Studios Technology Lending Desk

The Studios Technology Lending Desk also manages the Media Production Suite, a series of 4 bookable rooms on the 4th floor of Newman Library that act as a media editing and production computer lab. Additionally, one of the rooms has a robust collection of digitization equipment to convert various forms of media to other formats. See the list below for a full account of the hardware and software available in the suite, and go to our booking page to reserve one of the rooms.

• Adobe Creative Cloud - including Adobe Audition, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, InDesign, Lightroom, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and more!
• Audacity - a free, open-source digital audio recording and editing software
• Final Cut Pro - a video editing program developed by Apple
• GarageBand - an audio recording and editing program developed by Apple
• iMovie - a video editing program developed by Apple
• Keynote - a presentation software application developed by Apple
• Microsoft Office Suite - Excel, One Note, Outlook, Powerpoint, and Word
• Text Wrangler - all-purpose text and code editor for macOS
• Xcode - the official app development software for Apple products

You agree to these policies by booking any items and equipment through the Lending Desk. You can make bookings through bookings.lib.vt.edu. Please email techlending@vt.edu with any questions regarding these policies. 

Your Responsibilities:

FEES:

• Overdue fees are $25 per item and per day late for most equipment. 
• Any equipment valued under $200 is $10 fee per day late.
• Board games and video games are $1 per day late.
• Late fees cap after two weeks, at which time a fee of $20 or 10% of the item’s value is added, whichever amount is greater. 
• $25 cleaning fee may be added to your account if the item is returned in poor condition. 
• Return items before the day and time listed when your booking is confirmed. Overdue fees begin at the time and date listed on your booking as the return time.
• Return all equipment/items listed on the tag unless otherwise noted at time of checkout.
• You will be billed for repair or replacement for broken, lost, or stolen equipment. Costs may include a service fee for time taken to repair or order components for the equipment.
• Equipment will be assessed upon both check-out and return to determine if these costs are necessary.
• If equipment is stolen while in your care, immediately notify the Studios Technology Lending Desk at techlending@vt.edu and the local Police Department where it was stolen.

General Policies:

• Report any problems or issues with equipment during the loan period via email (techlending@vt.edu) or upon return to the Studios Technology Lending Desk.
• Please be prepared to show a form of photo ID when checking out items from the Lending Desk. If someone else is picking up for you, email techlending@vt.edu ahead of the booking start time authorizing that individual to check out items on your behalf. 
• Patrons are responsible for pulling data off of their equipment before their due date and time. Upon return, all data, files, and programs will be erased and equipment will be reset to its original check-out status.
• Items may not be reserved nor renewed for back-to-back periods. Inventory is limited, and we wish for as many patrons as possible to be able to use equipment. Back-to-back bookings will be cancelled without notice, and suspension of lending services will be applied as appropriate. Having others create and pick up bookings for you in order to use equipment beyond your lending period will result in losing access to borrowing equipment. 
• As inventory is limited, a patron may not check out a majority of any item without approval of studio management staff. 
• For items requiring management approval, approval requests must be made at least a week in advance. 
• If you need to borrow something for longer than 7 days, please email us at least three weeks before you need your booking to start. We cannot extend bookings after they start and/or after you pick up the equipment. 
• Making a booking does not guarantee an item's availability. Exact item booked may be swapped at time of check out for similar item.
• Borrowing privileges for equipment from Newman Library can be revoked for failure to follow these terms, failure to pay fines, abuse of equipment, violations of the VT Principles of Community, or abuse of lending policies.
• Patrons must follow all directives from library staff, including orders to leave the building in the situation in which the library needs to close early. 
• The studio may close on short or no notice due to safety or staffing reasons. Effort will be made to notify patrons of closures and accommodate missed check-outs and check-ins. 
• Do not leave equipment at the desk unattended when the lending desk is closed. Contact techlending@vt.edu to arrange an alternative drop-off time and date.
• Treating our staff unkindly in person or over email may result in banning you from borrowing equipment in the future.

