Ellie Heider
Contributing Writer
Aspiring student podcasters, videographers and influencers now have a new place to create at the recording studio in the basement of the Rebecca Crown Library.
The studio opened this fall after two years of planning and work, according to assistant librarians Beronica Avila and Jill Bambenek, who had the idea for the studio.
The studio is open Monday through Friday from 10 am to 4 pm.
The studio has four rooms – three for audio recording and one for video recording, complete with a green screen and lighting.
Upon entrance into the studio, all the outside noise is drowned out by silence.
Student interest in recording led to the creation of the studio, which is a spinoff of the WeatherTech Innovation Center. It is free to use for anyone at Dominican.
COVID-19 limited student and staff involvement on campus the library became a place of support. “The recording studio is, in some ways, a direct response to the pandemic and the challenges it presented,” says Dominican graduate Phil Skurski, who played a critical role in the development of the studio.
Avila says the studio will help students “represent themselves through a digital space post-pandemic.”
The WeatherTech center, which houses technologies like 3D printing, and the studio are a “brother-sister duo,” according to Skurski. It costs $700 to build on a $2000 budget, according to Avila.
The studios need funding for better soundproofing to record music without sound spilling into surrounding areas, but students and staff hope to be able to make those improvements soon.
Skurski wants students to use the space to explore their curiosity, and said “libraries are not always just books…it’s also about knowledge and what that looks like for students personally.”
In the future, Skurski would like to see QR codes around the studio that link to student podcasts or their SoundCloud music.
The studio has a few simple rules for students who want to use it:
- complete an online orientation.
- use the booking system to reserve times.
- no food or drink allowed inside.
Avila said she hopes to expand the studio staff, which is currently composed of part-time student workers. She wants someone who can work with the part-time students, oversee the studio, and upgrade the design of the space.
Student James Blokell already uses the studio to create a podcast and has hopes for expansion. “I would like to see a larger video recording and editing space,” he said.
Avila likes the ideas of expansion and the QR codes, and the possibility of a radio station and a story archive.
She said she would like to see “students really own their voice and influence outside of the classroom.”
