Submitted by Peter Liu, MIIS Library Director

For many years, the Institute’s more than 2,000 VHS video collection has not been included in the library’s Online Public Access Catalog or OPAC until recently. As a part of the MIIS and MIDD libraries’ integration process, a joint project of MIIS A/V collection enhancement to support instruction was launched during this summer. The primary purpose of the project is to convert the existing A/V Center VHS video data of Microsoft Excel into a set of the library MAchine Readable Cataloging records or often known as the MARC standards. The project intended to leverage Middlebury cataloging expertise, make a full use of the recent updated Millennium server’s capacities, preserve all useful data and present in a simple and web searchable format. After several months of hard work of librarians on both MIIS and MIDD campuses, especially through timely guidance and collaborations with Terry Simpkins and his talent cataloging staff at Middlebury, the MIIS library’s OPAC (http://monti.miis.edu) is now containing more than 2,000 VHS videocassettes from the A/V Center. As a result, MIIS faculty and students are now able to find, identify, select, and obtain A/V materials just like they search any printing books and periodicals. The project has greatly enhanced the usability of A/V collection on and beyond campus. A portion of the regularly purchased A/V materials of documentary videos, performances, performance art, and feature films will be adding into our library holdings on the largest union catalog of the OCLC’s WorldCat. Those A/V materials can be checked out at A/V Center for one day or 24 hours as usual. They will not be lent to other libraries except to Middlebury through interlibrary loan in the near future.

Copyright note:
The video cassettes and other A/V materials in the library are subject to the Revised Copyright Act of 1976, Title 17 of the U.S. Code, Sections 101-810, which took effect on January 1, 1978. The library prohibits the use of these materials in any way that violates Federal or State laws.