University Libraries now offering recording kits for instructors

Faculty and staff may now borrow media kits from Ohio University Libraries, which can be used to record lectures, spoken presentations and other material for instruction. The kits are available for instructors to pick up and borrow for up to two weeks at Alden Library.

Each media kit comes with a digital video camera with a tripod, memory card, USB adapter and rechargeable batters, as well as a lapel microphone, a podcast-quality USB microphone, over-the-ear headphones and a portable greenscreen with a stand.

The equipment offers faculty and staff the opportunity to create higher quality presentations and lectures than they may be able to create with their own equipment, and removes the cost barrier to creating professional recordings.

“We’re lending them only to faculty right now as a pilot project,” Carrie Preston, head of web services at the Libraries, said. “[If] a faculty member wants to use their home to do a relatively professional-quality recording of their lecture for an online class, we can provide the tools for them to take home and do that.”

Preston said that the Libraries partnered with OHIO IT to select the equipment and put the packages together. They also created training videos that can be found on the media kit webpage to help faculty and staff get more comfortable using the equipment. The idea of the media kits was made more urgent by Covid-19, when most professors had to begin recording or giving their lectures online.

“We thought that a lot of faculty already come to the Libraries, unlike some class buildings which may be only open for a specific department or set of instructors. We’re kind of the heart and center of the campus, so the Libraries’ seemed like a good place to make this equipment available,” Preston said.

To check availability of the media kits, schedule pickup, or for more information about using the media kits, visit the media kits page on the Libraries’ website.