The IRC Online

Overview

The Information Resource Centre (IRC) has been an integral part of the Centre for Digital Media since the inauguration of the Masters program. Every year the IRC becomes a hub of student activity. Whether it is for research or recreation, the IRC is a favorite meeting place for students to share ideas, network with their peers, and experience all that campus life has to offer.

Mandate

The mandate of the IRC is to provide access to resources, services, and facilities that support and sustain the learning and knowledge acquisition of its patron base. The IRC also supports the aim of the Master’s program to foster the development of integrated, participatory-based production skills by virtue of offering students an invaluable opportunity to come together as a community and build social networks that will invariably carry over into their professional lives.

Collection Development Policy

The IRC differs in many respects from the traditional library. Unlike most library’s which create their collections based on internally generated expectations of their patron’s needs, the IRC collection development policy focuses on responding directly to the expressed needs of students and faculty, thus ensuring that the collection best reflects the needs and interests of its patrons.

Collection Content

The IRC currently offers access to a collection of over 2000 books, magazines, films, and video games. Our books and magazines cover a wide spectrum of subject matter including game design, computer programming, film production, improvisational techniques, and market-pitching methodology. Our film collection likewise offers a wide variety of items but is focused primarily on the works of great directors such as Kurosawa, Coppola, and Burton, or which have a distinct video game or comic book theme. The jewel of the IRC collection however is its video game selection. Thanks in large part to the very generous donations of our industry affiliate, Electronic Arts, the IRC supports one of the largest video game collections of any post-secondary institute in Canada. Our extensive collection supports a range of platforms including Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and Macintosh to name just a few.

Location On-Campus

The IRC Games Room is located onsite at the Great Northern Way Campus. It is situated on the second floor right above the faculty area. Access to the Games Room is restricted to the use of a student or staff key card. The physical stacks of the IRC collection are, unfortunately, closed at this time and can only be browsed using our online public access catalogue (OPAC).