By Frederic Murray, Instructional Services Librarian at Southwestern Oklahoma State University

BookGrowl is an audio podcast series developed by the Al Harris Library where SWOSU authors, faculty, administration and community members are invited to discuss and share books that are important to them and their students. Modeled on Sam Tamenhaus’s popular New York Times Book Review Podcast the Al Harris Library is looking to capitalize on emergent technologies to extend its reach in promoting scholarship, lifelong learning and a love of reading through the use of its state-of-the-art digital podcast technology. While many universities in the U.S. are offering lectures via podcast to the general public, Book Growl is unique in that it asks the SWOSU scholarly community what they read and teach, and why others should know about it. Some of our first guests:

• Dr. Chad Kinder discussing The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt & The Fire That Saved America by Timothy Egan
• Dr. Valerie Reimers discussing Persepolis, a graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi
• Dr. Keith Talley discussing Jazz Icons, a Jazz Concert DVD series
• Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal College President Dr. Henrietta Mann discussing her own work of history Cheyenne- Arapaho Education 1871 – 1982
• SWOSU President Dr. Randy Beutler discussing Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert Caro

Our next podcast is scheduled for an August 2012 release and will feature Librarian Phillip Fitzsimmons, who will be discussing the novels of Philip K. Dick: A Scanner Darkly, Martian Time Slip & Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.

Do you have a special program or series at your library? We want to know to about it! Send an email to oklahomaacrl@gmail.com with a 350 word max description of your project, news, or librarian to be included as a post on the OK-ACRL website.