Readers of this blog know I am a big fan of Steve Thomas' librarian interview podcast, Circulating Ideas. Yes I have been a guest (1.5 times), but I have also been a believer in his mission to find a way to capture the very different voices in our profession and bring them together in one place. His podcast has created a nurturing community where we can all learn from one and other.
You can click here to see more detailed posts where I talk about Circulating Ideas. But did you know I have put my money where my mouth is? Steve had a Kickstarter a few years ago so he could upgrade his equipment and go to ALA to do more interviews, and I contributed.
Now, he is interested in creating professional transcriptions of the audio podcasts so that those with impediments to listening can access the information, but even more exciting to me, so that the content within these interviews can also be searchable on the web! I think this is a fantastic idea that will help the entirety of librarianship and then, as a direct result, help those that we serve. We can more easily retrieve actual comments, suggestions, and ideas that come up in these podcasts with just a few clicks. So, again, I have put my money where my mouth is and have supported his second, Recirculated, Kickstarter.
I urge you to consider supporting Steve too. If you like and read this blog, Steve's podcast is done in a similar spirit. I know Steve and can assure you, he has no other goals than enhancing the learning opportunities from this podacast which he does on his own time, for no money.
So that is my personal plea, but here is the story in Steve's words with links to his new Kickstarter campaign and an embedded video where he pleads his own case.
Take it away Steve...
Perhaps the greatest task of a librarian is to bring communities together to improve their lives, whether that community is the citizenry, students, faculty, or any number of other specialized groups. This improvement most often manifests as literacy in some form or other, whether teaching search strategies, creating in a makerspace, or expanding access to the written word. Now I would like to bring the librarian community together to help increase the accessibility of my librarian interview podcast, Circulating Ideas.
I've launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund transcripts of the show, which would then be made freely available on the web, and as a DRM-free ebook for backers of the campaign (along with a host of other reward options). Why do a Kickstarter? Because transcription is a skilled task, and I want to pay someone a fair wage to do a quality job, and I want to harness the power of the community so that we all feel ownership and pride in the final product.
Since 2011, I have interviewed more than 100 librarians and library supporters, everyone from front line children’s librarians to ALA Presidential candidates to authors and journalists, but these interviews are locked into audio which can be difficult and time-consuming to search, notate and cite. The podcast medium also excludes those with hearing difficulties and those who simply do not learn well from receiving knowledge aurally.
I believe in the power of communities, and I believe in the power of librarians to make great things happen, so I hope you’ll join me and help me make this project happen to unlock and free the innovative ideas and present them to a wider world.
Let’s go circulate some ideas!
– Steve Thomas
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