Dec 12, 2017 A Semester In Review: Creativity & Innovation Services

Another semester has come to a close here at the University of Utah…it seems like just yesterday we were welcoming you to the start of a new school year. Fall 2017 has been a very busy and productive semester for the units of Creativity & Innovation Services. Here are a few highlights from each of our units:

Creativity & Innovation Services/Video Game Collection

Greg Hatch

• Members of the Creativity & Innovations Services department have played a leadership role in the further development of the Digital Matters Lab (DML). Simultaneous searches for the Digital Matters Lab Director and a Digital Matters Librarian are concluding in December. We expect the new hires to begin their work in early 2018 with offices temporarily housed in the Katherine W. Dumke Fine Arts & Architecture Library on Level 2.
• Arriving over the winter break will be new Digital Matters Lab furnishings to complement the workstations already deployed in that space including: portable collaboration tables, white boards, video monitors, a data projector, a high-resolution scanner, and VR equipment – a new DML logo and branding will also be revealed in early 2018!
• For our video game collection, 33 new video games have been added in the past 6 months, bringing our total holdings to 350 with plans to add 50 more games over spring semester. In addition, we expanded our hand-held console options to include a Playstation VR Aim Controller and a Nintendo Switch – both are available to be checked out from the Reserve Desk on Level 2.

Creative Spaces

TJ Ferrill & Erika Church

• Virtual reality workstations were deployed in the Knowledge Commons along with a check-out program for VR equipment.
• The 3D printers located in the Knowledge Commons accumulated a combined print time of over 8,000 hours.
• The Zine collection grew from 500 titles to over 1,200 and are now integrated with curriculum in the School for Cultural and Social Transformation.
• The unit has been involved with multiple projects between Rare Books, Manuscripts, Book Arts, and Creativity & Innovation Services, as well as a sculpture class 3D scanning and replicating student work.

GIS Services

Justin Sorensen

• Fall semester saw a continuation of the bi-weekly “Map of the Week” releases with an additional (9) maps successfully produced on a variety of topics.
• Drop-In GIS Information Sessions began in the Digital Matters Lab pop-up space, offering individuals the opportunity to discuss GIS projects and receive professional project assistance.
• Marketing of services resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of consultations with students, staff, and faculty, as well as an overall interest in incorporating GIS into projects and research.
• The Downwinders of Utah Archive reached international channels through an NHK World News report while field work conducted in Southern Utah resulted in new oral history interviews with Downwinder victims and families.

Fine Arts & Architecture Library

Luke Leither

• The Katherine’s Courtyard project has made substantial progress and is scheduled for opening to the public on January 8th. We celebrated the project with the Dumke family in November and were gratified to see how excited they were about the space and our efforts so far.
• The K.W. Dumke Fine Arts & Architecture Library held several successful events in conjunction with the Digital Matters Lab. Events included invited speakers, workshops, and hosting the regular meetings of several research groups. We are thrilled with this partnership and look forward to more collaboration in the future.

Audio Studio

Robert Nelson

• The Audio Studio implemented a new after-hours access policy to allow (4) student media groups to record podcasts and facilitate music production.
• Collaborating with Digital Scholarship Services, an interview was conducted on behalf of Anne Morrow: Seth Keeton – SongHelix. Digital Scholarship Services helped create a searchable musical database for a School of Music Faculty member – I interviewed the individual while Tony Sams videotaped the interview.
• Students from Music 3200 were introduced to the Audio Studio for recording course music and a studio upgrade was completed to professionally record telephone interviews for enhancing podcast production related to “The Travel Advice Show”, “Frontiers Magazine”, and the “Downwinders of Utah Archive” here at the Marriott Library.

Video Studio

Tony Sams

• The One-Button-Studio was launched for fall semester, an easy-to-use video production studio that requires no previous experience. The studio is located on the 2nd floor of the Marriott Library (rm. 2500b) and allows you to create high-quality and polished video projects. You only need to bring a flash drive with you, along with some creative energy, and with a push of a button you are a maker!
• New workshops related to creating videos, web pages, blog posts, and more began this semester. One workshop in particular is Adobe Spark, introducing students, staff, and faculty to the Creative Cloud with a fun, free, and easy to use suite of cloud based applications. Drop by the Digital Matters Lab (rm. 2500) every Tuesday from 11:00am-2:00pm for an opportunity to learn how to get started.

From all of us in Creativity & Innovation Services, we wish you Happy Holidays and look forward to seeing you again in 2018!

View the original article on the Creativity and Innovation Services Blog