History of the Laboratory

Audio and Video Capturing Station

Opened in 2010, the state-of-the-art Digital Laboratory was created to give students hands-on experience with digital preservation and digital libraries. The decision to change the former student laboratory into the new digital laboratory was made in 2009.

Kent State SLIS has one of only a few programs in the nation that teaches how to digitize obsolete analog formats, particularly for audiovisual materials. (Digitization is the conversion of analog information into digital information, which makes the data accessible to users because it can be made available online.)

The Digital Laboratory is also used for seminar courses in digital libraries and preservation, with space for up to 15 students. Instructional equipment includes video projection, a LCD high-definition television, and a combination VHS/Blue-Ray DVD player.

The laboratory also allows SLIS to partner with local institutions, such as libraries and historical societies, to work on reformatting projects using the new equipment.

For more information about the Digital Laboratory, contact SLIS Associate Professor Karen F. Gracy, Ph.D., at kgracy@kent.edu or 330-672-0049.