Here in the basement, students can rent and learn how to use equipment and software, check out a vast array of movies to watch or utilize the on-site audio lab for anything from rap recordings to podcasts for class.
“We’re truly pan-curriculum. It is across the spectrum,” said Winifred Metz, media librarian and head of the Media Resources Center. “Our collection, our equipment is open to everybody.”
Metz said the collection is built to reflect different needs from departments across campus. These departments include areas generally associated with multimedia, such as communications and film, but also departments as diverse as women’s studies and language studies.
“Pretty much all languages use film to provide contextual evidence. It’s a really cool way to approach culture studies, to get an ear for languages,” Metz said.
Greg Klaiber, the media lab manager, said he frequently teaches classes informing students how to make the most of the Media Resources Center.
“Teachers will contact me and say they would like to have their class use the media lab and use the equipment we check out,” Klaiber said. “I’ll set up an in-class session where I show them how to use the software and machines as well as go over using whatever gear is relevant to the project at hand.”
Klaiber said he’s worked with everyone from teachers of English 105 classes to professors of environment and ecology and an English professor whose curriculum involves students deconstructing scenes from films.
In addition to teaching, Klaiber said he is also available for one-on-one support.
