The Media Center is the service site in the Fine Arts Library for sound recordings and video. The audio collection contains western art music, jazz, folk and ethnic music that supports the School of Music curriculum. The Media Center is also the only place where the recorded concerts of School of Music faculty, students, and ensembles are archived and accessible. The video collection includes opera, musical theatre, and several areas of visual art. Most items in the collection circulate to faculty, staff, and graduate students for three days.
Services include providing recorded music for teaching and research purposes as well as audio reserves for student assignments and exam preparation. In addition, users can access the Student Recital Database to identify cassette recordings of student performances and recitals at the O. A. Singletary Center for the Arts.
The Media Center audio/visual system includes 49 listening/study carrels, each equipped with a mini-disc recorder, headphone amplifier, and a remote control keypad. A source console, containing all the playback equipment connected to a switching matrix and controlling software, provides the necessary routing of the a/v signals to any or all of the listening/viewing carrels. The remote keypad in each carrel is used by patrons to control the source to which they are listening. This system allows unlimited listening/viewing while preserving the physical condition of the collection.
In keeping with the intent of the copyright laws, the Media Center is a place for listening and viewing only. Facilities are not available for recording excerpts from this collection.
Daniel Naas.
