Week 9 : Podcasts, Video and Ebooks

Discover YouTube and a few sites that allow users to upload and share videos
I like YouTube because not only is the site very user friendly, it's attractive and anyone can upload and share their videos on the web. I did a search for library videos and came across a great video called "Your Public Library" by cclibrary. This video is great in explaining why we need public libraries. I loved the video's description of the library as an information mall, similar to a shopping mall where people come not to shop for things, but to shop for information. This video describes how libraries can help their communities through education and provide computer technology that may not be available at home.
Click on this link"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG6CtH3V8Us":Libraries can make videos similar to those on YouTube and put them on their library websites. Manukau Libraries can produce videos where customers are taken on a tour of the library, and the commentary on the video explains how to join the library, how to access the electronic resources of the library (e-resources), the computer technology available within the library and the programs that libraries have set up e.g. reading clubs.


I had a look at the Podcastalley.com and did a search for book reviews. I chose the podcast called Books on the Nightstand and added their RSS feeds to my bloglines account.This is definitely a tool that Manukau Libraries should include in it's Readers Advisory Service. By providing RSS feeds to podcasts like Books on the Nightstand customers are able to access book reviews 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from any computer, ipod and cellphone as long as there is an internet connection, I like to think of this as "Book Reviews on the Run".

Ebooks :It is interesting to note that Project Gutenburg was one of the first producers of electronic books (ebooks), and can only offer text from books published before 1923, so you will definitely not have a problem finding classics written by authors such as Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to name a few. The only downfall with Project Gutenburg is that it cannot offer the lastest bestsellers or even up-to-date computer books, as these books are not in the public domain and are subject to copyright.

Finally a word about Kindle, this is a wireless electronic book reader. The great thing about the Kindle is that it can store up to 200 books, and these can include best sellers, and it takes less than a minute to download a book. However the downside is that you are charged for any content that you download, so downloading a bestseller could cost you $9.99, which I guess is cheaper than buying the bestseller.