Podcasting–
Ida Barnhart has a story to tell. At eighty-nine years old, she’s seen a sleepy community grow to a bustling metropolis.
Capturing stories like hers are just one way to use podcasting to create unique content that could be archived in the library’s History Room. (Videocasting would be very impacting as well, but this is about podcasting.)
Below is a step by step recipe of how to create a podcast for your library.
But first, I want to relate what I did before jumping into how to’s.
I bought a microphone at the local office supply store for around fifty dollars. It connects into the USB port of my computer like a gamer would use. I knew from my reading that a headphone type set would be best for my purposes. There is less outside noise recorded, and the clarity is much purer.
I downloaded a free software called Audacity.
I was directed at that site to another, to download an mp3 converter, also free, called LAME.( the link is on the Audaciy site)
I downloaded both to the file where I keep such stuff, but you can put them anywhere you like, just make sure you remember where you put it. You will need it when you create your podcast.
Once I had both Audacity and Lame encoder installed, I opened Audacity and then plugged in my microphone.
I tried out a few test recordings. What you record is up to you. The sky is the limit. 
I added music from SoundClick, which I found through Creative Commons then saved my file. At that point, I chose Export as MP3 which locates your LAME and converts your new file into MP3 format. A small dialog box pops up where you enter meta data about the content.
Here’s the link.
Now you need someplace to host this music file. Yes it is still a music file because its not on a medium that can offer an RSS feed
Basics
Bandwidth-
Is bandwidth an issue in your library?
The answer is probably yes.
Do you have enough bandwidth to support large mp3 files?
The answer is probably not.
So, you will likely have to go to a paid hosting service. Fear not, they’re reasonably priced for the storage you get. I went with GoDaddy.com based upon another library’s use and recommendation of GoDaddy’s hosting service and pricing.
end part one
