Changes coming to the SMDC

The Student Multimedia Design Center is changing to the Research Data and Design Commons

There are several exciting things happening in the lower level of Morris Library. The lower level space is becoming the Research Data and Design Commons starting in spring 2026. We are combining critical technology-based research support services to provide a cohesive experience for campus researchers. The Research Data and Design Commons will integrate many legacy services from the Student Multimedia Design Center, including support for videos, podcasts, and research posters, with data-focused services such as data management, visualization, and analysis. Though the space and technology will focus on student research, both undergraduate and graduate, researchers of all levels may find the support they need in this space.

Services

Service Desk

For Fall 2025, our service desk will be open from 10am-9pm, Monday through Thursday, 10am-5pm on Friday, 12pm-5pm on Saturday, and 1pm-9pm on Sunday. Thus if there are any questions about equipment, printing, studios or software, patrons can get help by stopping by the SMDC service desk during operational hours or calling at 302-831-8832.

We anticipate a change to service desk hours for Spring 2026 – 10am-5pm, Sunday through Friday, Closed on Saturday. But these hours are subject to change depending on demand. The service desk will still be open to assist with questions about equipment, research software, studios and printing but the extent of the new support is not yet finalized. We hope to have a full plan for the spring service desk in place by October 2025.

The computers in the current SMDC footprint will remain open and available outside the service desk hours including Room B. The space will still be open for collaboration and discussions and will not be a designated quiet space.

Printing

The lower level public printers have been removed. For general printing services, patrons will be directed to the stations on the first floor. In spring 2026, we are also ending specialty printing at the SMDC service desk; therefore, printing on card stock or larger size paper like 11×17 inches will not be available in Morris Library.

Large-format printing is still a core area of service for us. We will continue to support printing for research posters, including and expanding support for design, formatting, and best practices. Due to budgetary considerations, we will raise the price of posters from $5 per foot to $6 per foot for glossy and matte paper beginning in spring 2026. This matches the cost of poster printing through UDIT in Smith Hall.

Microforms

We will continue to support researchers in assistance with using the microform collection and readers for the foreseeable future.

Film and Video Collection Support

Beginning in fall 2025, the Film and Video collection, including video games rentals, carrel reservations, and reservations for our media viewing room, will be supported by the Help Center on the first floor. Carrel equipment will also be moving to the first floor throughout the fall semester. Please contact the Help Center for more information.

Equipment Kits

There are no changes planned to equipment kits and loan periods for fall 2025. Some equipment kits may be moved to the Help Center starting in spring 2026, but the majority of equipment kits will still be checked out via the service desk on the lower level of Morris Library. We will update the library’s equipment list when the equipment has changed locations.

Instruction Rooms

Room A

Room A, the PC instruction room, will close for fall 2025 for a technology refresh and will reopen in spring 2026 as the Data Analysis and Visualization Lab. This lab will be outfitted with specialized computer workstations with enhanced GPUs, memory, and processing capabilities. These workstations will be available for reservations as single or groups of workstations, and for varying lengths of time to accommodate data driven analysis. Unfortunately, this space will not be reservable as instruction space.

Room B

Room B, the Mac instruction room, will remain the same for the foreseeable future. Patrons will have access to the full Adobe Creative Cloud, iMovie, Final Cut and other video, audio and graphic design programs. We will be looking for ways to expand the use of the technology in this space for broader research computing applications to make it fit more cohesively into the new space. This room will remain reservable for instructors to use without librarian assistance. Please continue to submit Room B reservation request thru the SMDC Room Request form for the rest of the fall 2025. The room request form will change for spring 2026 and we will update that process here once decisions have been made.

Studios

The studios will remain a core service of the new Research Data and Design Commons. The studios will be reimagined as Data + Design Studios. They will be refreshed with new computers, and modified to remove some outdated technology, but they will remain available for content creation including access to the Adobe Creative Cloud, visualization work, and data tasks.

Studio 1

Studio 1 is turning into a consultation space where library staff can meet with users to talk through projects and other research support needs. Starting in fall 2025, Studio 1 will no longer be reservable by the public. Additionally, we have removed the aging VR/AR hardware, and will no longer support VR/AR. Though Rock Band and Guitar Hero games can still be checked out through the library, the gaming equipment has also been removed from this space and no longer useable at the moment.

Studio 2

Studio 2 will get a big update to digitization capabilities starting spring 2026. In addition to existing software on a PC, this will be a place to scan documents and physical resources, or to convert media into digital formats. These may be common formats such as VHS and DVD, or less common formats such as vinyl records and video cassettes. Conversion of older media is an important service that will allow campus researchers to retain datasets, recordings, and other media in digital formats and protect them from obsolescence and degeneration. Studio 2 will close in October 2025 to allow time for the equipment to be refreshed and ready for use in spring 2026. This space can accommodate four to six users at a time.

Studios 3 and 4

Studio 3 and 4 will provide access to backdrops, microphones, cameras and multimedia creation software like Adobe to create podcasts, videos and anything in between on a Mac computer. These two studios will continue to provide access to high-quality media creation tools, and in spring 2026 will gain common analysis and visualization software such as R and Python. This space can accommodate four to six users at a time.

Studio 5

Studio 5 will be similar to Studio 3 and 4 but without the extra features in the space. The Cintiq Tablet has been removed due to age. It will be a nice quiet space to edit audio and video projects, and to work on programming and data tasks on a Mac computer. This space is very small and can only accommodate one or two users at a time.

Studio 6

Studio 6 will have no physical or technological changes and will continue to be a Mac based audio recording studio in which users can make high quality recordings. This space is very small and can only accommodate one or two users at a time.

New Research Data and Design Commons Website

We are working on launching a brand new Research Data and Design Commons website to replace the Student Multimedia Design Center site. This process with take some time to ensure a seamless transition. The new Research Data and Design Commons website will be fully launched in spring of 2026.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns related to the changes coming to the lower level services, please fill out the below form.