#artsinyourlibrary

For my preparing instructional media course, I plan to take two projects I created and add them to my ePortfolio. All USF School of Information Master’s in Library and Information Science students must create an ePortfolio as the culmination assessment of their work prior to graduation. First, I plan to include my Audio Project – my “Arts In Your Library” podcast, Episode 1 – because it demonstrates my knowledge and skills in adapting appropriate information technology for information services (Goal II.c.: Systems and Services). Creating a podcast tapped into my creative side because I had free reign to tailor my podcast to anything involving the library that I wanted. I believe that the library can be a collaborator with the arts community since there is much overlap between the types of materials available at a library and the vibrant arts scene in Tampa Bay. Using technology in podcast form allowed me to build a bridge between the two.

For my Module 3 assignment I had to create a podcast and a vodcast. Originally, my podcast idea involved looking into the psychological aspects of child development to determine whether Broadway shows are age appropriate for children. Before I even got started on that I realized I would be swimming upstream in terms of research so I altered my topic to one much more manageable – Beyond Disney Musicals: A Family Guide to Broadway in Tampa Bay and at Your Library.

Once I settled on my topic I began searching for websites or blogs that already include this kind of information. I follow several theatre websites so I had a good idea of which ones would be helpful and accurate. I found Broadway World and Playbill to be the most helpful. They had lists of currently running shows in New York and age guidelines. I also located a couple of newspaper articles that had good quotes about child development and kids’ abilities to comprehend more complicated issues. Next, I reviewed the list of shows touring at the Straz Center in Tampa to serve as a baseline for parents. I know other, smaller productions will be happening in Tampa Bay next year, but did not have time to locate all of them. Once I had that list, I went through each show and checked to see if Broadway World or Playbill had age guidelines, and if not, whether anyone online had reviewed the show.

To tie it in with the library, I utilized the Pinellas Public Library Cooperative website and its catalog to discern what types of materials the 14-member libraries carry. Nothing earth-shattering was found here, but the PPLC has a good collection of cast recordings, movies, and a variety of books.

Writing the script for my podcast was the easiest part for me, once I figured out how to begin the whole thing. I listened to a few podcast intros to get a feel for it, and based my introduction on them. I stated the name of my podcast and episode number, plus the title of the specific podcast, welcomed my listeners and identified myself. Since it was my first podcast, I described my interests in theatre and in libraries, and then got into the meat of it.

I did a good job of finding my voice in the podcast script, and feel like it translates well to the actual podcast. I utilized my life experiences as a parent, fanatical theatre-goer, and advocate for all things library throughout the script. I think it really demonstrates my interests as well as strengths in creating audio media.

My husband is a musician so he offered to create some intro/outro music for my podcast and I think it fits with the specific episode as well as my podcast program, if I were to continue making more podcasts. It sounds like an orchestra warming up before a show, and it flows right into the podcast.