Thing 19 - Podcasts

I have listened to podcasts before and have subscribed to some through my iTunes software. As with lots of things on the Internet, the quality and usefulness of podcasts vary a LOT! I've listened to some that at first glance appeared to be potentially useful and interesting but turned out to actually be largely a waste of time --- unless you like to hear a couple guys making lame jokes and laughing a lot at what they say to each other.

I signed up for the Grammar Grater podcast at MPR and listened to a couple episodes from other MPR podcasts. In the Minitex podcast list, I found an interview with former Duluth Public Library director Beth Kelly. I also listened to a podcast of teens from Connecticut reviewing their favorite 2007 books. That one was really well done, with several kids talking and music between the sections. Nice production.

It would be great to be able to add podcasts to our website - things such as author talks, maybe somebody talking about new books. We considered trying to do a podcast when Greg Mortenson (author of THREE CUPS OF TEA) appeared recently as part of our One Book, One Community project. The response to his appearance was so overwhelming that I think being able to offer a podcast would have been wonderful for people who weren't able to get tickets to his live appearance. We just didn't have enough time to pull together the equipment or the logistics, although I think that it's not as difficult as it may appear.