Feb. 8, Swem Library will go one step further in its recent technology campaign by making 80-gigabyte iPod Video players available to the students, faculty and staff of the College.
p. The iPods were provided through funds from Verizon Foundation and will be managed by eSwat, the library’s student tech help assistants. The 80-GB multimedia players will come preloaded with music from artists within the College community, along with audio and video files of faculty lectures and campus events.
p. According to Associate Dean of University Libraries Berna Heyman, the iPod loan program is an innovative way to provide students with easier access to information.
p. “The grant provided us with opportunities to do things on the edge, like experiment with technology and support training for staff,” Heyman said. “Today, information is provided in so many different ways. We are looking for things to support intellectual inquiry.”
p. The iPods will go out in one-week intervals, and, if the music selection and available podcasts still prove insufficient to fulfilling students’ new-age technological needs, they may contact eSwat to obtain a video or audiobook download from iTunes or Audible.com.
p. Information Commons Coordinator Debra Weiss encourages students to give input on the new program. A survey will be available shortly after the inauguration of the program, and those who respond will be entered into a drawing for an iPod Shuffle, says Weiss.
p. While only 10 units will be available, Swem expects a large response from the College community. No other academic libraries are known to be experimenting with a student-run iPod program with the level of choice made available at the College. According to Heyman, this program is just one example of Swem responding to the needs voiced by the College community.
p. “We are open to know what students want. Our services are largely structured around and responding to what we hear from students,” Weiss says.
p. Among the files available during the program’s inaugural week will be the State of the College address and the Wren cross debate.