When the Journalism Library moves to its new space and is open longer hours, the staff will be providing some new services. One service the Journalism Library staff members have offered to provide is managing the camera equipment for J2100 classes.

J2100 is a core class for journalism that requires students to work together on 3 multimedia projects of increasing complexity. There are 18 sections with around 20 students in each section who must check out video camcorders, microphones and tripods 3 times during the semester. Coordinating the checking-out and checking-in of 30 sets of camera equipment to 360 students over a 3-5 day period is a daunting task that had been performed by the J-Net staff up until this semester.

Sue Schuermann and Michael Hopkins had watched frustrated students try to make it to the J-Net lab to check out equipment, only to find all J-Net staff away working on IT issues. They decided that they could start the camera management service this semester instead of waiting until the fall. This required storing the equipment in a convenient, yet secure location; applying barcodes to the equipment and entering it into the Merlin system; changing due dates according to projects; working with the J-2100 coordinator scheduling check-out/check-in dates; making sure the equipment works before checking it out; checking out equipment; checking in equipment; assessing fines, etc.

The Journalism Library staff is happy to report that it has been an amazing success. This was a service which was taken on by the library staff because they knew that it would provide a great service to students and faculty.