Infoblog

This George & Joan podcast came about as a result of a conversation they had at ALA Midwinter with Gina Milsap, director of the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library. The library acted as neutral convener of a special program that helped citizens interested in running for local offices gain a working knowledge of the political process. The library didn't actually present the program: they brought in the folks representing all the pieces of the process to discuss how it's all done.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 4:40 PM in George and Joan | Interesting Libraries | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this Infopeople podcast, book maven Michael Cart talks about yet another assessment of American reading from the National Endowment for the Arts in a study entitled Reading on the Rise and extols the virtues of comics and graphic novels.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 6:43 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Permalink

In this latest edition of Thinking Out Loud, George and Joan take a look at a recent Pew Internet presentation, How libraries can survive in the new media ecosystem. As George points out, the Pew Internet & American Life Project has been around long enough gathering data that they can now identify distinct trends - which makes them a treasure trove of valuable information for libraries.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 4:52 PM in George and Joan | Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this podcast, Michael Cart reflects on the many changes that have transformed the field of young adult literature since the mid-1990s and sneaks in a plug for his latest writing project.

Here is a list of cites mentioned in the podcast (in PDF format).

Posted by eileen o'shea at 4:02 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink

In this podcast, Infopeople's bookmeister, Michael Cart, reports on the major Best Books of 2008 selections and offers a few of his personal faves, too! What are your favorites?

Here is a list of cites (in PDF) from the podcast.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 1:58 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this Thinking Out Loud podcast, George and Joan take a look at the final report (PDF) from the Metropolitan Library System in Illinois' LSTA grant project The Customer Focused Library. Among the findings:

• Only one third of the people who come into a library stop at a service desk


• Two thirds of the people who come into a library have no idea what they came in for

Posted by eileen o'shea at 2:35 PM in George and Joan | Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink

Michael Cart -- the book voice of Infopeople -- talks about considerations of voice in literature and reads passages from some of his favorite examples, ranging from Charles Dickens to Cormac McCarthy and beyond in his latest podcast.

Here is a list of citations from this podcast.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 5:26 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink

Infopeople's bookguy Michael Cart grouses in his latest podcast -- at length -- about the winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature (hint: it wasn't an American . . . again!).

Here is a list of citations from this podcast.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 2:57 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink

In honor of the holiday season, Infopeople is pleased to offer this special George and Joan, Thinking Out Loud podcast, A Library Carol. We hope you enjoy it, and that it makes you smile, think, and ponder (but hopefully not cry!). Be sure to stay tuned at the end for a little something extra.

Thanks to Andy Havens, Martin Helmke, Chuck O'Shea, Larry Olszewski, and Joyce Leahy for their most excellent assistance in the making of this podcast.

Wishing everyone in libraryland a very happy holiday season and a transforming new year,

--The Peeps at Infopeople

Posted by eileen o'shea at 9:07 AM in George and Joan | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

These are tough economic times, and libraries haven't been spared. But as George & Joan point out in this podcast, these aren't the first tough economic times and they won't be the last.

What can libraries do to help their customers AND keep their services and doors open? Recent reports say that library usage is actually UP - but budgets are smaller. Tune in as George & Joan examine these issues and more. They have some ideas that may help you and your library!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 3:38 PM in George and Joan | Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink

In this podcast, fresh from reporting the results of the 2008 Bulwer-Lytton Bad Writing contest, Michael Cart now takes on the Diagram Oddest Book Title of the Year contest winners (hint: it's not THE JOY OF CHICKENS or ORAL SADISM AND THE VEGETARIAN PERSONALITY). It's funny stuff!

For a list of titles mentioned in this podcast, see this PDF document.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 10:12 AM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink

Infopeople's book maven Michael Cart muses on his forty years as a book reviewer and the Harry Potter phenomenon in this podcast. Along the way he discusses a lot of other books. Definitely worth a listen if you're looking for something to read!

Here is a list of citations of the titles mentioned in the podcast.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 6:24 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this podcast, Infopeople's book maven Michael Cart reports on modern reinterpretations of the classic King Arthur legends, focusing on the just-published Here Lies Arthur by British novelist Philip Reeve and also on T. H. White's classic The Once and Future King.

Here is a brief citation list of books mentioned in the podcast.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 5:40 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (1)

In 2007, OCLC was awarded a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to explore attitudes and perceptions about library funding and to evaluate the potential of a large-scale marketing and advocacy campaign to increase public library funding in the U.S. The findings of this research are available in the OCLC report, From Awareness to Funding: A study of library support in America.

In this podcast, George & Joan take a look at the report, its findings, and what it all means for libraries both now and in the future. One jump-out-at-you finding that George notes: there is zero correlation between the people who use libraries and the people who vote in elections for library funding.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 3:53 PM in George and Joan | Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

We've been busy here at Peep Central converting some recent webinats into podcast format for your listening pleasure. Without further ado:

• Universal Design: Finding Assistive Features Hidden in Mainstream Technologies (Sep 16, 2008) - MP3


• Maintaining Public Computers: Learn from the Experiences of Others (Sep 30, 2008) - MP3

Posted by eileen o'shea at 9:48 AM in Podcasts | Webinars | Permalink

In his latest podcast, Infopeople's book guy Michael Cart reports on the 26th Annual Bulwer-Lytton Bad Fiction Writing Contest (It's a dirty job, he says, but someone's got to do it!). And then, to cleanse your reader's palate, he reports on some of his favorite good writing, Ray Bradbury's classic novel of summer and boyhood, Dandelion Wine.

For all of you Bradbury fans out there, Alliance Library System, a pioneer in the use of virtual worlds to promote librarianship and reading, will unveil a unique “walk-in” book during the grand opening of their newest Second Life project, Bradburyville. The Grand Opening is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 5th from 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. SL time, and is part of The Big Read Initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. It is open to the public. You'll need to install the Second Life software to see it all.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 9:30 AM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Second Life | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this podcast, Infopeople's Michael Cart talks about some blogs that cover comics & graphic novels. He also discusses the results of The Kids and Family Reading Report Family Reading Report, a survey conducted by Yankelovich and Scholastic . Is the Internet making kids better readers, or is it making them turn away from books? Listen and learn!

Here is a list of citations from the podcast (PDF format).

