Find your voice: Developing podcast studio services in an academic library

Responding to increased curricular needs for assignments requiring recorded spoken word, the Texas Tech University Libraries added two two-seat Podcast Studios in 2022. These spaces were designed with quality recording in mind and feature professional quality but easy to use equipment paired with audio software with free or open-source equivalents to allow patrons to edit their recorded audio from home. The service was conceptualized to have low impact on staff workflow, increasing the sustainability of the services as well as the independent creativity of patrons utilizing the service. Though adoption was initially slow, patron usage has increased rapidly.