Library Bytegeist

Enjoy this clip from a new podcast that Library Bytegeist host and producer, Molly Schwartz, has been working on! It's called Preserve This Podcast. You can find more information on our website, at www.preservethispodcast.org. Episode 18 transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xVS-XXlEx3kggw9artPMjSDhkPQpSKpjURDi_Xut8hk/edit “The Podsucker” is a machine that Jason Scott

This episode of Library Bytegeist is all about New York’s public libraries and the people who inhabit them. In a city that has a reputation for being inhospitable, many people have found a makeshift home away from home in the library. Leila Goldstein reports a story about the live-in custodians and their families who used to have apartments in NYPL. Noam Osband reports a story ab

This episode of Library Bytegeist is all about collectors and keepers. The people who go through life gathering and capturing and saving things. First up, we have a short story by Sarah Esocoff about Collector’s Night in NYC (minute 2:38 - 9:56). Then, we have an interview Nikki Silva, one half of a radio duo known as the Kitchen Sisters (minute 10:40 - 38:18). The Kitchen Sister

The Dewey Decimal System is the most popular library classification system in the world. It was created by a man, named Melvil Dewey, in the late 1870's. And Dewey's system of classifying knowledge reflects his worldview as a white man living in the late 19th century. In this episode of Library Bytegeist, we break down the Dewey Decimal System and talk frankly about the power and p

One year ago today, we post the first episode of Library Bytegeist. Molly Schwartz, METRO’s Studio Manager who also hosts and produces LB, decided to take the 14th episode to put together a kind of “year in review.” It’s a look back at the year gone by, including audio snippets from past episodes, a short history of how the podcast came into being, and a reflection on all o

GitHub is a great tool for collaborating and providing access to content -- which makes it a great tool for libraries and archives! Dinah Handel (NYPL) and Ethan Gates (NYU) taught an introductory GitHub workshop at METRO on August 2, 2017. This is a supplementary episode about what they covered in their workshop. Audio Mastering by Dalton Harts Related Links: METRO's website on Gi

Brandy McNeil is the Associate Director for Technology Education at the New York Public Library. Over 100,000 New Yorkers come through their TechConnect classes in 89 branch libraries across Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island. We talk to Brandy about how she has expanded the program to include advanced computer programming classes as part of Project Code, and how these classes

Public libraries are important access points to the internet. But sometimes people use library computers to engage in activities that are controversial activities for public spaces, like watching pornography. We sat down with Rob Caluori, the Director of Information Technology for the Westchester Library System, to talk about the techniques libraries use to provide open, secure, an

Ilona Kish is the program director of Reading & Writing Foundation in Brussels, Belgium. She stopped by METRO's offices on June 21, 2017 to give a talk about the initiatives she has led to harmonize library lobbying efforts in the EU. We had a quick chat about some of the topics she covered, including the importance of getting MEPs into the library and some of her favorite librarie

In this live recording at BRIC Media Arts for the Public Access / Open Networks exhibit, Molly was joined by the New America Foundation's Raul Enriquez and Gowanus Digital Steward Mario Peart to talk about the community-run mesh wifi networks they are setting up around Brooklyn to build resilient communities. Links: New America Foundation's RISE:NYC initiative: https://www.newameri