Posted by eileen o'shea at 1:06 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink

We don't always post the information here, but Infopeople (okay, me) creates a podcast (MP3 audio format) version of its webinars after the live event. This audio version enables folks who have a hard time catching the webinars (either live or archived) another listening option. They are all linked on the appropriate archived webinar page and are also posted to iTunes. Here is a list of some recent podcast/webinar offerings (these links go to the MP3 files):

• Jul 22, 2008: Attracting Baby Boomers to Volunteer Service with Carla Lehn


• Aug 14, 2008: Understanding Health Literacy: Why It Is So Important and What Librarians Can Do to Help with Kelli Ham


• Aug 19, 2008: State Library Update with Susan Hildreth, Stacey Aldrich & Carla Lehn

Enjoy!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 6:56 PM in Podcasts | Web 2.0 | Webinars | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's summertime and the living is easy, and it's also time for beach books! In this podcast, Infopeople's resident bookmeister Michael Cart talks about what's hot this summer, and what makes great summer reading.

Here's a list of citations (in PDF format) to books he mentions.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 4:42 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this episode of Thinking Out Loud, George & Joan talk with Fred Baerkircher, Adult Public Services Manager at Twinsburg Public Library
in Ohio. Fred spearheaded an ambitious gaming program for his library and he did it on a shoestring! Find out all about it in this podcast. Be warned: it may make you want to start a gaming program at YOUR library!

Here is a citation list for more reading on gaming and libraries. Sites mentioned in this podcast include:

• GT System


• Steam Community


• Valve Software

Posted by eileen o'shea at 2:59 PM in Gaming | George and Joan | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

There's no denying that changes in technology, information availability, and the deference paid (or not!) to experts have changed the face of reference forever. That's a good thing! In their recent webinar, Infopeople's podcasting pundits Joan Frye Williams and George Needham shared their provocative views of the role of the reference librarian in today's world, along with examples of the good, the bad, and the ugly in the library community's ongoing effort to reestablish reference as a high-value service (full disclosure, Joan wrote this copy!).

And now here it is as an MP3 download!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 5:28 PM in George and Joan | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Who says comics aren't art? In his latest podcast, Infopeople's book maven Michael Cart talks about the explosion of comic art museums and reviews some nifty new graphixc novels. On his list: the Cartoon Research Library at Ohio State University, the National Cartoon Museum, San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum, and the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art.

Here's a citation list of titles mentioned in this podcast.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 5:10 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Update (08-06-08): Yikes! The last part of this podcast was cut off (editor's blunder, mea culpa!). The link is now to a full and complete version.

In their latest podcast, George and Joan discuss the book, The New Age of Innovation by C.K. Prahalad and M.S. Krishnan. George read a review of the book in Information Week. George and Joan discuss some of the big ideas that the book discusses such as getting away from the idea of mass production and mass customization to start treating all members/patrons as individuals, and harnessing the power of the patron to create unique experiences.

Information Week has started a blog to further expand on the book's ideas.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 5:16 PM in George and Joan | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

Who's America's greatest living man of letters? In his latest podcast, Infopeople's book guy Michael Cart makes his case for the brilliant, acerbic, and prolific Gore Vidal. Michael has actually interviewed Vidal (more than once), so speaks of his own firsthand experiences. Wow!

Here is a list of references mentioned in the podcast.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 4:31 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

In his latest podcast, Michael Cart discusses the rebirth of the popular 1980's teen series Sweet Valley High and looks at what's changed and what's stayed the same. He also examines the often symbiotic relationship between teen and tween book series and the TV shows they spawn.

Here is a list of items mentioned in the podcast (PDF fomat).

Posted by eileen o'shea at 12:21 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this episode of Thinking Out Loud, George and Joan and their guest Jennifer Baker take a hard look at what libraries count, how they do it, why they do it, and ask whether the info we gather is accomplishing what it should. Jennifer Baker has been a public services librarian for 12 years, seven of them in California. She has worked in most areas of the library at one point or another as a shelver, circulation clerk, library secretary, children’s librarian, reference librarian, adult services librarian and branch supervisor. She has worked for county systems and municipalities with service areas as large as 1 million and as small as 6,000. She is currently the director of the St. Helena Public Library in Napa County.

George, Joan and Jennifer cover a lot of ground in this podcast: do hash marks on reference sheets do any good anymore, are we actually measuring the real things we do, and how relevant are the numbers we gather? What's the history behind the sorts of statistics libraries are mandated to collect each year? George makes special note of Jim Collins' monograph, Good to Great and the Social Sectors, which is a response by Collins to questions raised by readers of his book Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 1:27 PM in George and Joan | Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this podcast, bookmeister extraordinaire Michael Cart discusses the goings on at this year's Book Expo America (BEA). It's not just for publishers anymore - the welcome mat is out for librarians now!

Here is a list of references from this podcast.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 8:47 AM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this latest edition of Thinking Out Loud, our intrepid pundits explore issues raised by Barbara Fister in her April 15, 2008 article in Library Journal entitled, What If You Ran Your Bookstore Like a Library? Key thoughts they examine: The erosion of distinctions between enterprises; How can libraries approach some of the issues affecting bookstores these days? What can libraries teach bookstores?

Also discussed: The McDonaldization of Society, and John Scalzi's blog post Why YA. For the latter, George encourages you to be sure to read the comments as well as the post.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 1:40 PM in George and Joan | Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

In their latest podcast, George and Joan take a look at the future and they see a lot of good stuff happening! What they're talking about:

• The IFLA/OCLC Early Career Development Fellowship Program


• The recent Eureka! Leadership Institute in California

Posted by eileen o'shea at 6:06 PM in George and Joan | Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

What's America's favorite book of all time? Michael Cart tells you that and more in his latest podcast from the book beat!

Here is a list of titles mentioned in this podcast (there were a lot of them!).

Posted by eileen o'shea at 5:38 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

In his latest podcast, Infopeople's resident comics enthusiast Michael Cart reports on the latest big doings in the world of the visual in this podcast.

Highlights include some thoughts on new trends in the field and an overview of the recent New York Comic Con. Here is a bibliography of citations from this podcast (in PDF format).

Posted by eileen o'shea at 4:32 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

In his latest podcast, Michael Cart talks about the increasing use of comic books in the (gasp!) classroom. Is he outraged? What do you think?

