Summer Storage:

• The Student Bike Shop in the basement of Adirondack House will store a bike for the summer for $20.00.  Storage hours will be:

1. Tuesday, May 14                            7:00 pm-10:00 pm
2. Wednesday, May 15                       7:00 pm-10:00 pm
3. Thursday, May 16                           7:00 pm-10:00 pm
4. Saturday,  May 18                           5:00 pm-8:00 pm

Bike Sweep will be May 29 and May 30

• Bike Racks at the Axinn Center will not have bikes removed.  If you have your bike on campus these days park it in one of the Axinn bike racks.
• Register your bike before you leave. Follow this link to Public Safety forms to register your bike online. After registering you will need to go to Public Safety to get the decal for your bike. DPS forms
• If you lost a bike this year, there is a chance it will be found.
• Bikes matched to missing bike reports will be available for pick up at no charge from May 31 until June 17. Arrange with the Department of Public Safety to retrieve recovered bikes. Missing Bike Form
• Bikes may be retrieved at no charge until June 17; after June 17 a $50.00 charge will be levied.
• If you know you no longer want a bike, donate it directly to the student Bike Shop before you leave campus: email address  Bike Shop   Or drop it off at the Bike Shop during storage hours.

If you have a conflict with the scheduled time, please contact Prof. Ganiban (ganiban@middlebury.edu) in the Classics Department by Wednesday, May 8.

a busy lab

Students fill the Wilson Media Lab in the Davis Family Library, completing media projects for the end of the semester. A good number of students in this picture are finishing up posters for their theses.

24/7 hours will start at 9:00 am on Sunday, 5/5 and will end at 8 pm on Tuesday, 5/21. Bring your ID – card access is required between 11 pm and 7:30 am (9 am on Saturday and Sunday). Guest passwords for computer access will not be issued between the hours of 11 pm and 8 am.

Armstrong Library will have regular hours during this period, with later closing times on Friday 5/17 and Saturday 5/18.

Check here for up to date hours at all Libraries.

Please visit the Student Employment Office Web page to view this summer’s procedures and policies. Forms are available on the SEO website.

For “Answers to Your On Campus Summer Employment Questions” please reference the email sent from SEO on Friday, April 5.

Contact student employment with any additional questions.

Student Employment Office

seo@middlebury.edu

802.443.5377

Come and enjoy a thesis reading of poems revolving around art vandalism–from the beheading of The Little Mermaid statue in 1964 to the botched “Ecce Mono” fresco restoration in August 2012! A slideshow of the damaged artwork will accompany the performance.

What Are the Responsibilities of a Middlebury Alternative Break Trip Leader?
MAlt trip leaders are responsible for trip logistics, group dynamics, education, and reflection before, during, and after the break.  Logistical responsibilities include helping to recruit and select participants, choosing appropriate worksites for the trip’s theme, initiating and maintaining ongoing contact with worksite coordinators to ensure rewarding service work for both participants and the community partner, drafting and maintaining a budget, creating a daily itinerary, arranging travel plans (e.g., plane reservations, car rentals, College van reservations, accommodations, etc.), and planning meals. Trip leaders work closely with MAlt tri-chairs and the MAlt advisor (Ashley Calkins in the Center for Education in Action, EIA).  Trip leaders are also responsible for coordinating group fundraising efforts and ensuring that fundraising goals (which may be substantial) are met.  Please Note: Leading a MAlt trip is a rewarding but demanding opportunity. You should expect to devote a significant amount of time to your trip pre-departure, including some level of research and planning during the summer.

Information Session: If you have a great idea for a trip or are interested in creating one, attend the MAlt leader info session on April 11^th, 7pm in BiHall 219.

Application Information: Complete this application with a co-leader and e-mail it to middalt@middlebury.edu, by Wednesday, April 24th. MAlt trips can be domestic or international, but this year we will also be looking for strong applications in the New England region. This past year MAlt traveled to El Paso, Puerto Rico, The Dominican Republic, New York City, and Tennessee.

Here’s how some MAlters described their trips in one word: community, warmth, eye-opening, growth, intense, challenging, humbling, real, soulful, marvelous, robust, refreshing, fantastic, and unforgettable.

Questions? Visit go/malt or contact co-chairs Charlotte Zelle and Maya Neria at middalt@middlebury.edu.

Summary of the analog sunset plan
Analog media (VHS, Betamax, U-matic, etc.) and certain digital media (LaserDiscs) have become obsolete – new media are not being produced, nor are replacement players. For LaserDisc and VCR technology, better, higher quality, and easier to use digital technologies have emerged. By removing these media players players and slide projectors from classrooms, and by replacing these older formats with digital ones, we can ensure that our classrooms will continue to be functional, easy to use, and easy to support, both now and in the near future.

