media – St. Thomas Libraries Blog
Browsing Tag

media

Libraries, Media/Music Collections

Welcome to the Music and Media Collections

Welcome to the Music and Media Collections of O’Shaughnessy Frey Library! Whether you are new to our campus or a returning member of our community, the Collections are open and available to all.

Our physical collections offer a variety of films. For casual viewing we have everything from Dead Poets Society to Sleepy HollowMadmen to ParasiteIf you are searching for a film for class, we have many documentaries and educational films that covers the arts, sciences, and humanities.

If you have a specific film in mind, you can reserve it through CLICsearch to pick up at your convenience. You can also check out DVD drives to watch the film on your laptop! Of course, you are still free to browse physically, as long as you follow our COVID-19 policies, posted at the door to the Collections.

If you feel more comfortable with our online options, check out our Popular Movie Collections guide. This online source gives a brief explanation of some of our more popular online collections. With more than 16 streaming databases, there will always be something for you to watch! Our databases can be found on the library’s Film page, where you will find a description of what each database has to offer.

Of course we also provide music services here at the Collections, both physically and online. The library’s Music page lists all our audio resources, where you can find Music Research Databases, as well as streaming platforms for a range of genres.

Feel free to stop by whenever you have the chance. We are open every day of the week. To view the Collection’s hours, you can view the Library Hours and Information Page. You can also reach us by email at libmedia@stthomas.edu, or by phone at 651-962-5447. We look forward to hearing from you!

 

By Tessa Keefe

Media/Music Collections, News & Events, O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library

Media Resources Collection Now Open in New Location

If you haven’t been to the O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library lately, consider stopping in to see our Media Resources Collection, now featured in a prominent location at the north end of the Reference Room on the first floor (across from Coffee Bené).

The University Libraries provide access to 32,000 video resources for the students, faculty and staff of the University.  Of those, about two thirds are available anytime/anywhere via the internet to UST users in streaming formats.  The rest (nearly 10,000) are DVD and VHS formats which have been collected over the years and which have been in O’Shaughnessy Frey Library’s collection since 2002.  This popular and high quality collection, all of which is cataloged and searchable via the Media web page, continues to be heavily used by faculty and students for scholarly purposes (and for fun).

The collection has moved a couple of times in an effort to make it more visible and to make access as easy and quick as possible.  During the fall semester of 2013, we created a new space for the collection to give it prominence on the first floor of OSF.   The walls of the new space are glass and do not extend to the ceiling of the room – creating a quality of visibility, natural light and openness.  It is also relatively easy to alter, if, in the future the need for a collection of physical objects becomes less critical.

This first floor location was possible for the video collection since much of the print reference collection has diminished in size due to the availability of online subject encyclopedias and other reference content.  The first floor will continue to have plenty of space for students to study, for the new books and leisure reading area, and of course, the coffee shop at the south end of the room.

Having this collection on the first floor of the library also makes it possible for us to use our staff more efficiently, given that our service points are now concentrated on one floor.  Looking for efficiencies in staffing and organizational structure continues to be a one of the libraries’ most important goals.

It is also a high priority goal for us to design and develop spaces throughout the library for student learning, study and community, and to address needs for both individual and group work, quiet and more active space, social spaces, nooks and crannies, and all the varieties of needs our users have. There is enough room in this wonderful building to accommodate people, books, periodicals, events, hot coffee and videos – stay tuned as we continue to create the academic library of the 21st century!

News & Events

Media Resources Collection Moving to Reference Room

Folks walking through the O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library this week noticed some unusual clamor in the first floor reference room.  We’ve been rearranging the reference collection, withdrawing some older works, moving some to the stacks, and consolidating the collection into fewer shelves.

All of this activity is to make room for the new, improved Media Resources Collection, soon to be installed on the north end of the reference room.

Library Director Dan Gjelten explains:

The UST Libraries’ media collection was moved to the first floor two years ago with two major goals:

  • to better feature our excellent video content and make this collection more easily accessible by our users (it was previously located on the third floor of the library). 
  • to take advantage of the proximity to staff already working on the first floor (achieving efficiencies in our staff workflow is a constant goal for the Libraries).

The move to the first floor achieved those goals very well, and we  decided to take the next step and give the collection a more functional and attractive space than it has had behind the circulation desk.

We are installing a 9 foot high glass partition that will run across the north end of the reference room to hold the relocated collection. The glass wall will highlight the wonderful natural light in that room and provide a beautiful, convenient space for users of the media collection. 

This location is suitable because much of the print reference collection has been supplemented by online subject encyclopedias and other reference content, so it could be reduced in size.  The first floor will continue to have plenty of space for students to study, for the new books and leisure reading area, and of course, the coffee shop at the south end of the room. This is not a permanent or structural change to the room and requires no adaptation of the HVAC system.

It is a high priority goal for us to design and develop spaces in the library for student learning, study and community, and to address needs for both individual and group work, quiet and more active space, and all the varieties of needs our users have.  There is enough room in this wonderful building to accommodate everyone.

Please let us know if you have ideas for the library that we can consider.

The north end of the reference room being prepped for installation of the Media Resources Collection.

The north end of the reference room being prepped for installation of the Media Resources Collection.

 

A rough conceptual rendering of the new space.

A rough conceptual rendering of the new space.

News & Events, O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library

UST Libraries Media Collection soon to be on the move . . .

The library media collection will move from the third floor to the first floor of the O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library Center on Monday, May 23. Anticipated shutdown dates are May 20-24.

Media services will begin at the new location in the northeast corner of the circulation area on Wednesday, May 25. Signs will direct visitors to the new location.

This move will make the collection more accessible and visible to the St. Thomas community. Soon after the collection has been relocated, Room 309 will be open for additional, much-needed study space.

Karen Batdorf will stay in the circulation department and continue to provide circulation and reservation services for the Media Resources collection.

Cindy Badilla-Melendez will continue as Media Resources librarian for the collection. Her new office will eventually be Room 114, O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library Center.  She will move there during the summer.  For the immediate future, you can still find Cindy in 309A.