Nell J. Redfield Learning & Resource Center

When patrons walk into the Nell J. Redfield Learning & Resource Center or LRC today, they will undoubtedly be impressed with the 37,000 materials available for checkout and the wide range of the latest digital and multi-media technology available to them.

Any of the LRC's 4,000 patrons will find computers for searches of all the materials available in the LRC collection, in addition to the materials of every library in the University of Nevada, Reno system. They'll be able to get on the internet and search the World Wide Web for resource materials. They can preview educational software and other instructional materials and check out video cameras to film a classroom lesson. They can then edit that video into a professional quality presentation, burn their project to a CD or DVD or record it to a VHS tape.

With the LRC's philosophy of providing instructional support and curriculum enrichment for all aspects of education, patrons range from education students to students from across the university and community college campuses. They may be public or private school teachers, college professors or students in elementary through high school. They could be counselors or principals, interested in art kits or dinosaur fossils or looking for information on substance abuse or classroom management. They may want to laminate materials, make posters or design a bulletin board.  They may need to consult with a graphic designer or learn how to film and edit their own instructional video or make high quality print or on-screen presentations for their classrooms. The LRC covers a wide range of education resources.

Although the technology has dramatically changed over the years, the philosophy of the LRC has remained constant since its inception. Nearly 40 years ago the LRC, formerly called the Teaching Resource Center, has always been a place that strived to stay in the forefront of the latest developments in educational technology seeking creative and innovative ways to enhance and support classroom instruction. The center was originally established in 1966 to provide equipment and training to prepare new teachers to use technology in the classroom and to provide students with opportunities for self-evaluation of their teaching through video.

The College of Education was originally housed in the Thompson Building located at the heart of the campus. As the university expanded across North Virginia Street, a parochial school named St. Alberts was acquired and the structure was renovated and renamed the Artemesia Building. The College of Education was looking for space to establish the Teaching Resource Center, so the center took the upper floor of Artemesia. The Nevada Historical Society was housed in the basement of Artemesia until its current home was built just north of the Fleischmann Planetarium.

The Teaching Resource Center was the first step in adjusting the teaching methodology in the College of Education away from strictly lecture and discussion techniques. The center provided training in the media equipment education students would encounter when they graduate to teach in new and advanced schools.

The state-of-the-art video and audio recording equipment of that day included the VTR, a reel-to-reel recording device and a separate camera utilizing one-inch Ampex tape and housed in a 2' x 4' box. This "portable" unit needed to be operated by staff specially trained by the manufacturer and students did not get the hands-on training that is routine today. The VTR was later upgraded to 1/2" and 3/4" videotape equipment and two backpack units were available for use in student teaching situations in public schools. An analogue editing suite was added in the mid 70s for VHS editing. Today, there are VHS camcorders and digital video cameras that are constantly circulating among LRC's patrons. There's also six digital video editing stations, Macintosh computers loaded with the most current video editing software and hands-on training for educators to produce professional quality videos.

Another example of what was modern technology in the late 60s and 70s was the loudness monitor. This device would monitor the level of noise in a room by a series of light bulbs. A sound effects kit like those in a radio station was also available for checkout and used in the classroom. The center began building a collection of filmstrips, 35mm slides, 8mm single concept film loops, phono discs, and other non-print audiovisual materials.

The Teaching Resource Center moved in 1971 to a newly constructed College of Education building, currently known as Edmund J. Cain Hall. The center continued to expand and was renamed the Learning & Resource Center and extended its hours to better accommodate the growing number of students and evening classes.

As part of the expansion, a graphics area was established for production of educational aids. It was a place where the student or faculty member could give form to visual information and obtain help in the practical methods needed to obtain the fullest realization of ideas. It included a fully equipped workshop with hand tools and simple power tools for student access. A graphic artist was added to staff for assistance. The Graphics Room of the 70s included Ektagraphic visual makers, lettering and stencil equipment, a ditto machine, a Thermofax transparency maker, three dry mount presses and an Opaque projector for enlarging and tracing images.

Two of the presses and the opaque projector are still in use today. These functional dinosaurs sit among the latest G-5 Apple computers with 17' flat screens, Sony mini DV decks, four scanning stations, and a full range of print design, web design, and on-screen presentation software. The Graphics Room also has Ellison Lettering Machines, a color copier, a spiral binding machine, roll laminators, a spray mount booth and a ChartPrint Poster machine.

In the 1980s, the workshop was turned into a photographic dark room outfitted with six enlargers, two 35mm cameras and all the accompanying chemicals for black and white film developing. The dark room eventually evolved into an analogue video editing suite and office space for the graphic designer.

A partnership with the Washoe County School District was formed in 1985, and the LRC's print library quickly grew with the acquisitions added every year by the school district.  The textbook adoption preview section was added, along with a children's fiction and non-fiction section, a professional section, large and small kits, a Nevada section, and subscriptions to educational journals. The school district's library media technology coordinator was housed at the LRC and two part-time staff were added to help maintain the growing LRC collection and coordinate library services for the entire district. They continue to upgrade the cataloging software and have been instrumental in getting the LRC collection on the web for use by educators throughout northern Nevada. Currently the library coordinator and her staff administer services for 90 WCSD libraries and the LRC patron database includes 2,500 teachers that regularly check out materials from the resource center. This is a partnership that has flourished for more than 20 years.

As enrollments in the College of Education continued to grow and the college became the second largest on campus, a new facility was again needed. With $18 million from the Nevada State Legislature and millions in private donations, a new state-of-the-art College of Education became a reality in the summer of 1997 with 23 "smart" electronic classrooms equipped with the best technology of the day.

The 110,000 square foot, four story facility includes the four academic departments: Curriculum, Teaching and Learning (CTL), Educational Specialties (EDS), Counseling and Educational Psychology (CEP), and Educational Leadership (EL).  The building also became the home of the newly named Nell J. Redfield Learning and Resource Center, in addition to the Robert Z. Hawkins Regional Conference Center, the Clarence and Martha Jones Computer Center, the E.L.Cord Foundation Learning and Literacy Center, the Research and Educational Planning Center, the William Deneir Early Learning Center, the Margie Meyers Student Advisement Center, and the Downing Counseling Clinic. The college also houses the Raggio Research Center where Science Festivals are held throughout the year and research is conducted through collaborations in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

The legislature provided the mortar and bricks for the new building, but everything to fill the facility came from gracious donors. The LRC was fortunate to receive a $500,000 donation from the Nell J. Redfield Foundation over a five-year period. These funds provided additional wiring in the center to handle the latest technology, all the shelving to hold the 35,000 materials, and $100,000 toward the Design Lab with six stations for digital video editing that included purchasing high-end computers, monitors, furniture and additional wiring. The LRC has always been a leader in the area of educational technology, but the funding from the Redfield Foundation allowed the center to stay at the forefront of the high-tech curve and become the testing grounds for new and innovative educational media. Thousands of educators have benefited from this gift and they, in turn, have enriched the learning experience of tens of thousands of school children.

The LRC journey began nearly 40 years ago. It has flourished through three deans, four directors and three buildings. It has gathered momentum along its path and broken new ground time and time again. It stands as a model and example regularly toured by administrators planning a facility for their organization.

Because of the rapid and constant advancements in the technological field, it is a journey that will never have a final destination.