PHOTO BY: CLARA TURNAGE
The J.D. Williams Library has plans to expand with the addition of a new video and recording studio. Ole Miss Ignite is asking for donations to build what they will call “Studio One.” Their goal is to raise $10,000 for software and new equipment. Ross Bjork promised to match the donations through the athletics program, so ultimately the library hopes to have $20,000 set aside for the project.
“We are using the same program through Ignite that helped pay for the goal post replaced after Alabama,” Dean of Libraries Julia Rholes said. “We have hopes that this will be an effective way to get donations.”
Rholes hopes the money will be raised within the next month so the project can be started and finished by fall for the next school year. There is already a taped-off area on the first floor of the library near the classrooms that will be a soundproof room.
According to the ignite Ole Miss website there are many ways Studio One can be used for students and faculty on campus.
Students can practice for class presentations, complete multimodal assignments, video a group discussion and record a demonstration by using the equipment provided by Studio One. Faculty can create online course video content, and record lectures.
The first studio of this type was built at Penn State University; they called it a “one button” studio. The J.D. Williams Library is using the same model. It is designed so that a student who uses the studio only needs a jump drive. It is a one-button system that can record right onto the jump drive. Students will be videoed in front of a screen. There will also be computers set aside to edit the videos.
“There is a lot of work and planning being put into Studio One,” library assistant Melvin Corners said. “It will be a great resource for students to use.”
The studio will be accessible for any students to use across the curriculum.
“I have to create multimodal projects for a lot of my classes,” journalism major Caroline Block said. “It will be great to have Studio One in the library as an option to make videos.”
The library has ambitions for more projects in the future as well.
“We are calling this Studio One because we hope that there will one day be a Studio Two, Three and so on, at various places on campus so the software is more accessible to everyone,” Rholes said. “We also look forward to other technology and have had suggestions for a 3D printer facility.”
Currently, the library has raised over $7,000. The fundraising will end April 23.
