Media Center
Mission Statement
The George I. Alden Trust Media Center provides resources, services, and instruction to honor God and to fulfill the university’s mission.
Media Center Location
The Media Center is located on East Campus in the west wing of the main floor in the William V. Marshburn Memorial Library. As you approach the Media Center, you will see blue cases shelved on the west wall. These cases house the video cassette collection. As you enter the room, the circulation desk is to the right. Media titles placed on reserve by faculty are behind the circulation desk. Media items must be checked out at and returned to the Media Center circulation desk.
Services
The Media Center:
- Holds a collection of classical recordings, which can be listened to on record players provided.
- Provides a large collection of CDs and scores of well known artists and composers for music majors.
- Offers a variety of interactive CD ROMs to help students better understand the subjects being taught in class.
- Contains a section of filmstrips and slides.
- Houses DVD, VHS and CD players.
- Provides kits and tests for faculty and graduate students. For more information, see the Test Collection Page.
- Provides study rooms for group listening and viewing.
- Houses 2 computer stations, one with the APOLIS2 online catalog and one which provides access to the Library’s databases and the internet.
- Houses reserves behind the media circulation desk. Reserve loan periods are specified by classroom faculty.
Media Center Collection
Most of the media collection is cataloged and can be found in the APOLIS2 online catalog. The 12 inch disc recordings have not been cataloged, and can be found in a card catalog in the Media Center. Musical scores are the only print materials housed in the Media Center, and are in close proximity to the recordings and CDs. In addition to the Media Center's record and CD collections, a database of recordings is available through Classical Music Library.
Specific collections include:
- Chapel programs: The Media Center houses a complete collection of chapel speakers on audio, VHS, and DVDs. Chapel podcasts from 2001 to present may be downloaded from the APU Chapel web site.
- Film collection: To support the Cinema and Broadcast Arts major in Communication Studies, the Media Center houses a collection of movies in DVD or VHS formats. All titles are cataloged and can be found in the Library's online catalog.
- Microforms: The Media Center houses numerous newspapers, books, and journals in the microform area. Microforms can be in one of several formats: film, fiche, or ultra microfiche. All newspapers, journals, and books are filed separately. Film is on a reel, MicroFiche is a small plastic card. ULTRAFICH is also a small plastic card, but the individual pages on the card are very small, usually about ¼ inch. The journals and newspaper are cataloged and are listed by title in the APOLIS2 online catalog. The machine available in the Media Center accommodates film, fiche, and ultra microfiche. The following are two unique ultra microfiche book collections are useful for research.
- Library of American Civilization (LAC): LAC is a collection of materials on ultra microfiche relating to all aspects of American life and literature from their beginnings to the outbreak of World War I. Included in the collection are pamphlets, periodicals, documents, biographies and autobiographies, fictional works, poetry, collections of various kinds, materials of foreign origin relating to America, and many rare books not generally available. The following link is an author list of digitized LAC titles compiled by Terry Ballard, Automation Librarian at The Arnold Bernhard Library, Quinnipiac University: http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1849.xml.
- Library of English Literature (LEL): The Library of English Literature: Basic Collection is an ultra microfiche collection of carefully selected cross section of the whole of English literature spanning 1400 years of literary history from the Beowulf to 1900. Included are materials from all periods and of all types: poetry, drama, essays, prose fiction, and religious, philosophical, and critical works both contemporary with the period covered and modern. All of the works of major writers such as Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton are included along with sufficient materials for textual study. Secondary materials are included if they are of undoubted importance or have become English classics (e.g. Chapman’s Homer). The following link is a list of LEL titles found in the online catalog of Hekman Library, Calvin College: http://www.calvin.edu/cgi-bin/lib/permcat.pl?searchdata1=MIC%20LEL.
- The American History Slide Collection: A collection of 2,100 slides selected from the files of the Library of Congress, the National Archives, the Smithsonian Institution and many other public and private sources, covering themes most often presented in American history courses. No captions appear on the slides; instead, the set comes with a 265-page Master Guide Book which contains detailed background information on each slide, an elaborate subject index, and suggestions for use of the materials. Categories included in the collection are:
- Explorers and Early America
- The Age of the American Revolution
- American Indians
- The Civil War
- The West
- Presidents and National Campaigns
- An American Gallery: Portraits of Famous Americans
- Black America
- American Women
- Hispanic-Americans
- Agricultural and Rural America
- American Cities and Towns
- American at War
- American Labor and Industry
- Poster and Advertising
- Transportation - From Horse to Rockets
- Horse Power
- Ships
- Railroads
- Automobiles
- Aviation
- America at Play
- Movements and Protest
Checking Out Media Items
Faculty, staff, and students may borrow media items. Different formats have different check out periods. Please check at the Media Center circulation desk for current information.
Media Center Check Out Policy
| Undergraduate Students | Graduate Students | Faculty/Staff | |
| Audio Books | 1 Week | 1 Week | 2 Weeks |
| Audio Tapes | 1 Week | 1 Week | 2 Weeks |
| CDs | 2 Days ‡ | 2 Days ‡ | 2 Weeks ‡ |
| Diskettes | 2 Days | 2 Days | 2 Weeks |
| DVDs | 2 Days Ω | 2 Days Ω | 2 Weeks ‡ |
| Games | 2 Days | 2 Days | 2 Weeks |
| Kits | N/ A | 1 Week | 2 Weeks Ω |
| Records | 1 Week | 1 Week | 2 Weeks |
| Scores | 2 Weeks | 2 Weeks | 2 Weeks |
| Slides | 2 Days | 1 Week | 2 Weeks |
| Tapes | 2 Days | 1 Week | 2 Weeks |
| Videos | 2 Days Ω | 1 Week Ω | 2 Weeks ‡ |
Ω Limit of two
‡ Limit of six
Checkout limitations are subject to change with the approval of the Media Center Coordinator.
Courtesy Patrons
Although alumni, ordained clergy, consortium cardholders and community residents may be courtesy patrons and may check out books, they may not check out media items unless it has been approved by the Media Center Coordinator.
Media Reserve Items
Professors often place media items on reserve. Depending on the check out period indicated by the professors, these reserve items may or may not be checked out of Marshburn Library. Viewing rooms are available for groups. In order to check out a reserved media title, the student must have an ID card.
Fines
Different media items are given their specific due dates as noted under Checking Out Media Items. The fine for a late return is $1.00 per day for each bar-coded item of the media title. Replacement costs vary according to the item with a maximum charge of $115. Replacement costs for tests will be determent by the Media Center Coordinator.
Assistive Technology Area
Specialized stations provide wheel-chair accessibility and a spacious working area for students with disabilities. This area provides assistive technology resources such as the Kurzweil 3000, Zoomtext, J.A.W.S., MagniSight, a computer station, a scanner and closed-captioned videos and DVDs. Zoomtext and J.A.W.S. allow students to see large texts and hear words presented in an audio format.
Who can answer my questions?
Media Center Desk: (626) 815-6000 x3278
Media Center Coordinator: x3276
