Last updated on August 7, 2006
This week’s 4cast:
1. Podcasting (Part Two): The Pods are Multiplying
Last week’s 4cast covered some of the basics of podcasting. But what do they actually sound like? Even though the medium is still in its infancy, podcast directories and search engines are already helping users find new faves.
- Technophilia: Find great podcasts (Lifehacker)
- Podcasting & Webcasting (Librarians’ Internet Index)
- Expanding Universe: Podcasting Market Update (Burning Questions)
Next week’s 4cast will point to examples of podcasts emanating from the library world, and round up some how-to guides for creating a great-sounding podcast of your own from scratch.
2. Answers Not @ Your Library
KnowItNow has competition when it comes to online reference services. Qunu is a new service that allows anyone to search for an expert on primarily tech-related topics, and then connects the two parties for a live support session through Instant Messaging. Meanwhile, other community-driven Q-and-A services, such as Yahoo! Answers and Google Answers, are increasing in popularity.
- The tech support of the crowds: Qunu (CNET)
- Qunu Live Support with Web-Based Messaging (Solution Watch)
- Yahoo Answers surges (Librarian in Black)
- Q: How does Google affect reference librarians? (Google Answers)
3. Nothing on the YouTube?
What’s regularly playing on the public computers at your library? Probably YouTube. Despite its enormous popularity, some observers wonder if the service is doomed to collapse under the weight of two issues: copyright infringement and bandwidth costs.
- YouTube serves 100m videos each day (TechCrunch)
- YouTube and the copyright cops: safe… for now? (Ars Technica)
- YouTube launches its own Web stars (USA Today)
- A Grand Unified Theory of YouTube and MySpace (Slate)
4. Taking Library School to School
Tech-saavy librarians are beginning to question whether library schools are teaching the types of skills that are increasingly necessary to do Library 2.0 jobs.
- On the 2.0 Job Description (Part 2): LIS Students in a 2.0 World (ALA TechSource)
- Skills for the 21st Century Librarian (Information Wants To Be Free)
- Ten Rules for the New Librarians (Tame The Web: Libraries and Technology)
- Are Libraries Placing Value on Technology Innovation? (The Medium is the Message)
