New Technology Thanks to Old Friends
A research assistant in Cornell’s department of evolutionary biology and behavior is creating an educational film on the nesting behavior of the common bluebird. She has raw footage captured at nesting boxes in the field but needs to cut, edit and paste the raw segments together to make the film. Where does she go to do her work? To the John L. Stone Computing Center at Mann Library, where, thanks to a generous gift by Hank ’59 and Ruthanne Parker, a powerful computer work station has recently been equipped with all the video editing equipment and software she'll need to get the project done.
From the moment Mann Library’s doors open at 8 am until the library’s close each midnight, the Stone Center is one of the busiest places in the library. What makes this Center so effective?
Support from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Human Ecology ensures the reliable availability of the Stone Center’s basic line-up of computers, peripherals, and software. But the Stone Center’s ability to take advantage of the newest innovations in information technology and to fully meet the sometimes highly specific computer needs of our patrons is made possible by the support of friends and alumni. In addition to special gifts, like the video-editing equipment funded by Hank and Ruthanne Parker, computer technology at the Stone Center is supported by key endowments, such as the John L. Stone Fund, established by Prof. Stone’s grandson Girard Haviland ‘48 and the Rebecca Q. and James Morgan Mann Library Technology Fund, given by Becky ’60 and Jim ’60 Morgan, alums of the College of Human Ecology and College of Engineering respectively.
These resources have helped Mann Library purchase special equipment, software, high-end servers and other tools. They help guarantee that Cornell students and faculty gain maximum utility from the exciting opportunities to be found on the information technology frontier. In a word, they help make creative science happen at Mann Library.
