Equipment Room Inventory Development Policy
The Media Equipment Room supports Barnard film, podcasting, and other media production courses, supplying students with the equipment they need to complete their assignments. In addition, the MER meets the needs of the greater Barnard and Columbia community with a range of equipment for production, presentations, and other A/V activities. With those goals as the focus of our mission, and with consideration for the workload of our team, the MER develops our equipment inventory along the following guidelines:
- prioritising equipment that is sturdy and will withstand repeated use by many patrons at all skill levels
- prioritising equipment that that is accessible to learn and teach by our staff
- prioritising equipment that is designed with longevity & forward-compatibility
- prioritising equipment that is “built out” and doesn’t require (re)assembly of many small pieces with each use
- meeting the learning objectives of media production classes
- conserving the limited space available in the equipment storage area
With those goals as the focus of our mission, and with consideration for the workload of our team, the Media Center acquires inventory along the following guidelines:
- from College-approved vendors with whom the Media Center has existing customer service relationships
- new equipment with warranty/guarantee
On rare occasions, the Media Center will accept like-new equipment from other Barnard & Columbia campus partners. This can be arranged by contacting the Media Center Department Assistant at eqjohnso@barnard.edu.
With those goals as the focus of our mission, and with consideration for the workload of our team, the Media Center reassesses inventory along the following guidelines:
- twice yearly (winter and summer) in physical inventories
- at the beginning of each semester (fall and spring) by usage statistics
With those goals as the focus of our mission, and with consideration for the workload of our team, the Media Center deaccessions inventory along the following guidelines:
- when items are broken beyond the point of repair or missing essential pieces that cannot be replaced
- when items are no longer compatible with common softwares or other pieces of equipment used in production
- when items can no longer meet the learning objectives of production courses
- when the community has not demonstrated a need or interest in an item per our inventory reassessments