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The Daily Tar Heel

The Media Resources Center, a valuable and oft-forgotten resource

The Media Resource Center is located in the basement of the UL and is home to a plethora of fun resources including a media lab with advanced computers and editing software, a vast collection of movies, and a fleet of computers that serve as personal theaters.
The Media Resource Center is located in the basement of the UL and is home to a plethora of fun resources including a media lab with advanced computers and editing software, a vast collection of movies, and a fleet of computers that serve as personal theaters.

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.

First-year Michelle Cummings said she has used the center for her Public Policy 231 class, taught by Anna Krome-Lukens.

“She has us watch videos there for class. She will put the video on hold for us to watch for an assignment,” Cummings said.

Metz said the Media Resources Center doesn’t actively advertise to students but relies primarily on word-of-mouth campaigns.

“We have had postcards in the past, and we’ve worked with specific units,” Metz said. “We have a presence at those (Carolina Testing and Orientation Program Sessions) fairs and (Residence Hall Association) orientation fairs, so we share information about our resources there.”

Metz said many students use the Media Resources Center, but she would like to see even more visitors.

“We could bore you with statistics, but I think my pat answer would be, ‘Are you kidding me?’ We want more people to know,” Metz said.

“We see really good use, but there’s always room for more.”

university@dailytarheel.com

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