only does a short podcast help encourage busy students to listen, but a format of one topic per episode provides a de facto index so that students with a specific information need can locate the episode they need.

Podcasting is a tool — perhaps a useful one, but only a tool. Its skyrocketing embrace by internet users over the last couple of years suggests that it will become a popular way to receive audio and video materials, including educational material, but it is still in its infancy. As technology-savvy librarians, we will always need to stay current on new media channels like podcasting. Like the internet itself fifteen years or so ago, no one can really predict how the next great application might change the way we work and communicate with students. In itself it contains no inherent worth, though, and library podcasts will only ever be as valuable as the programming we produce.

External Links

• Arizona State University Library Podcasts: The ASU podcasts demonstrate what a broad range of topics some libraries cover in their podcasts.
• Library Success Wiki: Podcasting: A long list of libraries (academic and otherwise) producing podcasts. Also includes a short list of resources for podcasters.
• Emory Library Survival Guide Podcast: This instructional podcast is intended primarily for an undergraduate audience unfamiliar with academic research. Produced by the author.
• Mary Livermore Library “audiocasts”: Not a true podcast since it lacks an RSS feed, but illustrative of the potential uses.
• USF Library Channel: Including an excellent example of an informal, entertaining and informative instructional podcast, “Library Guy and Library Gal.”

References

Berk, J, Olsen, S, Atkinson, J & Comerford, J 2007, ‘Innovation in a podshell: bringing information literacy into the world of podcasting,’ Electronic Library, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 409-419.

Deal, A 2007, Podcasting: A Teaching with Technology White Paper, Available from: <http://connect.educause.edu/blog/jklittle/podcastingateachingw/44653> [December 4, 2007].

Mizrachi, D & Bedoya, J 2007, ‘LITE Bites: broadcasting bite-sized library instruction,’ Reference Services Review, vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 249-256.

Worcester, L & Barker, E 2006, ‘Podcasting: exploring the possibilities for academic libraries,’ College & Undergraduate Libraries, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 87-91.