Here is a bibliography of citations from this podcast (in PDF format).

Note: This was incorrectly posted as a podcast on New York's April
Comic Con. Our apologies for the error.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 1:24 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

In their latest podcast of Thinking Out Loud, George Needham & Joan Frye Williams take a look at the Public Library Association's 2008 conference (it was paperless, so as G&J point out, it is a very rich website!). Some highlights: the exhibit hall (ChiliFresh.com, STImaging.com, MusicPump) and the Minneapolis Public Library's Game Center. They cover a lot of ground, so be sure to tune in!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 3:02 PM in Conferences | George and Joan | Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you tuned in to today's webinar on Effective "Virtual Visits" Statistics for the Annual Public Library Survey with Sarah Houghton-Jan, you know that we had some audio problems (technology! sheesh!). Anyway, Sarah very kindly re-recorded the audio in MP3 format so you can hear all that good information you may have missed the first time around. Be sure to download her neat resource handout as well, and the PowerPoint -- it'll be almost just like being there!

Thanks for a great webinar, Sarah, and for bearing with us through the technology glitches.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 7:18 PM in Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

In his latest podcast, Infopeople's book maven Michael Cart talks about the gradual migration of books and other print-based product from paper to digital formats.

Missed some of the books & other references he makes in this podcast? Ta-da, a PDF list is here!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 11:03 AM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the latest Thinking Out Loud podcast, George and Joan take a look at the report Information Behaviour of the Researcher of the Future (PDF format). This report was conducted by the Centre for Information Behaviour and the Evaluation of Research (CIBER) in the UK.

The report looks at the information seeking behavior of young people and what that means for libraries in the next 10-15 years. As George says, demographics are destiny so it's important to look at how young people are looking for information.

Needless to say, George and Joan have a lot of thoughts on the report and its findings, so be sure to listen! This podcast is 19 minutes long.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 2:07 PM in George and Joan | Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

What’s the most influential comic strip in history? In his latest podcast, Infopeople’s book guy – and unrepentant comics fan – Michael Cart answers that and other compelling questions about the contemporary world of comics publishing in his latest podcast!

Strips mentioned in this podcast include The Yellow Kid, Little Nemo in Slumberland, Krazy Kat, and Peanuts (thanks to Wikipedia for these descriptions). He also discusses the new biography on Charles Schulz, Schulz and Peanuts: a biography and Masters of American Comics.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 7:30 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this latest session of Thinking Out Loud, our intrepid podcasters George & Joan look at TIME magazine's issue from Mar 24, 2008, 10 Ideas That Are Changing the World (among the ideas: the end of customer service and the new austerity) and they also talk about the Extinction Timeline, found on Ross Dawson's blog, rossdawsonblog.com, and created jointly by What’s Next and the Future Exploration Network. Of special interest to libraries: the year 2019, in which Dawson predicts the extinction of libraries! It's well worth a listen.

UPDATE: Sorry, folks. I seem incapable of typing (or for that matter, pasting, a file name correctly today. I have finally, absolutely, fixed the link to that latest G&J podcast. Sorry for any inconvenience! --Eileen the bad typist

Posted by eileen o'shea at 1:46 PM in George and Joan | Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Everybody has an opinion! Michael Cart weighed in on the state of reading today in his last podcast, and now in their latest edition of Thinking Out Loud, George Needham and Joan Frye Williams continue their take on the state of reading, a conversation that they started in their last podcast. This time out the look at the recent NEA report, To Read or Not to Read, and other trends affecting how and what people read. Also mentioned in this podcast: Book Glutton and Bibliocommons.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 4:15 PM in George and Joan | Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Is reading dead? None other than Steve Jobs seems to think so but Infopeople’s book guy, Michael Cart, disagrees and explains why in his latest podcast. Have a listen!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 6:33 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (2)

In this episode of Thinking Out Loud, George Needham and Joan Frye Williams take a look at current trends in reading. Specifically, George talks about his Kindle and they both riff on what the Kindle and other e-book readers of its ilk affect how and what we read.

For those of you who listen closely, you'll hear Joan reference something called the "ImaginoTransferenceDevice" and if you're like me, you're wondering what the heck that is. It's a term/concept coined by Jasper Fforde, and you can read more about it here.

Next up: they look at the NEA report, To Read or Not to Read - so stay tuned!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 8:44 AM in George and Joan | Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this podcast, Infopeople’s book guy Michael Cart reports and comments on the winners of this year’s ALA book awards for youth literature. Fasten your seat belts, folks. There are some surprises in store!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 9:42 AM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

Can leadership be taught? In the latest edition of Thinking Out Loud, George Needham & Joan Frye Williams examine this question. George talks about the leadership academies in which he has participated (as a mentor). They also look at the differences between management and leadership, and the never-gets-old debate about nature versus nurture.

It all makes great food for thought!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 12:08 PM in George and Joan | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

In his most recent podcast, Infopeople’s mild-mannered book maven Michael Cart reports – with unseemly delight --on some recent and classic literary feuds. His favorite is the one between the Library of Congress and (wait for it) the entire country of Scotland!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 12:50 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

Using the book, Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits by Leslie Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant, George Needham and Joan Frye Williams look at the six attributes and discuss how those practices might be applied in libraries.

This 28-minute podcast is part two of a two-part series. If you missed part one, you can catch it here.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 7:36 PM in George and Joan | Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Infopeople’s book maven Michael Cart cleans out his in basket at year’s end and shares all of the book news and features he never quite got around to in 2007 in this podcast. It’s quite a collection, ranging from your pet ferret’s health to reviewing a new novel about Gone with Wind's roguish Rhett Butler.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 10:47 AM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

Using the book, Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits by Leslie Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant, George Needham and Joan Frye Williams look at the six attributes and discuss how those practices might be applied in libraries in this 22 minute podcast.

This is part one of a two-part podcast.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 1:11 PM in George and Joan | Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

The American Management Association (AMA) offers free short (less than 15 minutes) podcasts with "insights and voices of recognized thought leaders across a wide range of topics." AMA offers these thought-provoking podcasts "to provide those essential 'nuggets' of perspective that will help you and your organization improve performance, adapt to changing business realities, and prosper in a complex and competitive world." The podcasts also include even shorter interviews with authors of new AMA books.

