Mission
Dartmouth Libraries’ Jones Media Center (JMC) provides Dartmouth students, faculty, and staff with access to film, audio, photography, and media production equipment to support scholarly and creative work.
Policy
To ensure that Jones Media Center effectively and expertly supports media projects at Dartmouth via access to media production equipment, this policy outlines the conditions and considerations JMC staff apply when lending equipment to Dartmouth students, faculty, or staff. JMC staff may adjust equipment access and support at any given time based on equipment availability, staffing, demand, and loan history.
Equipment Requests
Jones Media Center staff prioritize requests in order of the following criteria:
- Undergraduate curricular projects
- Other academic and scholarly work by students, faculty, and staff in the School of Arts and Sciences
- Recreational or personal projects
Staff review all equipment requests on a case-by-case basis. Approval or denial of equipment loans is at the discretion of JMC staff.
Equipment Usage
Jones Media Center equipment may not be used for professional or commercial projects, including projects for which a Dartmouth student, faculty member, or staff member is receiving monetary compensation.
Students, faculty, and staff intending to use JMC equipment for a Dartmouth-funded research fellowship or grant, or similar program, must contact JMC before applying for funding to discuss and determine project feasibility, equipment availability, and staff support needs. Jones Media Center does not guarantee the usage of equipment for these purposes.
Equipment Category Specifications
Jones Media Center equipment falls into two categories.
Over-the-Counter (OTC) Equipment
OTC equipment is available for many common media production needs.
Equipment must be reserved online or requested directly at the JMC Service Desk during JMC Service Desk hours.
JMC staff review all OTC requests before lending out equipment.
Professional (Pro) Equipment
Pro equipment is reserved primarily for scholarly use and must be requested at least 24 hours in advance.
“Scholarly use” is defined as a media production project for a class or an independent research project.
Exceptions for non-scholarly requests are uncommon.
Some Pro items may require Dartmouth students, faculty, and staff to complete an equipment orientation or training session before an individual’s first-time use.
This equipment is listed separately on the reservation request form.
Fines
Jones Media Center applies fines for overdue, broken, lost, or otherwise damaged equipment. For additional information on Dartmouth Libraries borrowing policies, please refer to our Loan Periods and Renewals page.
Direct questions about equipment use or project eligibility to the Jones Media Center team.