Spring 2022 Library Updates - Film and Media

You may place readings on course reserves, which are integrated into Canvas.  Since the move to online classes was unexpected, if you have students who do not have their books the first week of class, you can upload in course reserves a scan of the readings for the first week.  Also, the Libraries will manage and pay for any permissions required for readings placed in course reserves.  The exception may be commercial textbooks, which publishers often restrict from use on course reserves.  If you have any questions, email reserves@emory.edu or call 404-727-2230.

You may also check Library Search to see if the Libraries have your course texts as an ebook.  If you don’t find your course text as an ebook, or have questions, reach out to your subject librarian and/or review the Libraries ebook guide.

You can also place a request, whether for an ebook, book, DVD, etc. by completing a purchase request form.  However, please be aware that commercial textbook publishers will generally not sell electronic textbooks to libraries. This blog has more information on the challenges of commercial textbooks for online classes.

The Emory Libraries subscribe to numerous academic streaming video collections, and we license individual streaming video titles to support teaching and research. Highlights include: 

• Academic Video Online (AVON) 
• Docuseek2 Streaming Video
• Kanopy
• Swank Digital Campus

You can request or recommend streaming films by contacting your department's subject librarian, or using the Emory Libraries streaming video purchase request form. For Swank Digital Campus, you can also request titles for your course directly in the Swank Digital Campus portal.

In addition to the services listed above, the library can:

• License access to many Hollywood studio films and some television programs through Swank Digital Campus on a semester basis, as part of Course Reserves.
• Obtain a Digital Site License to host specialized streaming video titles not offered on the platforms listed above.

When planning to use video in courses, please bear in mind the following caveats:

• Not every film or television program on DVD is available for academic streaming due to the complexities of film rights and licensing.
• The library typically cannot provide institutional access to exclusive content on commercial platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. Their accounts are designed for individual users only.
• We recommend having a backup film or assignment lined up in case the library is unable to license the film you requested.
• If you only need students to view portions of a film (or program), you also have the option of creating clips from a DVD to use for your class. For more information, contact Steve Bransford, Senior Video Producer at the Emory Center for Digital Scholarship, or James Steffen, the Film and Media Studies Librarian.

The fulfillment time for streaming video course requests varies greatly by supplier, their average response time, and whether the library needs to negotiate a new license for the video. Typically, streaming videos fall under one of three scenarios:  

Faster (1 week average) 

• The supplier provides access on their own platform which is already set up with us and they have a rapid turnaround time
• Examples: Kanopy, Docuseek2, Swank Digital Campus.
• Note: Swank Digital Campus may require a 4-6 week lead time and additional fees if they have the streaming rights but do not have the streaming video content for that title already hosted.

Medium (2-4 weeks average) 

• We have an established relationship with the supplier and they usually have a good turnaround time, but we have to host on our own server. 
• Examples: Women Make Movies, GoodDocs, Grasshopper Film 

Longer (1 month or longer) 

• Smaller distributors, especially when we do not have an established relationship. 
• Videos that do not have clearly identified licensors for streaming and require further rights research on our part.

For “longer” titles in particular we recommend having a backup plan in place.