Tag: library

Sorry, VHS players. The Blu-rays are in!

For the longest time, Media Services has helped patrons view movies on-site with over a dozen DVD-VHS combo players. Sadly, they’re falling apart and hard to maintain, and fewer patrons are using VHSes now than even a few years ago. We’ve future-proofed ourselves by replacing the majority of our stations with new Blu-ray-DVD players. They’re … Continue reading “Sorry, VHS players. The Blu-rays are in!”

For the longest time, Media Services has helped patrons view movies on-site with over a dozen DVD-VHS combo players. Sadly, they’re falling apart and hard to maintain, and fewer patrons are using VHSes now than even a few years ago.

We’ve future-proofed ourselves by replacing the majority of our stations with new Blu-ray-DVD players. They’re smaller, faster, and have a number of built-in “smart” features (like Netflix playback) should we ever need those. Don’t worry: we’re keeping a couple VHS players around for those hard-to-find movies and special cases.

Come see them for yourself if you haven’t had to watch a movie recently. They’re pretty nice!

Media Services joins the library on a Muslim Journey

As part of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association, American University is participating in Muslim Journeys, part of the Bridging Cultures Bookshelf program. In addition to a number of new book acquisitions and a series of discussions from AU professors and scholars, Media Services has acquired three … Continue reading “Media Services joins the library on a Muslim Journey”

As part of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association, American University is participating in Muslim Journeys, part of the Bridging Cultures Bookshelf program. In addition to a number of new book acquisitions and a series of discussions from AU professors and scholars, Media Services has acquired three new titles in conjunction with the program.

We encourage you to check out these new films that present, in the words of the Bridging Cultures program, “new and diverse perspectives on the people, places, histories, beliefs, practices, and cultures of Muslims in the United States and around the world.”

Prince Among Slaves – HU DVD 4049
Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World – HU DVD 11013
Koran by Heart – HU DVD 11014

Check out these Code of Best Practices in Fair Use videos from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL)

This webcast introduced the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries on the day of the Code’s release, January 26, 2012. The Code facilitators—Patricia Aufderheide of the Center for Social Media at American University, Brandon Butler of ARL, and Peter Jaszi of the American University Law School—delivered a brief presentation … Continue reading “Check out these Code of Best Practices in Fair Use videos from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL)”

This webcast introduced the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries on the day of the Code’s release, January 26, 2012. The Code facilitators—Patricia Aufderheide of the Center for Social Media at American University, Brandon Butler of ARL, and Peter Jaszi of the American University Law School—delivered a brief presentation on the contents of the Code, followed by a question-and-answer session. To read the Code and view related resources, visit http://www.arl.org/fairuse

This video answers questions that librarians often ask about fair use. The video supplements the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries, developed by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) in partnership with American University’s Center for Social Media and Washington College of Law. To read the Code and view related resources, visit http://www.arl.org/fairuse

This short video introduces the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries, developed by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) in partnership with American University’s Center for Social Media and Washington College of Law. To read the Code and view related resources, visit http://www.arl.org/fairuse

Part 1 of 2 videos from the ARL #librarianscode event at UCLA Library on Feb. 3, 2012. Peter Jaszi discusses the fair use doctrine and codes of best practices. See Part 2 for discussion of the ARL Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries. To download the Code and view additional resources, visit http://www.arl.org/pp/ppcopyright/codefairuse/

Part 2 of 2 videos from the ARL #librarianscode event at UCLA Library on Feb. 3, 2012. Brandon Butler discusses fair use in libraries and he and Peter Jaszi discusses the ARL Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries. See Part 1 for more general information about the fair use doctrine. To download the Code and view additional resources, visit http://www.arl.org/pp/ppcopyright/codefairuse/

Are Digital Media Labs the Libraries of the Future?

As electronic books and other digital media become more popular, libraries are going through an identity crisis. Their role as repositories of bound books is uncertain in the long-term future, and nobody knows what the next iteration looks like. YOUmedia, a two-year-old teen learning experiment that incorporates digital media into a wider educational experience, could … Continue reading “Are Digital Media Labs the Libraries of the Future?”


As electronic books and other digital media become more popular, libraries are going through an identity crisis. Their role as repositories of bound books is uncertain in the long-term future, and nobody knows what the next iteration looks like. YOUmedia, a two-year-old teen learning experiment that incorporates digital media into a wider educational experience, could be a model for what neighborhood libraries across the country might become.

Housed in an old storage area of the Chicago Public Library’s downtown Harold Washington Library Center, YOUmedia isn’t just a place where teens come to check out books. “We are in one of these rare moments in time where what it means to be literate today, what it meant for us, is going to be different from what it means to be literate for our kids,” Nichole Pinkard, who developed YOUmedia, told USA Today. To keep up, Pinkard and the YOUMedia team build the space as a vibrant community learning center that seeks to inspire collaboration and creativity.

YOUmedia is in Chicago’s Loop, right at the intersection of several of the city’s train and bus hubs. The design of the space replaces the sterile shelves of traditional libraries with a setting that more closely resembles a cozy living room or collegiate lounge. And, while students can still access the thousands of books in the library’s collection, the center also comes equipped with computers, video cameras, video and photo editing software, and an in-house recording studio with keyboards, turntables, and a mixing board. It’s all free for any high-school student with a library card.

While all the technology and resources are great, what makes the space truly work is that the teens aren’t left to their own devices once they walk through the doors. Exploring individual interests is encouraged, but YOUmedia is staffed by mentors from the Digital Youth Network and by experienced librarians who run structured workshops and projects to help students build their critical thinking skills and creativity.

Some of the dozens of workshops offered are ones that you’d associate with a traditional library. But courses on radio podcasting, fashion photography, graphic design, and the production of YOUlit, the student-produced online magazine definitely follow a 21st-century concept of a library as a multifaceted learning space.

YOUmedia is beginning to expand to other branches of the city’s public library system, but it’s requires a significant investment of financial and human capital. Whether the YOUmedia model expands elsewhere will certainly depend on whether public and private entitites work together to make it happen.

As seen on GOOD Education