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 built in his basement 15 years ago. Jason was trying to capture all the podcasts -- before they disappear. Preserve Thi...
Apr 23, 2019•6 min
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 about Brooklyn Public Library's experiments with new furniture to make library spaces more flexible. Transcript: https:/...
Sep 13, 2018•31 min
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 Sisters have produced hundreds of stories for NPR and other public radio programs. In this interview, Nikki breaks down how ...
Jul 10, 2018•39 min
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 pitfalls of classifying. We'll visit the Bard High School Early College in Queens to find out about how students ther...
May 03, 2018•22 min
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 of the changes that METRO has been through in the past year. And there are also a couple of announcements about what’s in sto...
Nov 15, 2017•12 min
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 GitHub: https://github.com/mnylc/mnylc.github.io XFR Collective: https://xfrcollective.wordpress.com/ Mango: Git Compl...
Sep 05, 2017•13 min
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 changed the life of Vera Zago, who quit her job to become a full-stack engineer. CORRECTION: The woman who donated ...
Jul 27, 2017•21 min
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, and safe access to the internet. Audio Mastering by Dalton Harts Further Reading: American Council of the Blind v. Boo...
Jul 05, 2017•22 min
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 libraries in Europe. ools used to record this podcast: Blue Yeti microphone: www.bluemic.com/products/yeti/ Transcribe: ...
Jun 22, 2017•8 min
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.newamerica.org/resilient-communities/flexible-future-ready-networks/rise-nyc/ Public Access / Open Networks exhibit at BRIC:...
May 30, 2017•30 min
Data artist Jer Thorp has a dream of putting an artist in every library. In this episode we explore the benefits and challenges of hosting artist residencies in libraries through open conversations with Jer Thorp, Ben Vershbow, Jenny Odell, Steve Keene, Trent Miller, and Laura Damon-Moore about the artist residencies that have been hosted at NYPL, Brooklyn Public Library, and Madison Public Library. Audio Mastering by Dalton Harts Links “An Artist in Every Library” by Jer Thorp: https://medium.c...
May 26, 2017•23 min
What is it like to restore audio on classic films? For this bite-sized Bytegeist we sat down with Gabe Liberti to talk about his time as an audio restoration engineer at the Criterion Collection. These days Gabe uses his sound engineering skills to design interactive installations as part of the design duo, Dave and Gabe: http://www.daveandgabe.care/ For more about the degradation and obsolescence of magnetic media, check out episode 4, where we talk to Rachel Mattson about the XFR Collective: h...
Apr 13, 2017•8 min
Libraries have always been places for free and unfettered intellectual exploration. But how is this threatened by the inherent leakiness and insecurity of the networks we use to access information these days? In this episode we talk to Alison Macrina, Bill Marden, Melissa Morrone, Chuck McAndrew, and Phoebe Stein about privacy policies, CryptoParties, Tor relays, and other adventures. CORRECTION: The episode says that Chuck's surveillance self-defense courses can be found at leblibrary.org -- th...
Mar 24, 2017•30 min
Saving love letters in the digital age can be tricky. Iris Lee, a metadata analyst at the American Museum of Natural History, came up with a clever solution for saving the text messages between her and her partner off her old cell phone. Dr. Michelle Janning, professor of sociology, and Davy Rothbart, founder and editor of FOUND Magazine, weigh in with their thoughts about how and why people save love messages. Episode transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/154QxtwOIHHkDCmLb8qzS1ijS2N6Zp...
Feb 14, 2017•15 min
In this episode, Molly talks with Dr. Rachel Mattson about her work as a member of the XFR Collective, an all-volunteer group of over 14 members, does the work that it does, partnering with artists, activists, individuals, and groups to preserving at-risk audiovisual media – especially unseen, unheard, or marginalized works, like this gay wedding celebration – by providing low-cost digitization services. Please read below for more information about the XFR Collective and the tools we used to pro...
Jan 18, 2017•12 min
In this episode, Molly talks with Dr. Shannon Mattern about New York City's LinkNYC program and the troubles it has faced in trying to provide public access to the internet on the city streets. The discussion revolves around how involving librarians and archivists in the planning process could bring some wisdom to smart city developments. Here is a link to a rough transcript of the episode: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12rbIr4PFTEqf2Bgv9fBqWNDF1dfnWuAUQTK-M11Ww3w/edit?usp=sharing Village V...
Dec 29, 2016•15 min
In this episode of Library Bytegeist, we sat down with Ben Fino-Radin, a Media Conservator at MoMA, to talk about his approach to media conservation, what to do when art installations involve super computers, and his favorite old medium. Many thanks to Kate Lewis, Ben Fino-Radin, Peter Oleksik, and the Time-Based Media Art team at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum for their online writings that gave me the background information for this podcast. All who are interested in further reading about me...
Nov 29, 2016•11 min
This is an introduction and discussion with the three METRO fellows: Katie Martinez, Karen Hwang, and Molly Schwartz. They talk about why Google searches don't take you inside library catalogs, how email preservation is becoming more of a priority, and what the opportunities are for libraries and archives to adopt new media for storytelling. Intro and closing music is "Magic" by Otis McDonald.
Nov 15, 2016•9 min