The February 1 podcast features Charles Handy, author of The Age of Unreason, The Elephant and the Flea, The Future or Work, The Age of Paradox and Myself and Other More Important Matters. It made me reflect upon how well positioned libraries are to help people discover what they are best at.

You can listen to individual podcasts at the AMA website or subscribe to the whole Edgewise series using iTunes or Yahoo! Podcasts.

If you are considering "moving into management," these podcasts will give you a quick way to get current on management trends. If you want more than a quick listen, sign up for Infopeople's new onground course, Moving into Management, taught by Nancy Bolt. It will provide you with "information and exercises to help you to complete a self assessment to determine your competencies, confidence, and commitment for moving into library management; discover key roles of a library manager and tips about successful management, and think about your own career goals and if management is one of them."

Posted by gail mcgovern at 9:27 AM in Podcasts | Permalink

In his latest podcast, Infopeople’s book guy Michael Cart takes a fond – and sometimes wry -- look back at the year 2007 and what made news in the world of books and publishing. Can you say “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows?”

Posted by eileen o'shea at 3:40 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

What comes to mind when you hear the term "competencies"? Are competencies just the latest buzzword for leadership certification or for development of Librarian 2.0 skills? This podcast version of Mary Ross's Jan 8, 2008 Infopeople webcast will give you a basic understanding of competencies as guides for your library's recruitment and hiring, performance management, and staff development efforts.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 3:40 PM in Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (1)

In this podcast, Infopeople's book guru Michael Cart talks about the latest developments in the wide, wide world of comics, graphic novels, and manga. Prepare to be overwhelmed!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 10:38 AM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this edition of Thinking Out Loud, George and Joan take a look at the state of library education. Is it worth all of the time and effort people put into it? George advocates a serious rethinking of MLS programs and what they teach.

It's food for thought!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 12:10 PM in George and Joan | Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this podcast, Infopeople's bookman Michael Cart discusses the findings of the most recent National Endowment for the Arts survey of the health of reading in America. Hint: the patient is doing about as well as could be expected.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 1:42 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

In their latest podcast, George Needham and Joan Frye Williams discuss how librarians refer to their...customers? patrons? users? and what those words mean, and how all of those terms have different connotations. As Joan says, it's more than just nomenclature.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 10:09 AM in George and Joan | Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this podcast, Infopeople's book guy -- and author -- Michael Cart reports on writers' rush to the Internet to promote their work -- and, sometimes, themselves (think Michael Cart 2.0!).

Posted by eileen o'shea at 10:35 AM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this latest podcast, Infopeople bookmeister Michael Cart takes an affectionate look at the long career of Ray Bradbury and recalls interviewing him at the recent CLA conference.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 3:40 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this podcast, George Needham and Joan Frye Williams discuss George's trip to South Africa for the 2007 IFLA Conference, and the global library community in general.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 10:58 AM in Conferences | George and Joan | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Infopeople's book guy Michael Cart offers, in his latest podcast, an affectionate and nostalgic tribute to the late Walter R. Brooks' classic Freddy the Pig books for children (and adults like him!).

Posted by eileen o'shea at 8:00 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

In their fourth podcast, George and Joan examine some sacred cows of librarianship, like the Dewey Decimal System, that are being challenged in libraries today.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 2:14 PM in George and Joan | Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

In his latest podcast, Infopeople's book groupie and comics connoisseur, Michael Cart, turns his attention to the latest developments in the world of comics and graphic novels -- which, he reports, are coming soon to a cell phone near you!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 8:38 AM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

In their third podcast, George and Joan discuss how change in libraries is often viewed with resistance and suspicion. And in honor of International Talk Like a Pirate Day,be sure to take note of their likening of the bringers of change to pirates boarding a ship. Arrrrr!!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 9:56 AM in George and Joan | Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the wake of the Harry Potter publishing phenomenon, Infopeople's book guy Michael Cart analyzes the obscure art of making a book a best-seller in this podcast.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 12:54 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

In his latest podcast, Infopeople's Michael Cart, himself a reviewer for Booklist magazine, reviews the reviews of Amy Bloom's luminous new novel Away.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 12:48 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

In his latest podcast, Infopeople's Michael Cart reviews a new memoir about the Garis family of children's book writers that gave us Uncle Wiggily, the Bobbsey Twins and more. Turns out there were very few happy endings at THE HOUSE OF HAPPY ENDINGS by Leslie Garis.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 10:05 AM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

In their second podcast George Needham and Joan Frye Williams take a look at libraries that are doing new, exciting, and/or innovative things.

Update on 8/21: Sorry about the lack of a link there, folks! As you can see, it's corrected now.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 12:49 PM in George and Joan | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (1)

In this podcast of her July 31 Infopeople webcast, library consultant Joan Frye Williams shares the fruits of her 15+ years of full-time consulting experience, providing practical information about everything you need to get started from in-demand consulting specialties, necessary skills, basic business requirements, proposals and contracts, and, of course, fees and billing.

If you've ever toyed with the idea of hanging out your shingle as a library consultant - or if you're just curious about what it might be like to pursue this library specialty – this podcast will give you an insider's view of the pleasures and pitfalls that await you.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 3:17 PM in Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nationally-renowned Boomer expert Matt Thornhill says, "The demographics of California are quickly changing as Baby Boomers reinvent middle age as they reach 50, 60, and beyond. Traditional programs for "seniors" won't work for Boomers, nor will programs designed for younger adults. It's time libraries better understood California's largest, wealthiest, and most influential demographic group."

