Written by, Nia Mwagi
UMHB’s Townsend Library opened a podcast booth in the beginning of 2025. This was an add-on to the OneButton Studio, an automated studio in the library that gives one access to create high-quality videos.
There is a group of committees on campus that are part of what is called Strategic Initiatives, which is run through the Provost Office. Dr. Alan Asher, Associate Dean and Director of Learning Resources, chairs one of these committees. They were reviewing how they could facilitate learning and teaching related to public speaking and history. Asher thought that having a podcast booth would benefit many subject areas and that since they got approval for the One Button Studio, the podcast booth would be an add-on to it.
The committee proposed the idea for the podcast booth in spring of 2023 and got the approval in early fall of 2024. They started the process of finding a company that would work with them to build the booth, and it was delivered the day before winter break in the same year. When the break ended, the podcast booth was open and ready to use.
“It’s used everyday.” Asher said. “The number of people that are in there vary depending on what kind of projects are being assigned by professors, but I believe we’ve had at least 200 uses since it opened.”
The podcast booth is open daily right after the library opens until when they close. The booth itself can fit up to four people. People record with the SD card that the library provides and would need an adapter to transfer it to their devices.
To book the podcast booth or the One Button Studio, visit UMHB library’s website home page. Hover over what is called ‘Services’ on the navigation bar. While hovering, scroll down to what is titled ‘Reserve a Room’. When clicked, the link to reserve the podcast booth and the OneButton Studio is near the bottom of the page. One can fill in their information, only being allowed to reserve two 30-minute sessions back to back before having to wait for another slot to reserve more slots.
For more information about the podcast booth, be sure to visit www.umhb.edu/library/groups or ask the librarians at UMHB’s Townsend Memorial Library.