Laptop Policies:

• Laptops contain deep freeze software so anything on the primary drive gets erased on restart. Save your work to the cloud or an external drive as needed.
• Laptops are intended for general use only. Software installs that require a restart will not work. We cannot install software on your behalf without prior arrangements or approval from IT. 
• We are not responsible for, nor can we recover, lost data.
• Upon returning a laptop, patrons can make a new booking for a laptop, but not back-to-back as per previous rule. Laptops may take up to 24 hours to be ready for future checkout. 

Who can borrow equipment from the Lending Desk? Does it cost anything?

Students, faculty, staff, and university affiliates with a Virginia Tech account can borrow equipment. Equipment lending is free though there are fees for late returns, broken or malfunctioning equipment, or stolen equipment. 

How do I borrow equipment? Where can I see what’s available?

Visit bookings.lib.vt.edu and select “equipment and technology” to browse our inventory and create equipment bookings. You need to make a booking ahead of time to check out something from the Lending Desk. 

Where do I pick up and return equipment?

After you make a booking through bookings.lib.vt.edu, you will pick up your items from the Lending Desk. We’re located on Torgersen Bridge next to the hall that leads to Newman Library. The room number is Torgersen 3320 and the desk faces out towards Torgersen Hall. 

How long can I borrow equipment for?

You can borrow items for up to 7 days or until the next booking. Please pay attention to the start times and return times when you create bookings! Not all items will be available for the full 7 day period. You receive emails with the start time and return time once you submit your booking, and you will receive email reminders to turn items back in. 

Can I borrow something for the whole semester?

We offer a long term lending program based on a lottery system at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters. Please contact techlending@vt.edu to find out more about long term loans. Once the lottery is complete, we cannot re-open long term bookings. If you need a long term loan for a laptop, please contact Student Affairs or, if you’re an engineering student, contact SWAT.

What if I don’t turn my equipment in on time?

Overdue fees are $25 per booking and per day that the item is late for most equipment. Board games and video games are $1 per day late. Any equipment valued under $200 is $10 fee per day late. Overdue fees start at the time the item is due so please return it beforehand. For example, if something is due back at 3pm, fees start collecting at 3pm if the item is not already checked in. You receive automated emails to inform you that your items are overdue. You won’t be able to check out more equipment until your fees are paid.

How do I pay the fees I owe?

You can pay late fees through Hokie Wallet or through the Bursar’s Office. If you have more questions about billing and fees, please email techlending@vt.edu. 

Can I extend my booking or borrow something for longer than 7 days? 

If you need to borrow something for longer than 7 days, please email us at least three weeks before you need your booking to start. We cannot extend bookings after they start and/or after you pick up the equipment. 

Can I borrow more than one of the same item?

Equipment loans with more than one of the same type of item (i.e., multiple DSLR cameras, multiple laptops, multiple tablets, etc.) are considered special requests. Since our inventory is limited and we aim to serve as many people in our university community as possible, we need at least two weeks in advance to review special requests. 

If you would like to borrow multiple items please email us at techlending@vt.edu at least two weeks before you need to pick up the items. The email should include a description and list of the items you need as well as the reason you need more than one. Special requests will be reviewed on a case by case basis by Studios management. 

I stopped by to pick up the equipment I booked but it wasn’t there. Why don’t reservations guarantee the availability of that item?

If the equipment you booked wasn’t there when you went to pick it up, that means someone else did not turn it back in yet. We can’t predict when or why someone has not turned in the items they borrowed. Please be patient with us. 

If we realize that the item you booked needs maintenance and therefore can’t be checked out to you, we will notify you of this when you come to pick the item up. We will do our best to substitute a similar item.

Please note that treating our staff unkindly in person or over email may result in banning you from borrowing equipment in the future. 

Do you have any laptops (or other specific equipment) available?

We have Dell and Mac laptops. They are very popular, high demand items so availability might be limited. Visit bookings.lib.vt.edu to see the different kinds of laptops, mics, cameras, VR equipment, games, and more items that are available. 

What is the password for the laptop I borrowed?

The laptops do not need passwords. If the laptop asks you for a password, hit “enter” without typing in anything in the password field. If that doesn’t work bring the laptop back to the Lending Desk and return it to our staff for troubleshooting. After that laptop is checked back in, you can create a booking for a different laptop.