Matt Thornhill is president of the Boomer Project, a national leader in marketing and communicating with today's Boomer Consumer. In this podcast version of an August 7 Infopeople webcast, he shares seven "new rules" libraries need to master in order to effectively serve today's Boomers. Author of Boomer Consumer, Thornhill will provide insights and practical tips and techniques any
library can put to use immediately.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 11:29 AM in Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

In his latest podcast, Infopeople's Michael Cart talks about the amazing Harry Potter phenomenon in a podcast that he guarantees is spoiler-free!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 10:25 AM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

Michael Cart continues his report of the 2007 ALA conference in this podcast, recapping YALSA’s celebration of its fiftieth anniversary and reporting on the explosion of events related to young adult literature.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 3:58 PM in Conferences | Michael Cart | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

I thought I'd share some information about our new podcast series, George and Joan: Thinking Out Loud. If you use a newsreader you can subscribe to the George and Joan feed using this URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/InfoblogGeorgeAndJoan. Just copy or click on the link, and pop it into your aggregator, and you'll know as soon as the next podcast is posted! The George and Joan podcasts will be appearing monthly. You can also find them in iTunes - just search for "Infopeople" and you'll find all of our podcasts listed.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 11:10 AM in George and Joan | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Infopeople is pleased to announce a new series of podcasts: "George and Joan, Thinking Out Loud." Perspicacious pundits George Needham (OCLC) and Joan Frye Williams (library consultant) will compare notes - in their own inimitable style - on some of the hottest topics in libraries today. First on their list of conversation starters: Do trendy new service models amount to ‘dumbing down’ the library? Don’t miss the opportunity to listen in as Joan and George mix it up in a freewheeling format that’s sure to leave you with plenty to ponder.

If you like this one, stay tuned, because George and Joan will be Thinking Out Loud on the Infopeople site on a monthly basis. Upcoming topics include change and libraries, libraries getting it right, and the decline of deference.

Remember, you can listen to podcasts directly on your computer as long as it has speakers and is running any application that can play MP3 files, including Windows Media Player, WinAmp, and Real Player. Of course, if you have an iPod or any other type of MP3 player, you can download the files and take them with you to listen to wherever you happen to be.

If you have any difficulty accessing this or any other Infopeople podcast, you can get help from the Peep Geeks at ipweb@infopeople.org.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 11:38 AM in George and Joan | Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (2)

Does your library issue rules for patron behavior, i.e. odor, harassment, bare feet? Do you have a policy on young children unattended in the library? What types of rules are (and are not!) likely to be legally enforceable?

This is a podcast version of Mary Minow's July 19, 2007 webcast that analyzes lawsuits against libraries, and pulls together a legal framework to guide you in writing, revising and enforcing policies.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 4:57 PM in Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Infopeople’s book guy Michael Cart reports on his experiences at the 2007 ALA conference in Washington, DC in his latest podcast. Expect particular attention to be given to the many faces of young adult literature represented at the conference.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 11:50 AM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

Weeding is a necessary—and, for some, a worrisome collection maintenance task. What to keep? What to weed? Where to start? And how can weeding happen in a library without its users wondering why materials are being withdrawn? In fact, weeding can be the answer to stimulating circulation, and weeding is a requirement for keeping your collection vigorous and useful. Weeding eliminates the outdated, the superceded, the irreparably damaged, and the material that simply doesn't fit the scope of your collection. In return your library's collection can look better, be easier for users to navigate, and come through on its promise to provide real value to the library's community. In this podcast version of her July 9 webcast, Francisca addresses all of these issues.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 6:40 PM in Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Comics and graphic novels were a major presence at this year's Book Expo America trade show recently held in New York. Infopeople's Michael Cart tells you all about it in this podcast recorded on June 20, and he brings you up to date on other news from the ever-expanding world of graphic publishing.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 11:25 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

We just posted the podcast version of Susan Hildreth's June 19 webcast. It's 46 minutes long and she covers a lot of ground. Topics include the appointment of Stacey Aldrich as Deputy State Librarian, the new State Library website, LSTA grant info, Early Learning with Families (ELF), and news about the Boomer initiative (the kickoff to this initiative will be a webcast on August 7).

Check it out!

Update: I forgot to mention that Susan and other State Library staff are participating in our 23 Things challenge!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 8:32 AM in Podcasts | Permalink

In his latest podcast, Infopeople's book maven Michael Cart discusses the recently announced nominations for the 2007 Eisner Awards, the Oscars of the comics industry, and related trends in the publishing of comics and graphic novels.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 4:31 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

This podcast is derived from the webcast Karen Calhoun presented on March 9, 2007 for Infopeople. It's based on the "Calhoun Report," prepared for the Library of Congress. This study examined factors affecting the future of library online catalogs and options for revitalizing them.

If you have ever wondered what to do to make your online catalog more appealing and useful for today's web-savvy users—and thereby make your library's collections more visible and helpful to your community—this podcast is sure to provide you with many ideas for next steps.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 10:02 AM in Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

In his latest book-related podcast Michael Cart discusses the recent demise of the stand-alone newspaper book review section and what you can do to help revive this vanishing form of essential journalism.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 2:18 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

I know we're beginning to sound like the Helene Blowers fan club here, but there is now a podcast version of her May 9 webcast available for listening! It's 53 minutes of good Web 2.0 info, so give it a listen!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 11:42 AM in Podcasts | Web 2.0 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last year the Supreme Court ruled that some Ten Commandments displays on government property are not constitutional, while other Ten Commandments displays are permissible. What does this mean for your library? Is it OK to put up a Christmas tree? A Menorah? Can you allow religious use of your meeting rooms and display areas? Should you allow staff to talk about church or religion to coworkers? Religious issues are heating up and in this podcast of her May 3 webcast Mary Minow will help you find out where the legal lines are drawn.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 5:26 PM in Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

In his latest podcast, Michael Cart mourns the recent death of Captain America so you don’t have to! But, hey, the Captain is a Marvel comics superhero, and those superheroes do have a way of coming back (and back and back and . . .)

Posted by eileen o'shea at 9:00 AM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

RFID, patron holds, RSS feeds, personalized reading lists: personalized services and convenience are the gold coin of today. Can these services be introduced without compromising user privacy? Are there legal implications if patron preferences or personal information is not properly safeguarded? Mary Minow of librarylaw.com and library technology expert Lori Ayre take on these issues and more in this podcast version of their April 5, 2007 Infopeople webcast.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 1:45 PM in Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

April 18 is Library Legislative Day here in California. To find out more about the goings-on, check out this CLA web page. To give you tips on how to be a good library lobbyist, we recently went up to Sacramento and recorded a talk by Nancy Amidei, a longtime activist and lobbyist.

Listen to the podcast here.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 11:51 AM in Odds & Ends | Podcasts | Permalink

So much fuss over one little word! Michael Cart reports in his latest podcast on the controversy over The Higher Power of Lucky, the 2007 Newbery Medal-winning children’s book by California author Susan Patron.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 1:55 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink

State Librarian Susan Hildreth gave her latest quarterly updates this past Wednesday, and now we have it available as a podcast!

