[Michlib-l] Thoughts on Starting a Library Podcast

[Toni Lea Isom]

Hi Joseph,

I feel particularly poised to answer this email, seeing as I am an
originating, longstanding member of the Adrian District Library's
*Semi-Bookish* podcast. Not to mention that I sat on a panel at Spring
Institute last year on this very subject. We are in our third year, our
podcast started with five (5) members and is now down to three (3) due to
staff changes, and we're still running strong.

What I recommend is that you determine from the outset what your format
will be. How many hosts, how many guest appearances (if any), and overall
theme. For example: our podcast started with five (5), so guest appearances
weren't a necessity even though they were always very fun, and our name
came from our overall theme. To us, Semi-Bookish means we can chat about a
whole range of story-related/entertainment subjects, largely but not always
focused around books. So we discuss video games, movies, graphic novels,
classics, book banning, genres, etc. We've done book discussions (kind of
like a mini-book club in a 50-minute episode), we've featured our mayor, an
author, and one of the owners of our local comic book shop.

The only real trouble we've had is scheduling. You can imagine how
difficult it can be for a Class 4 library to manage an hour's worth of
recording time for 5 staff members! Quite the challenge, at times. But
we've pretty much stuck to our bi-weekly recording schedule for three (3)
years.

If there's anything else you'd like to know about podcast recording, feel
free to reach out to me through email.

Hope this helps! And good luck! A library podcast can be great fun, as I've
discovered.

*Toni Lea Isom (they/them/theirs)*
Youth Services Librarian Assistant
Adrian District Library
143 East Maumee Street
Adrian MI 49221
tisom at adrian.lib.mi.us


On Thu, May 9, 2024 at 4:28 PM Turbok, Joseph via Michlib-l <
michlib-l at mcls.org> wrote:

> For those of you who may do podcasts for your library, how do you find the
> experience? Is it a pain to come up with content on a regular basis? We
> have debated starting a library podcast but worry about how sustainable it
> would be long term. Any tips/tricks/thoughts, etc?
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> Joseph Turbok- Senior Librarian for Adult Services
>
> St. Clair County Library - Main Library
> 210 McMorran Blvd.
> Port Huron, Michigan 48060
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> _______________________________________________
> Michlib-l mailing list
> Michlib-l at mcls.org
> https://mail3.mcls.org/mailman/listinfo/michlib-l
>
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