5 Case Study 1 - Leicester Research Archive - University of Leicester

sixteen minutes long, which is slightly longer than the podcasts of the
Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis.
5.9 Podcasts made for listening during a museum visit
The podcasts discussed in the previous sections are largely intended to be
listened before or after a visit, or even if no visit is planned at all. They are not
meant to be listened to during the visit. There are however, a great number of
podcasts which are made for listening onsite and it is these, which this section is
concerned with.
Many museums offer podcasts in the format of audio guides. Some simply
convert existing audio guide files into podcast compatible formats; others use the
medium more creatively and explore novel ways of using audio formats to
interpret exhibitions and engage visitors. In any case, one can observe a great
interest in the professional community to use podcasting as audio guides and
there are lots of examples, which prove this.
Although being a great supporter of podcasting in museums, Khaelssberg does
not see this medium as an alternative to audio guides. The BA-CA Kunstforum
has recently launched a new PDA based tour guide and currently they are not
thinking about replacing them with podcasts. Nevertheless, Khaelssberg believes
that “podcasts could be a viable alternative for audio guides for smaller
institutions.” 279 When Dave Anderson first started podcasting at Towneley Hall,
he converted the existing audio files of their tour guide and provided it as feed.
This, he says, was just an experiment and to find out how podcasting really
works. At the same time, though, he also sees a potential in using podcasting as a
means “to supplement some of the labelling in the museum.” Upon the question
whether he believes that podcasting can replace audio production companies for
the production of audio guides, he said: “I suppose this depends on the skills of
the museum’s staff. But to an extent I think they can do, and quite cheaply so.”
The V&A’s Web developer also said that “a lot of people here in the V&A are
279 Khaelssberg in interview with author, June 2006.
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