Topics covered include:

• Library Journal's article, Budget Report 2007-Keeping Pace


• Gates Foundation funding and priorities


• 2007/08 LSTA proposal information


• Out-of-School-Time initiatives


• Early Learning with Families (ELF)


• California of the Past grants


• NEA's Big Read


• SB 156 (Library Bond Act of 2008)

Posted by eileen o'shea at 10:44 AM in Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

The TED Conference mixes Technology, Entertainment and Design. The 2007 event was March 7-10 in Monterey and its focus was Icons, Geniuses and Mavericks.

As the San Francisco Chronicle put it, "Imagine going to school and learning how to tie your shoe correctly one moment and studying the rise of obesity the next. Then you might hear a 14-year-old piano virtuoso perform and improvise a piece on the spot, followed by a talk on global warming. They are just some of the presentations that the 1,000 or so invitation-only attendees have been treated to each year at the four-day Ted Conference."

You can listen to the fascinating talks, both audio and video, online or on your iPod FREE through iTunes. Examples of those featured are plyaright/actor Anne Deavere-Smith, Wikipedia founder, Jimmy Wales, and rock star/activist Bono.

If you found TED 2007 intriguing, be sure to check out The Big Questions to be answered at TED 2008, February 27 - March 1, 2008 at the Monterey Conference Center.

Posted by gail mcgovern at 11:47 AM in Conferences | People | Podcasts | Webcasts | Permalink

Our book maven Michael Cart reports on his interviews with two award-winning graphic novelists: Gene Yang, whose AMERICAN-BORN CHINESE just copped the 2007 Michael L. Printz Award, and Andy Runton, the creator of Owly, and winner of the 2006 Eisner Award for best graphic novel for younger readers. Check out the podcast here!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 1:04 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

In his latest podcast, Michael Cart talks about the art of literary biography in the personal context of the critical biography he's currently writing about the life and work of children's book author Walter R. Brooks, creator of the characters of Ed, the talking horse, and, of course, of course, the immortal Freddy the Pig!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 11:22 AM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

Do girls read graphic novels and comics? In his latest podcast, Michael Cart reports on the expanding world of Shojo - Japanese comics for girls - and efforts by American publishers to reach female audiences.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 5:39 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

Is there life after Chick Lit? Infopeople's resident book chatter Michael Cart discusses Mom Lit, the latest trend in publishing in England and the United States in this podcast.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 11:38 AM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

Infopeople's bookmeister, Michael Cart, shares his choices for the ten best graphic novels of 2006 in his latest podcast. And, as a bonus, he also shares legendary comics expert Scott McCloud's list of the ten ESSENTIAL American graphic novels. Up, up, and away!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 10:54 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink

In his latest podcast, Infopeople's resident booktalker, Michael Cart, discusses the best books of 2006 for adults and young adults, focusing on his own quirky favorites as well as the selections of the New York Times and the Washington Post. Be prepared for some surprises!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 2:26 PM in Keeping Up | Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink | Comments (0)

State Librarian Susan Hildreth discusses what's happening at the California State Library in this podcast of her Dec 12, 2006 webcast.

Topics she touches on include: her recent trip to Washington D.C. to attend ALA's National Library Agenda Summit, additional LSTA funds for 2006/07, plans for a new Infopeople workshop series called "Moving Libraries Forward to Web 2.0," and the California State Library blog.

You can download the slides that accompanied her talk here. You can also view the archive of the original webcast from this page.

The podcast is 44 minutes long. It's also available on Infopeople's iTunes channel (see the sidebar link on the right, or just search the iTunes Store for "infopeople").

Posted by eileen o'shea at 10:42 AM in Keeping Up | Podcasts | Web 2.0 | Webcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Julie Page of the California Preservation Program did a webcast for Infopeople on November 30 entitled Before Disaster Strikes: Ten Things You Need to Know. You can now listen to this interesting presentation as a podcast.

To find out more about the workshop she references during the podcast, check out this link.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 12:59 PM in Podcasts | Permalink

Stephen Abram, the keeper of Stephen's Lighthouse blog and VP of Innovation for SirsiDynix, gave a really interesting talk entitled, "Libraries: Questions, Questions Everywhere, Getting Our Share," at CLA's annual conference last week. He kindly allowed us to record him, and I am happy to offer it now as a podcast! This is really great, because CLA scheduled Stephen on Monday, when a lot of folks had already left the conference! Bad planning, as his talk was hugely entertaining, and extremely relevant to any librarian interested in current Web and Library 2.0 trends.

The podcast is an hour and fifteen minutes long, but well worth a listen (or two)! Download it here or via iTunes.

For a good synopsis of Stephen's talk, check out this post from the Librarian In Black, Sarah Houghton-Jan.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 12:48 PM in Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

What makes a book a best seller? Infopeople's resident critic Michael Cart shares his thoughts on this mysterious process.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 6:37 AM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink

Infopeople's bookmeister Michael Cart talks about his passion for Southern Gothic fiction and shares samples from some of his favorites.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 6:53 PM in Michael Cart | Podcasts | Reviews | Permalink

This podcast is an audio recording of her live webcast originally recorded on September 20, 2006. There were some technical difficulties during the live presentation, so tune in to this podcast to hear her complete talk! Susan touches on hot topics in the California library world, emerging library trends and services available to you from the California State Library.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 2:57 PM in Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Now that PDAs (personal digital assistants, e.g. Palms, Pocket PCs, Smartphones) and other mobile devices have become commonplace, more and more library users expect to use their PDAs to access library services. Are you ready to meet this new demand?

This is a podcast of an Infopeople webcast originally broadcast on July 18, 2006. Presenter Colleen Cuddy is the Assistant Director for Library Systems at the Ehrman Medical Library, New York University.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 5:20 PM in Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink

September 15-October 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month, and that was the topic of the latest Spanish Language Outreach Progress & Support Session. This podcast is a recording of a teleconference that was held on August 25, 2006. The special "guest speaker" was community activist Mimi Lozano, who shared many exciting programming ideas.

