External Optical Drives: Check them out!

Mills Music Library is now circulating external optical drives! Patrons wishing to take home CDs and DVDs for listening and watching but lacking the means to do so now have this option. Computer manufacturers have been phasing out optical drives in computers and tablets for years, as more people consume audio and video media via streaming sites online or by downloading files to their devices. Not everyone has a standalone CD or DVD player at home anymore, and automobile manufacturers continue to phase out CD players in new vehicles.

Mills Music Library continues to acquire CDs and DVDs, in the interest of providing long-term access to scholarly and cultural materials. Not all sound recordings or videos are available to hear or view online, of course. Many recordings are being made available only through end-user license agreements that severely restrict the terms of use of online content, and these licenses prevent music libraries and collections from carrying out their core functions by legally restricting storage and distribution.

We have over 30,000 CDs, and over 1,200 DVDs, and they are ready to circulate—as are the external optical drives! The loan period for the drives will match that of audiovisual materials, dependent on patron group. Like audiovisual materials, the drives should be requested and checked out at the Mills Music Library Desk.