Music and Dance Library Media Facilities


Turntable, receiver, and CD Player in the Music and Dance Library
Our Listening Room (room 240B) features a turntable and CD player.

The Joe and Joyce Hale Media Center features twelve Windows PCs for digital audio and video playback and general use, as well as eight Mac computers dedicated for media editing. The Mac computers feature Adobe suite editing programs, including Audition, Premiere Pro, and Photoshop, while all computers (Windows and Mac) feature the latest versions of Sibelius and Finale. Headphones are available for checkout at the circulation desk, as well as MIDI keyboards that may be used at the Mac workstations or with your own device in the library. The keyboards are fully compatible with Sibelius and Finale.

Patrons may play back digital recordings at any workstation, or they may use the sound system in our group listening room (room 240B) to listen to digital and vinyl recordings. CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes are held behind the service desk. To check out one of these items, find its call number in the online catalog and ask for it at the desk. Vinyl records are primarily stored in the Sound Archive collection in Anschutz or at the Library Annex; users wishing to check out vinyl records should be aware that there will be a delay while these items are shipped to the Music & Dance Library.

Sound recordings circulate to faculty, staff and graduate students for four months, and to undergraduate students and resident borrowers for six weeks. All video recordings circulate for one week to all borrower types. All of the library's sound and video recordings are listed in the online catalog. Some of the recordings and videos in the Sound Archive are listed in the online catalog; more will be added as work on the sound archive progresses. However, please check with the Performing Arts Librarian about holdings that are not yet listed in the online catalog.

Building Hours

Watson circulation desk

Full hours listing




Located in Gorton Music & Dance

  • Media Facilities

    The Joe and Joyce Hale Media Center features 12 Windows PCs for digital audio and video playback and general use, as well as eight Mac computers dedicated for media editing. Headphones are available for checkout at the circulation desk, as well as MIDI keyboards.

  • Digital Recordings

    Patrons may play back digital recordings at any workstation, or they may use the sound system in our group listening room (240B) to play digital and vinyl recordings. CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes are held behind the service desk.

  • Video Recordings

    Video recordings are available for one-week checkouts. All of the library's sound and video recordings are listed in the online catalog. Some of the recordings and videos in the Sound Archive are listed in the online catalog; more will be added as work on the sound archive progresses.

  • Sound Archive

    The University of Kansas Sound Archive is a closed research collection of more than 100,000 recordings representing the entire chronology of recorded sound.

  • Subject Guides

    Dance, film, music, theater, and vocal music are the subjects covered here.

  • Individual Study Rooms

    Reserve a space to focus on your coursework.