Due to a technical glitch, approximately 7 minutes of the teleconference didn't get recorded. You will hear a gap after the first four minutes, then the recording continues to the end. Our apologies for the error.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 1:42 PM in Podcasts | Spanish Language Outreach | Permalink

This audio version of the August 11, 2006 webcast by George Needheam and Joan Frye Williams looks at the implications of the new OCLC report, Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources. This material was originally delivered by George Needham and Joan Frye Williams in person at the Public Library Directors' Forum in San Diego, California back in May 2006. It received a really positive response from directors who wished that their staff had been able to participate, so Infopeople asked George and Joan to repeat it as a webcast.

There is a lot of food for thought in their talk. The podcast is one hour and 57 minutes long, but it's worth the time investment. Included in the podcast are the questions George and Joan received from their listeners (and the answers they provided).

Posted by eileen o'shea at 3:09 PM in Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink

This is a podcast of the August 1, 2006 Progress and Support conference call for the Spanish Language Outreach particpants in California. The special "guest speaker" was Al Milo, Director of the Fullerton Public Library. Al provided strategies for responding to people who question or object to the library having materials in Spanish or providing special Spanish language programming. He also talked about current issues and activities of Reforma. There was an additional question and answer period as well. The SLO trainers and Holly Hinman also participated in the call.

This podcast is 51 minutes long.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 10:22 AM in Podcasts | Spanish Language Outreach | Permalink

Infopeople's resident book guru discusses the recent appointment of New Hampshire poet Donald Hall as America's fourteenth poet laureate and reads selected samples from the work of this champion of the "out loud" culture.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 10:51 AM in Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this podcast, Michael talks about the genre of graphic novels, and highlights some of the genre's "creme de la creme" titles.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 4:24 PM in Podcasts | Permalink

This podcast is the audio version of the webcast delivered by California State Librarian Susan Hildreth on June 13, 2006. In it she discusses issues and news currently affecting libraries in California. Topics covered include: the June election and the Public Library Directors' Forum meeting held this past May. The podcast is 41 minutes long.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 5:59 PM in Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink

The New York Times Book Review published a list of the best American fiction since 1980 recently (May 21, 2006). In his latest podcast, Michael Cart looks at what they chose, how they chose them, what the works have in common - and what they left out.

Can't wait to find out? The big winner was Toni Morrison's Beloved.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 8:49 AM in Odds & Ends | Podcasts | Permalink

In his second podcast, Infopeople's resident bookmeister Michael Cart talks about his lifelong love of comics and his new infatuation with graphic novels.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 10:12 AM in Podcasts | Permalink

Check out the inital podcast from Michael Cart on libraries, books, and publishing. Former director of the Beverly Hills Public Library and currently a "Booklist" magazine columnist and reviewer, Cart is also the author/editor of a dozen books and,for fifteen years, hosted the nationally syndicated television author interview program "In Print." His weekly podcasts for Infopeople will cover the whole range of activity, trends, and important new titles in publishing for all ages. And every other week he will focus on graphic novels, one of the hottest new trends in publishing.

This first 15-minute podcast looks at the New York Times Magazine article from May 14 entitled, "What Will Happen to Books?" His unique perspective as an author and librarian brings an even-handed perspective to the controversy surrounding the "google-ification" of books and what impact this may (will) have on our current ideas of intellectual property. Welcome Michael!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 3:11 PM in Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink

Check out this podcast version of Infopeople's April 25 webcast, Beyond an Apple a Day: Providing Consumer Health Information in a Public Library. Kelli Ham and Alan Carr of the NN/LM Pacific Southwest Region
discuss both the librarian's perspective and the issues faced by patrons in their search for health information. Be sure to check out the webcast page, as it has a webliography of the websites they discuss.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 11:24 AM in Podcasts | Permalink

After all the trial and error I've gone through getting started with podcasting, I decided it would make sense to share this information, and maybe build a resource that others could use (why reinvent the wheel if you don't have to?). So, I have started a wiki on podcasting. Right now it's pretty minimal, just quick links to some handy stuff that I have found and use(d). Check it out here, and help it grow! Oh, and while I currently have mostly podcasting content, info on vodcasting will also be added/useful.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 9:54 AM in Podcasts | Web Resources | Webcasts | Permalink

Susan Hildreth's latest quarterly webcast took place today. You can view the archived webcast here, and we are also happy to provide it as a podcast. Check it out - Susan is always worth a listen (or two)!

Oh, and as an extra bonus, cuz we're just super swell that way, here are some links to items she mentioned in her webcast:

Open WorldCat
CalCat
Califa
Gates Staying Connected for California Libraries
PAC HUG
WebJunction
Spanish Language Outreach

Enjoy!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 4:15 PM in Podcasts | Webcasts | Permalink

Roy Tennant's great webcast on Leading Edge Technologies is now available as a podcast! Check it out, it's worth a listen!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 6:15 PM in Keeping Up | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mary Minow over at LibraryLaw brought this podcast to our attention. Download it to your computer or your Mp3 player to catch up on the good and the bad of RFID.

RFID: The Digital Era and Privacy Date: 11/04/05 Time: 1:52:26 Size: 180MB
Symposium addressing Radio frequency identification--RFID--is a new technology that uses computer microchips to track books, animals, automobiles, packages, people and anything that can carry a small microchip. Leaders in the field discussed the pros and cons of this new and developing technology. Speakers include Dean Carol Roehrenbeck (Introduction), Dean Staurt Deutsch (Introduction), Grayson Barber (Part 1), Barry Steinhardt (Part 1), Leslie Burger (Part 2), and Lee Tien (Part 2).

Posted by carole leita at 10:36 AM in Keeping Up | Podcasts | Training | Permalink

Among the course webcast series being offered this term from UC Berkeley to all viewers/listeners is this jewel for librarians: Search Engines: Technology, Society and Business. Professor Marti Hearst of SIMS has managed to make such search luminaries as Sergey Brin, Hal Varian, Peter Norvig, and Mary Hodder available to her class and gotten their permission to video and record it for a future life as video- and pod-casts.

Other course offerings include intro classes in astronomy, biology, chemistry, computers, nutrition, anatomy, and physics, and, among others, a course in Buddhist psychology.

