Use of podcasting by academic librarians is, yes, limited only by the imagination.

A podcast is an MP3 audio file generally distributed by RSS or Atom feed, but this definition - like so much else related to the Web - has proven to be malleable. Nowadays it tends to include both audio and video files that may be accessed on a computer or portable player without the need of a reader, or podcatcher. There are other definitions as well. For example, the Wikipedia article on podcasting claims that any type of file distributed by a feed is a podcast. Some refer to video podcasts as vodcasts. There are also phonecasts and streaming Webcasts and other types of -casts. And so on and so forth.

For our purposes, let's say that a podcast is a multimedia file that is distributed by a feed, and may also be available via supplementary links on the Web. There are various feed-creating tools, and our blogging software MovableType offers a plugin that automatically adds a podcast to the blog's RSS feed when you link to a multimedia file in an entry.

Podcasts give academic librarians a multimedia avenue for distributing news, information about services, instruction, interviews, lectures, and anything else that lends itself to audio and/or video distribution. Users can download these files and listen or view them on their device of choice, from desktop computer to iPod.

The University Libraries are purchasing a number of laptops for student use. I'd also like to see us offer iPods that students can borrow to listen to our eventually-to-be-created podcasts. For starters, these iPods can be borrowed in the Information Commons. The links to our podcasts will also be available on our eventually-to-be-created podcast page.

The Ohio University Libraries have come up with great idea for a podcast: a library tour. Not only this, but students have the option to listen to a tour created by a librarian or by a fellow student. How cool is that! Dowling College Library creates a monthly podcast series called Omnibus. These podcasts include segments about library services, and are enhanced by music gleaned from the Podsafe Music Network. I especially like the two-part interview with teaching faculty who discuss films available at the library, as well as the faculty readings of poems by a former professor.

The Library Success Wiki includes a list of podcasting libraries and their feeds. This is a good place to get ideas about what we can do.

So what can an academic library do with podcasts? Everything mentioned above and then some. To reiterate:

• News and events
• Features about library services
• Tours
• Research tips
• Instruction topics
• Interviews with library staff, campus administrators, teaching faculty
• Readings, of everything from literature to scholarly articles
• Changes, plans in the works
• Your ideas go here!