The media and computer industries have chosen to retire certain older audio and video technologies and move to newer digital audio and video formats. This means the imminent death of VHS, LaserDisc, 3/4″ tape and, eventually, even our beloved VGA (and possibly even 16mm and 35mm film, but we don’t know that quite yet). BluRay (using a newer connection type – HDMI) and streaming Internet video are the newer formats intended to replace all of the aforementioned older media formats. The DVD format remains alive, for now.

LIS has developed a plan to address the obsolescence of these older formats and support for the new ones. The process is guided by a combination of technology options, copyright law, and input from our user community. The Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines section of the Handbook outlines some of the copyright intricacies. If you currently have a VHS tape, Laserdisc or 35mm slides that you use for class, you should be developing a strategy for migrating the class material to a different media for use inside and outside of class (see What can you do to prepare.)

Important Dates

• Phase I – Beginning January 1, 2013 LIS will no longer add VHS players to new or renovated classrooms. Current status: VHS players were not added to any of the Warner classrooms after the renovations in January, 2013.
• Phase II – Beginning January 1, 2014 LIS will begin removing VHS, LaserDisc, and slide projectors from all classrooms except for the main auditoriums (Sunderland Dana, Alexander Twilight Auditorium, and Axinn 232). We need to preserve as many of these devices as possible for spare parts and archival purposes.
• Phase III – Onward and upward. LIS will continue to move forward with digital technology, including investigating reliable streaming options, and strive to accommodate any emerging technologies for the future.

What we are doing to prepare

• Over the past two years, LIS has replaced a large amount of analog and obsolete media (VHS & LaserDisc) placed on Library Reserves with DVD or Blu-Ray media. Last winter, a large LaserDisc deselection project reduced our holdings by almost 90% and was lauded by staff and faculty as a strong step forward. In the past year we’ve been turning our attention to the VHS collection, targeting those items which have never circulated, which reduced our holdings by over 35%. We are currently in the process of removing VHS copies of works for which we also have DVD and/or Blu-Ray versions.
• Other VHS titles have not circulated at all in the past seven years (i.e., since our migration of MIDCAT to the current platform), and we are reviewing those titles with faculty input and assistance. Individual departments should check their collection of media titles for VHS items. If any are crucial for teaching or research, LIS can attempt to purchase new copies in modern format (DVD or Blu-Ray) if we do not already have them. If these formats are not available, we will retain the VHS. All other VHS will be removed from the collection.
• Our classrooms will continue to have the option of bringing in an analog or obsolete digital device (VCR, LaserDisc player, slide projector) for the foreseeable future. LIS maintains an inventory of VCRs, LaserDisc players, and slide projectors in functional condition available for check-out from the Library circulation desk. However, there is no guarantee that we will be able to maintain and repair these devices indefinitely, as new supplies dwindle.
• We are following similar steps with our collection of aging audio cassettes. Cassettes that have never circulated in the past seven years are being reviewed. Cassettes that have been put on reserve or that have circulated will be replaced, retained, or migrated to a newer format.
• Please place individual requests to purchase replacements VHS/LaserDisc media at go/requests.

What can you do to prepare
If you currently have a VHS tape, Laserdisc or 35mm slides that you use for class, you should be developing a strategy for migrating the class material to a different media for use inside and outside of class. Look for DVD, Blu-Ray or (legal) Internet video replacements for any VHS, LaserDisc, 3/4″ tape, or Betamax titles in your personal collection. The Library (go/requests) or your liaison (go/liaisons) can assist you with this. If a commercial digital copy is available we will attempt to purchase a replacement; processing times will vary based on availability. Before any in-house conversion of analog or obsolete digital formats is done, however, we need to determine the legality of the duplication request. Expect about 5 business days for the copyright question to be resolved (this can be a somewhat complex issue) and another 5 business days for the actual conversion.

Your input is needed!
We are looking for feedback on the plan, the process and our communications. You can reach out to your LIS liaison or contact me (Petar Mitrevski) directly. You can also post a response right here on the blog and start a lively discussion.

We emphasize the analog sunset whenever we receive a report that a VCR player or VHS tape is broken. We have shared this plan with the Faculty LIS Advisory Group (FLAC) and are working to incorporate their feedback. LIS liaisons will continue to work with each academic department to share this plan and engage in discussion. We have talked about the analog sunset in our December Quarterly Update, April Quarterly Update, and in the context of the recent classroom renovations in Warner. But we need more input from our community. Thank you!

More Information
You can read the entire plan at http://go.middlebury.edu/analog. In addition, we’ve developed an FAQ section based on questions from our community. You can also check what other schools are doing to address the issue.