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Studios Technology Lending Desk

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The Studios Technology Lending Desk offers various pieces of equipment for members of the Virginia Tech campus community to checkout for free. Use our variety of hardware and software to create or co-create all kinds of media projects, including video, audio, and other multimedia. We also have a large collection of research devices, laptops, and other speciality equipment, so if you are looking for something specific, use the link to the right to see our full inventory.

  • Blue Yeti USB Microphones
  • Boom Mic Kit
  • Microphone Stand
  • Pioneer DDJ-SX2 Controllerj
  • Portable PA System with Wireless Bodypack Microphone
  • QSC TouchMix-8 Compact Digital Mixer
  • Shure 18″ Gooseneck Microphone (XLR Connection)
  • Shure Handheld Microphone
  • Sony Wired Lavalier Microphone (XLR cable)
  • Sony XLR Adaptor Kit
  • Sound Booths (Large and Small)
  • Tascam DR-100mkll – 2-Channel Linear PCM Recorder
  • Wireless Microphones (for video cameras)
  • Yamaha STAGEPAS 600 Speaker System
  • Zoom F4 Field Recorders
  • Zoom H1 Audio Recorders
  • Zoom H2N Audio Recorders
  • Zoom H4N Audio Recorders
  • Zoom H6 Kit
  • 3-Way Pan and Tilt Tripods
  • AV.io 4K Video Converter
  • Canon 80D
  • Canon HF G20 Video Camera
  • Canon HF M52 Video Cameras
  • Canon HF S20 Video Cameras
  • Canon XA10 HD Camcorder
  • Gimbal (for GoPros)
  • GoPro Fusion Action Cameras
  • GoPro Hero 4 Cameras
  • GoPro Hero 7 Black Camera
  • GoPro Session Cameras
  • GorillaPod GoPro Tripod
  • GorillaPod X GoPro Tripods
  •  Manfrotto 190PROB Fluid Head Tripod
  • Manfrotto 701HDV Fluid Head Tripod
  • Monopod
  • Nikon 35mm Lens
  • Nikon 55mm-200mm Lens
  • Nikon 70mm-200mm Lens
  • Nikon D5500 Photography Camera
  • Nikon D5600 Photography Camera
  • Nikon D7100 Photography Camera
  • Nikon z7 Full Frame with 24-70mm f/4 Lens
  • Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II with 12-100mm f/4 Lens
  • Olympus Tripod
  • Osmo 2 Smartphone Gimbal
  • Pan & Tilt Tripod (for video)
  • Panasonic HC-V750 Video Camera
  • Panasonic HC-VX870 Video Camera
  • Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000 4K Camera
  • Photography Tripods
  • Ronin-S DSLR Gimbal
  • Samyang 10mm Cine Lens
  • Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 OS HSM Lens for Nikon F
  • Sony a6000 Camera
  • Sony a7S II Full Frame Camera
  • Sony Cybershot RX10 IV Camera
  • Sony EX1R Video Camera
  • Sony NEX-6 Camera
  • 5-in-1 Collapsible Oval Reflector Kit
  • Background System Kit
  • Dracast LED500 Light Kits
  • Litepanels LED Light Kits
  • Lowel Tota 2 Light Kit
  • Arduino Kit
  • Blu-Ray Player
  • Dell Latitude
  • Epson Projector
  • HoloLens Augmented Reality Headset
  • HTC Vive Virtual Reality Kit with Alienware Laptop, Controllers, and Lighthouse Sensors
  • iPad Air Tablets
  • iPad Pro Tablets
  • Leap Motion Controller
  • MacBook Air Laptops
  • Nintendo Switch Gaming Kit
  • Oculus Go Virtual Reality Headset
  • Sphero Ollie Darside Robot
  • University Libraries Self-Paced Tour
  • VHS Player
  • VHS/DVD Combo Unit
  • Wacom Tablet
  • Windows Asus Laptops
  • Windows Lenovo Thinkpad Laptops
  • Windows Mixed Reality Headset (requires laptop for use)
  • DJI FPV Goggles
  • DJI Mavic 2 Pro Drone with Wide Angle Camera
  • DJI Mavic 2 Zoom Drone
  • DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ Drones with Camera and Gimbal
  • DJI Spark Drones with with 1080p Camera
  • Hover Camera Drone
  • Ryze Tello Drone Kits

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
  • 7 Wonders
  • Azul
  • Betrayal at the House on the Hill
  • Carcassone
  • Codenames
  • Coup
  • Dead Man’s Draw
  • Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Master’s Kit
  • Dungeon and Dragons Player Kits
  • Exploding Kittens
  • Gaming Table (on the fourth floor of Newman Library)
  • Munchkin
  • One Night Ultimate Werewolf
  • Pandemic
  • Risk
  • Scrabble
  • Settlers of Catan
  • Sheriff of Nottingham
  • Star Wars Risk
  • Ticket to Ride
  • Uno
  • Viceroy
  • We Didn’t Playtest This At All

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:

  • OVERDUE FEES ARE $25 PER DAY PER ITEM. Fees are paid through the Bursar's Office. Processing time is minimum 7 days.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.

 

General Policies:

  • 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.
  • 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 5 business days prior to booking requests. 
  • 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 directive 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 desk is closed. Contact techlending@vt.edu to arrange an alternative drop-off time and date.

 

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 are not responsible for, nor can we recover, lost data.
  • Upon return 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?

No, sorry! We don’t offer long term loans. If you need a long term loan for a laptop, please contact Student Affairs (link) or, if you’re an engineering student, contact SWAT (link).

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. 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?

Once we process your fees, you will be able to pay them through Hokie Wallet or through the Bursar’s Office. If you have more questions about billing and fees, please email Studiosbilling-g@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 two 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 and choose “equipment and technology” to see the different kinds of laptops, mics, cameras, VR equipment, games, and more that we offer for lending.

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.

 

Open Hours 

The Lending Desk closes for breaks, official university closings and most holidays.  Visit the University Libraries hours page for info on closures and open hours updates.

Workshops

The Studios Network offers many free workshops on various technologies, including creating and devoloping media projects. See our list of upcoming workshops for information on how to register.

Contact

Email techlending@vt.edu or stop by Torgersen Bridge, Room 3320. You may also call (540) 231-9201 with questions.

Need Help?

We offer consultations on topics like audio and video project development, graphic design, and more. Visit our consultations page to see what topics we cover and request a time to speak with someone.

Student Jobs

Open positions for student employment in the Studios Network are listed on Handshake.com.  If you are interested in working in one or more of the studios and have questions,  please reach out to librarystudios@vt.edu for more information on current opportunities.