Podcasts and Podcasting

Posted by Alison Aldrich on September 16th, 2008 Posted in: Technology
Tags: audio, podcasting, podcasts

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As information professionals, we spend a lot of time managing printed words. Spoken words deserve some attention, too. This week’s edition of Technology Tuesday explores podcasting as an alternative way to convey information.

A podcast is a digital audio or video file that is available on the Web. You can listen to podcasts from any computer with speakers. When you are away from your computer, iPods and other portable listening devices make it convenient to listen to podcasts during your commute, at the gym, or wherever you are when you want to keep your mind occupied.

Here are a few of the many free podcasts of interest to health professionals:

The New England Journal of Medicine –  weekly article summaries and interviews
Johns Hopkins Medicine – lively discussions about late-breaking medical and public health news
The Nursing Show – for nurses, by nurses
CDC – podcasts on a variety of topics related to disease management and health policy

To find more podcasts, try searching a podcast directory such as Odeo or Podcast Pickle.

Most serial podcasts are available as RSS feeds.  Once you are a subscriber, new episodes will be listed in your feed reader and can be transferred to your digital media player or portable device.

Once you’ve familiarized yourself with podcasts, consider how you (yes, you!) might create a podcast of your very own. Here are examples of how libraries are using podcasts:

• Dr. Donald A.B. Lindberg, director of the National Library of Medicine, records a weekly podcast highlighting health information and other news from MedlinePlus.
  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/directorscomments.html
• Newcomers to Ohio University can take guided walking tours of the Alden Library at their convenience with the help of podcasts.
  http://www.library.ohiou.edu/vtour/podcast/

Creating a podcast is easier than you might think. To prove it, NN/LM is offering a new hands-on class, Can You Hear Me Now? How to Make a Podcast. This class was developed by KK Jiang at the NN/LM South Central Region. It is approved for 2 or 3 hours of Medical Library Association (MLA) Continuing Education Credit.

If you are interested in hosting a class for 10 or more network members in your area, or if you would be interested in taking this class if it were offered in a computer lab near you, please contact Alison Aldrich at aldrich3@u.washington.edu .