During the Fall 2016 semester, the Gilmore Music Library will be piloting a new audio and video streaming service, a replacement for the Variations Digital Music System, called Avalon. Initially Avalon will be used to provide e-reserve content for classes, offering mediated streaming access (requiring a Yale Net ID and password) to sound recordings on compact disc or older formats in the Gilmore Music Library that are not currently available via one of the many audio databases that Yale University Libraries subscribes to, such as Naxos Music Library or Music Online. Any faculty or teaching assistants interested in using Avalon should contact Jonathan Manton, Music Librarian for Access Services, for more information. Avalon is already in use for a class in the Yale Department of Music entitled The Role of the Performer in the Musical Experience (MUSI 002), taught by Professor Michael Friedmann.
During the pilot phase, the Music Library and Yale University Library IT will work to identify and fix any issues that might occur, that did not surface during the testing phase for Avalon over the summer, as more users start to work with the tool. During the pilot, users should be aware of the following known issues that will be rectified as soon as possible:
- While a Yale Net ID and password are needed to access all recordings on e-reserve, use of the Yale VPN is also required at this time for off-campus access. It is hoped in time that off-campus users will not need to use the VPN.
- The mobile interface for Avalon is currently not functioning correctly. Users working with Avalon should therefore access content via a desktop or laptop machine.