Visual Resources Center (VRC)

General Information, Policies and Services

About the VRC

The Visual Resources Center (VRC) is a digital and analog image library and a digital document library that also houses the Pat Heller Reading Room and Graduate student study carrels. The VRC is dedicated to supporting the teaching, research and study needs of faculty and students within the School of Art and the College of Fine Arts by providing image, research and presentation resources and assistance. Administered by the School of Art, the center’s collection development is founded on curricular need primarily in support of, but not limited to, the Art History division.

Hours

The VRC is located in Room 247 in the Art Building and is open to the academic community from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

After hours access is limited to SOA faculty, TAs and VRC staff only.

Closed on University recognized holidays (see academic calendar for specific dates).

 

VRC Director

Kimberly Mast                                  kmast@email.arizona.edu

MLS, MA Art History                          Tel:   520.621.1202

Fax:   520.626.0540

 

Digital Image Lab and Services

The Visual Resource Center provides a variety of digital services to the School of Art community including, digital image production and access, technical support and equipment loans.

The digital imaging lab at the VRC is equipped with five Macintosh scanning stations (3 flatbed scanners, 2 35mm slide scanners). Access to scanning equipment is limited to VRC staff, SOA faculty and SOA graduate student use. Undergraduates may be allowed scanning privileges under special circumstances. Please see the Director.

 

Digital Image Database Access

The Imagen digital image database is available to faculty and graduate students via the web for research and teaching purposes. Please see a VRC staff member for login and password assignment. Undergraduate web access is available to those currently enrolled in a course within the College of Fine Arts and only for the semester enrolled. Individual student log in IDs and passwords are updated every semester. Faculty and TA’s wishing to make IMAGEN portfolios available to their students must provide a roster of enrolled students to the VRC. We ask that you give us one week’s advance notice. VRC staff are available to come to your class and explain the log in procedure and demonstrate database use. Art History Graduate students and faculty may also access the image database for their research and study purposes on-site at the VRC. Please see a curatorial staff member for assistance.

 

Pat Heller Reading Room Collection and DIgital Document Database Access

The Pat Heller reading room catalog and the Digital document database containing scanned pdf articles of course related material can be accessed within the VRC. Books in the Pat Heller collection do not circulate outside of the center.

 

D2L and Online Course Assistance

Please see the Director, Kimberly Mast, if you need assistance setting up your course in Desire to Learn (D2L) or need assistance with any aspect of the Learning Management System including content, quizzes, discussions, links, textbook integration, or streaming video.

  

Ordering Images and Documents

The VRC is happy to assist faculty, TAs and graduate students in the creation of digital images and pdf files for teaching and research purposes. In order to avoid duplication of resources, patrons are asked to research the collection before placing their orders. Images can be scanned from books or transparencies. Orders must be accompanied by an order sheet, which must be filled out in its entirety. We ask for at least a week lead time when placing your orders, as certain times of the year can become quite busy and last minute orders cannot be guaranteed.

 

Presentation Assistance

The VRC can provide assistance with presentation materials and programs such as PowerPoint, Keynote, Prezi, and others. Digital educational resources are also available and can be discussed with the Director.

 

Purposes of Use

Use of images from the Visual Resource Center’s collections via the Imagen database is limited to educational purposes only as outlined by the Fair Use Guidelines, which are posted in the VRC. Most of the materials in the collection are copyrighted and are subject to copyright restrictions. Copyright legislation restricts the use of copyrighted materials in non-teaching functions.

 

General Grad Student Policies

 

Study Carrels/Work Space:

All graduate students will be able to request a study space in the VRC and leave books and personal belongings there as needed. Priority is given to Art History students followed by Art and Visual Culture Education students. Please do not leave laptops or other items of significant value in these areas as they are not secure and many people have access to the room.

 

Computer Use:

The Mac workstations in the VRC are open to student use on a first come first served basis. Please be aware that files download to the desktop and you need to trash any file you don’t want left there for all to see. If you wish to save documents temporarily to the desktop, please create a folder with your name on it and put all files in there. Desktops are purged once a semester and all files deleted unless otherwise requested in advance.

 

After Hours Access:

School of Art Graduate Students will be provided with a door code that will allow them after hours use of the VRC facilities as needed. Do not share this code with students or anyone outside of the department for security reasons. Please make sure lights are turned off and the door securely closed when you leave.

 

Printing:

There is a printer available for grad student use in the computer bay in the VRC. We are not able to network printers due to Wi-Fi security so you must be at the appropriate computer station to print to the attached printer. Please limit printing to 10-15 pages at a time. If you have a large number of pages to print, there is a copy center in the Student Union.