I selected this podcast from the “13 Must-Hear Librarian Podcasts” website. I picked it because I thought the name was clever, and I thought I could gain some insight about specific issues in regards to the library field.
I listened to Episode 61, “School Librarians Adapt to the Pandemic.” I know all about adapting to the pandemic from the teaching side, but I was interested to hear about how school librarians made changes. Locally, I know a school librarian from the neighboring middle school made use of Wing drone delivery to get books to students. (Here’s an article if you are interested: https://thejournal.com/articles/2020/07/08/school-librarian-delivers-books-by-drone-for-summer-reading.aspx)
The podcast began with a brief introduction before interviewing two groups of teachers. I used headphones to listen, and I was a bit surprised by how quiet the speaker’s voice was, but how loud the music was. It definitely got my attention!
The first interview was a group of teachers from Goochland County, Virginia, who developed a bookmobile to get books out to students. I was interested to hear about all of the logistical work that was involved to get it started. They said over and over again how important it was to work with “worker bees”–divide up the work with people you know will get it done. They said that was the key to their success. That rings true in all aspects in education. Relying on your colleagues is so critical.
The second interview was from the director of the New York City School Library System. She discussed how their school system gathered resources for parents to explain COVID to their children, which is so important during such a bizarre time.
I thought it was intriguing to include perspectives from a large school system vs. a smaller one. They shared some of the same issues, but brought a different perspective to the problem of remote pandemic learning. Overall, I found this podcast informative and engaging, but some of the volume levels were wildly different–the music was loud, some of the interviewees were quieter than others, etc. I would definitely listen to more episodes of this podcast to gain new perspective and ideas on all kinds of issues related to libraries.
Source:
Morehart, P. (Host). (2021, April 20). School librarians adapt to the pandemic (No. 61) [Audio podcast episode]. In Call Number with American Libraries. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/call-number-podcast-school-librarians-adapt-to-the-pandemic/
I love it when there are teachers/librarians from Virginia on “national” podcasts and radios. I think we hear a lot about people from the bigger states like Texas, California, and New York. It’s nice to be included, haha. I agree about podcasts and their volume levels. That happens a lot of videos that I watch on Youtube and even our morning announcement videos we play for the students. It’s definitely something to keep in mind if we make our own.
I had that problem with some of the podcasts I tried. It made me think about how editing afterwards can be important, especially if you are using phone calls or video calls. I saw that article about the librarian with drones and thought it was so cool that I brought it up with both of my instructional assistants at school! I love that blogs and podcasts give us a window into all kinds of creativity.
I also listened to this podcast, not this episode though. I am enjoying it. There is a lot to learn here.
I noticed volume and clarity variations in the podcast I listened to, too, Laura, but I just brushed it off as my poor hearing. (I ALWAYS have that issue with movies, where the dialog is hard to discern while background music is overwhelming.) But if you noticed it too, maybe it’s not just me…
I’m glad it wasn’t just me! I listen to many podcasts, and I hadn’t heard variations in those.
I also listened to this episode. I liked that they interviewed school librarians from such different situations. It’s interesting that you noted volume issues. I didn’t notice that at all. I thought it was a pretty polished podcast.