Posted by carole leita at 5:01 PM in Podcasts | Webcasts | Permalink

State Librarian Susan Hildreth's Dec 7 Infopeople webcast is now available as a podcast. Due to technical dificulties the first few minutes of the webcast audio and video were lost, hence the somewhat abrupt start to Susan's talk. As always, she provides a fascinating listen! You can also see the archived webcast here, and check out her PowerPoint presentation here.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 8:25 AM in Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

You can now podcast an online birthday greeting!
See the sample Ben did for his Nana using Odeo

Posted by gail mcgovern at 8:43 PM in Cool Tools | Podcasts | Permalink

We here at Infoblog have been busily investigating the art of podcasting: how to record the little devils and then how to get them posted. It's more challenging than you'd think. Currently we like to use the interal microphone in our Macs and record directly into a nifty application called Audio Hijack Pro that saves the resulting audio files as MP3. This works quite nicely (see Holly Hinman's November 14 podcast as an example of this method).

Today I was reading wilwheaton dot net, and he mentioned a way to record podcasts using Garage Band. Neat! As a musical doofus who can play no musical instruments (with the exception of the kazoo), I had written Garage Band off as an application that I would never use. Now I can't wait to give it a shot! This page also offers some excellent tips on creating podcasts, so if you're thinking of trying podcasting for your library but you don't have a Mac, you'll still find some useful information. Here's my number one tip: have a script or at least talking points about what you want to say before you start talking!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 9:17 AM in Podcasts | Web Resources | Permalink | Comments (5)

Marylaine Block, Writer, Internet Trainer, “Librarian without Walls” gave a presentation on "The Possible Future for Reference" on November 7, 2005 at CLA's annual conference in Pasadena.

On her handout, available as a web page at http://marylaine.com/ref.html, Marylaine provides this synopsis:

In a Google world, information is a commodity: free, fast, and good enough for the casual seeker. How does our superior product compete? For newbies, by personal contact (in person or virtual), serious handholding, training, and capitalizing on our trustworthiness (when it matters that the answer is right, ask a librarian). For sophisticated users with complex knowledge needs, by personalizing information, contextualizing information, adding value to information, reformatting information, creating information, continuously updating information, and (at long last) marketing the fact that we do all of the above.

Infopeople is pleased to offer this podcast edition of her talk. For those willing to brave a large download, we also have a video version (190MB) available in Quicktime format.

Listening to her presentation (about an hour) and following the links on her handout page while you listen would be a very good use of your time if you're interested in the future of reference.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 10:38 AM in Keeping Up | People | Podcasts | Training | Permalink | Comments (0)

Holly Hinman, director of Infopeople, talks about the goals of Infopeople in the coming year, and training needs and trends that have been observed over the past year in this 17 minute podcast. Her talk comes from a presentation prepared for Infopeople trainers at this year's CLA annual conference.

Posted by eileen o'shea at 10:18 AM in Infopeople News | Podcasts | Permalink

Infopeople will be at CLA for the next few days, and we plan on doing a series of podcasts from the floor of the exhibit hall. So stay tuned! Here is the first (it's just a hello). More better stuff coming soon!

Posted by eileen o'shea at 9:54 AM in Infopeople News | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of my favorite RSS feeds is IT Conversations, "a listener- and underwriter-supported network of high-end tech talk-radio interviews, discussions and presentations from major conferences delivered live and on-demand via the Internet."

Check out the presentation by Gary Flake, Founder of Yahoo! Research Labs from the March 2005 O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference March 2005. You can listen at the website, download an MP3 or a PDF.

One of the cool things I found as a result of listening to the presentation is a tutorial on podcasting from Yahoo! Podcasts Beta.

Posted by gail mcgovern at 6:54 AM in Keeping Up | Odds & Ends | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Word Nerds is "a weekly podcast about words, language, and why we say the things we do."
The podcasts include interesting words, songs, book reviews and favorite websites.
There is always a rude word of the week—for October 15 the word is plagiarist.

Posted by gail mcgovern at 8:45 AM in Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

Check out LibriVox, a new project that uses volunteers to record themselves reading public domain books, and then offer them as free downloadable audiobooks (as podcasts). Currently, the only freely accessible audiobooks online are read by electronic voices (verrrrry tiresome after 5 minutes). This is a great project, and a wonderful example of volunteer efforts at work on the web.

Posted by sarah houghton at 9:28 AM in Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (1)

Telephone interviews are increasingly being recorded for use as podcasts and those who are doing or plan to do this need to know that the legality of recording telephone conversations varies around the country. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has put together a guide to each state's particular laws on the practice called "Can We Tape?".

Posted by at 8:03 AM in Podcasts | Web Resources | Permalink

As many of you know, I got a new hip last November. The replacement works perfectly and I now try to walk at least an hour a day to keep it working and just to enjoy the fact that I can!

I've become a big fan of podcasts of all sorts to listen to while I walk. This is how I listen to State Librarian Susan Hildreth's webcasts now that Infopeople is converting them to podcasts. But, she's only on quarterly and I walk daily! So, I've been looking around for other podcast opportunities and want to tell you about two recent additions to the world of podcasts. Both the San Francisco Chronicle and the Los Angeles Times are putting columnists, tours, back stories, and more info freely downloadable podcasts. Yesterday I listened to the Chronicle's tour of North Beach and today, a two-part podcast with tips on how to best enjoy dim sum. Enjoy!

Posted by at 7:15 AM in Podcasts | Permalink

We just finished converting Susan Hildreth's March 9, 2005 "state of the State Library" webcast (her first) into a podcast (you can also click on the podcast graphic)! Check out this previous post for the lowdown on getting and listening to this audio treat. Stay tuned for new podcast offerings as we work through Infopeople's archived webcasts and create some new content worthy of podcasting (but that's it for this week, as the geek peeps are pretty pooped at this point and need a break).

Posted by at 12:27 PM in Infopeople News | Podcasts | Permalink | Comments (0)

We took Susan Hildreth's latest "state of the State Library" webcast on August 3 and turned it into a podcast. You can listen to it here (it's in MP3 format, perfect for your iPod or other audio player).

If you're using iTunes 4.9, it's easy to subscribe to our podcasts. just go to the Advanced menu, click on Subscribe to Podcast, then enter http://infoblog.infopeople.org/index.xml. Once you do this, you will get new podcasts from us as they become available (this URL will also work in other news aggregators). For other player options, check out this page from Microsoft (you can also use Windows Media Player 10 to listen to podcasts).

Posted by at 4:18 PM in Infopeople News | Podcasts | Permalink