Using the Visual Resources Center: STUDENT GUIDE

Welcome to the Visual Resources Center. The VR Center has approximately 90,000 slides in the field of Art History and Studio Concentrations. By adhering to the following procedures everyone will be able to use the VR Center to its fullest potential.

SLIDE ARRANGEMENT AND CLASSIFICATION

For first time users the VR Center may appear overwhelming, but once you know the system it's really quite user friendly. The Center is set up with three banks of slide files, beginning with the bank next to the door on the wall and continuing through the middle of the room. The slides are arranged chronologically, beginning with Paleolithic images and ending with the 20th century. The drawers are colored coded by medium (architecture, sculpture, painting, prints, drawings, and photography) for easy identification. Non-western art, other arts, graphic and interior design, and art education slides are in the middle bank facing the windows. It is necessary that you know the last name of the artist you are looking for and which medium he/she was working in as well as the century they worked. However, it is not until after the Gothic period that the drawers are divided into medium, so if you are searching for a slide that is earlier than the 11th century, it will be in the first set of drawers with the yellow labels and listed under period.

Within each medium the slides are listed alphabetically by Artist then alphabetically by Title of Work. Full views of the work are filed first, followed by any detail views. In the Architecture drawers, plans and cross sections are placed first, then the aerial views, and then detailed views of the architectural work from the exterior to the interior. Slide label information includes: broad medium, century, artist's nationality, artist's name (last name first), title of work, creation date, specific medium, dimensions, and location.

PREPARING A SLIDE PRESENTATION

No student(s) will be allowed to pull slides if they have not attended an orientation session in the VR Center. When a student has been assigned a presentation in class it is a good idea to check to see what slides are available before the doing the report. Once you have an idea and are ready to pull slides, here are the steps to take:

1. If your instructor does not already have a specific slide carousel tray for you, to use find a tray under the slide banks and sign it out on the yellow sheet of paper located on the chalkboard at the front of the room.
2. Know what color card your instructor uses. Place that color card in the slide drawer in the exact slot where you pull out the slide.
3. Before loading the slides into the carousel tray, take them to the back of the slide room, and on the counter top you will see a small copier machine. Raise up the copier lid, and you will see an open space on the glass, outlined by purple ribbon. Place the slides FACE DOWN on the glass and lower the lid. Press the start button and make one copy of the slide labels. The copier is loaded with Slide Checkout Forms. Your copy will come out on the right-hand side of the copier. Turn the paper over, and fill out the personal information on the back, and sign the form. Take the form to where the color card tray is located and leave the form in the plastic bin next to the tray. That’s it!
4. Arrange the slides in the tray in the desired order remembering that the red dot should always be in the upper right hand corner facing your next slide. This means that the slide will be upside down until viewed through the slide projector. To assure that the slides are arranged in the right direction, view your completed slide presentation on the Caramate projection viewers located on the round table.
5. Now that your presentation is ready, place the carousel in its box and tape a note on it listing your name, instructor's name and the date of your presentation. Slide trays must be kept in the VR Center until classtime in the designated place discussed at your orientation session.
6. Return the slides promptly after class, placing the slides in the tray where your professor’s color cards are kept. Students are subject to a $5 per slide fee for any lost slides.

IMAGE OWNERSHIP AND COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS

Once an image has been added to the fine arts slide collection, by either copy photography, digital scanning, or purchase, it becomes the property of the State of Virginia and subject to the Visual Resources Center policies and U.S. copyright laws. Slides from the JMU School of Art and Art History collection cannot be reproduced in any form, or changed to another imaging format, except in compliance with the current copyright laws and fair use guidelines. It is implicit in the lending of slides that the borrower agrees not to authorize duplication or reproduction without permission from the VR Curator and assumes all responsibility for that restriction.

Christina B. Updike
Visual Resources Specialist
School of Art and Art History
800 South Main Street, MSC 7101
540-568-6588, FAX 540-568-6598
 updikecb@jmu.edu

Duke Hall, Room 204
Hours of Operation:8:30 am - 5:30 pm
Closed for lunch 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
By appointment after hours

back to top