Photo taken by Cara Forbes.

I went into Ramsey Library at UNC Asheville a few weeks ago to make inquiries about the technological services that they offer to students like me and Rosanna. I feel like I stumbled upon a goldmine.

Technology Lending

Ramsey Library offers a technology lending program where students can check out different items at the Circulation Desk. PC laptop computers, HD enviro camcorders, tripods, wireless microphones, transmitter kits, projectors, audio microphones, headphones, projector screens and frames, and audio recorders are all available for borrowing. All items can be renewed for checkout online. One of the librarians told me that the only thing they want that they don’t currently have are go-pros.

Media Design Lab 

The library also offers a Media Design Lab, which, according to their website “is an interactive learning space where students, faculty and staff from all academic departments come to create images, videos, printed designs, presentations, sound, websites and more”. Beginners are welcome and have access to lab assistants who are available to help them through the process.

The Media Design Lab also offers a ton of multimedia software. For instance, the lab includes a scanner, headphones, drawing tablets, and memory card readers. They also have equipment available for format transfer, duplications, and closed captioning video content.

 

TV Studio 

The TV Studio in Ramsey Library serves in three capacities:

(1) As an interview set.

(2) As a green screen facility.

(3) As a facility to record head shots with a variety of pull-down backdrops.

The studio is scheduled for UNC Asheville faculty, students, and staff and is only scheduled for academic projects.

The room has four wireless lavaliere microphones, a boom microphone, two teleprompters, and three cameras (two Sony HVR-S270U’s and a Sony HXRNX5U). All are connected to a Newtek Tricaster 855 Extreme in the adjacent control room. Programs are recorded in high definition 1920 x 1080i.

Audio Lab 

The Audio Lab gives students and faculty a quiet space to capture audio with the help of a Video Production technical assistant. It houses two sound isolation booths. Recorded files can be saved in a variety of formats and are transferred via flash drive, share drive, or SD card. One booth is equipped with an ADA compatible ramp.

Craft Studio 

Ramsey Library also has a CrAFT (Creativity, Art, Fabrication, and Technology) Studio. It is a space where all UNC Asheville students, faculty, and staff can utilize a wide array of tools. They currently have three 3D printers, two large-form printers, twenty iPad minis, five iPad Pros and Apple Pencils, mobile furniture, and more.

This all definitely makes me proud to be a Bulldog!

As Rosanna and I work on drafting up our contracts for our project, I think it would be useful for us to review all that the library has to offer us in terms of technological resources. I believe it’s safe to say that we have everything we need to create a fantastic website together.