Voices and Vices: Building community with a Science Library Podcast

Abstract

The pandemic provided a unique opportunity to look at how the library can evolve information literacy instruction to leverage newer technologies, and podcasts emerged as the medium for this work.

This poster will showcase how a group of library staff in the natural and applied sciences learned how to podcast, building digital skills. We will address how we approached library topics with both radical honesty and playfulness to foster authentic dialogue and connection with library users, while also highlighting some of our greatest ups and downs in the process of learning a digital technology that was new to us. We will share how our inclusive, conversational podcast draws connections and belonging among people, and between people and ideas. For example, during our poster presentation we will share examples of how we turned a discussion of our favourite databases into a dating game, and, more significantly, how we broached the topic of racism in libraries.

Participants will leave with greater understanding of the value of podcasting as a means for engaging with users in an academic library setting, as well as some tips for how they can replicate this work to create their own sustainable digital practice.