Using Video at Western

• Finding Streaming Content: Western Libraries provides access to a large number of licensed streaming videos. As instructors are planning their syllabi, we recommend checking OneSearch first--or contacting the Media Librarian--to see if there are films already available that will work with the curriculum.
• Course Reserves: Instructors may include streaming media in course reserves by using the Course Reserves Request Form. More information about course reserves is available on the Course Reserves page. Instructors can also add links to streaming media directly to their Canvas pages. Due to the high volume of e-reserve requests, this may be the fastest option in some cases. For help embedding streaming links in Canvas, contact your subject team.
• Copyright: The Libraries has license agreements with various streaming providers to make these films available to Western faculty, staff, and students. 
• Help: For help locating appropriate streaming content, contact your subject team or the Media Librarian. Contact the Reserves Specialist for help placing streaming media items on course reserves.

• Student Subscriptions: If you intend to use feature films in your class, consider asking your students to pay for content from a streaming provider such as The Criterion Channel, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc.
• Copyright: Each provider will have a different license agreement. We encourage you to read the terms of each license.
• Help: Consult an online video aggregator such as JustWatch.com to see which titles are available on major commercial streaming providers.

Western Libraries Streaming Digital Media Request Form

Video tutorial for completing form

• Criteria for Leasing: Western Libraries supports curricular-based streaming video as best we can given the budget constraints, restrictive vendor licensing terms, high costs (typical streaming rights for one year are $150-$600 per film), and the need for equitable distribution of streaming across the university. Because funding is limited, requests will be evaluated based on their relevance to specific coursework. The Libraries will accept requests from faculty, staff, and students until the streaming media budget for each quarter has been expended. Given the current online-only teaching and learning landscape, the Libraries is prepared to allocate greater funding for streaming content than in previous academic years.
• Duplication: At the Libraries’ discretion, streaming titles already owned on DVD may be leased, if needed, for an online course.
• Commercially Available Film: The Libraries does not typically lease streaming rights for films which are readily available at a reasonable cost to students through commercial services such as Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon. However, given the current online-only teaching and learning landscape and the financial strain facing many of our students, the Libraries may acquire streaming rights for these types of films on a case-by-case basis. Consult an online video aggregator such as JustWatch.com to see which titles are available on major commercial streaming providers. Contact the Media Librarian for guidance on what library streaming options might be available and which approach is most appropriate.
• Time Constraints: Apart from a few streaming providers, such as Kanopy, setting up streaming agreements with vendors can be time-consuming. Requesters should plan ahead, since it can take several weeks to license these materials.
• Renewals: Upon expiration of a license--usually after one year--the Libraries will not proactively initiate a renewal. If a streaming title continues to be needed for a course beyond one year, the instructor should submit a new request for leased access, to be evaluated based on the leasing criteria outlined above.
• Help: For help requesting streaming content, contact the Media Librarian or your subject team. For assistance in navigating the leasing request process, contact Library Acquisitions.

• Hosting Video in Canvas: Canvas allows instructors to host media files up to a certain size for their courses.
• Copyright: If you have a video file you’d like to use in a course, consider doing a Fair Use evaluation to determine whether you can host the media yourself. See the Western Libraries copyright FAQ for more information about this process and the criteria involved.
• Help: For questions about copyright, contact the Scholarly Communications Librarian. For questions about working with Canvas, contact the ATUS Canvas support team.

• Converting Media: The Libraries does not currently have the infrastructure to convert physical media to digital formats.
• Accessibility Accommodations: If you need a media item to be converted for accessibility reasons, please notify the Libraries and/or contact the Disability Access Center (DAC). The Libraries will work with DAC and Video Services to ensure that physical media collections are accessible to all users.
• Online Courses: For online courses, contact the Media Librarian to discuss alternatives to digitization.
• Help: For questions about digitizing physical media, contact the Media Librarian or the Scholarly Communications Librarian.

• Requests: Faculty, staff, and students may request DVD items for purchase; these requests will be evaluated based on cost, availability through Summit, and curricular relevance. Preference will be for items that are available with closed captioning; if a DVD does not include captions, Libraries personnel may contact you to double-check the need before making a purchase.
• Help: Contact the Media Librarian. For help navigating the request process, contact Library Acquisitions.

• COVID-19 and Online Learning: With the transition to online learning in Spring 2020, some of the guidance listed here regarding classroom screenings is no longer applicable. Please contact the Media Librarian, the Scholarly Communications Librarian, or your subject team for help exploring current classroom screening options. DVDs and other media formats may still be checked out via Onsite Pickup or Mail. For assistance checking out physical media, contact the Media Librarian or Circulation Services.
• Copyright: Section 110(1) of the Copyright Act of 1976 permits instructors at nonprofit educational institutions to show entire films in the course of face-to-face classroom teaching provided that the video was lawfully made and acquired.
• Help: For technical help showing DVDs and other media formats in your classroom, contact Classroom Services or ATUS. For help locating or reserving a media item, contact Circulation Services.

• COVID-19 and Online Learning: Physical course reserves are not currently available. More information about course reserves is available on the Course Reserves page, including the most current updates on the status of reserves services. Contact the Reserves Specialist for help.
• Copyright: DVDs and other media in the Libraries collection may be loaned out and viewed under the First Sale Doctrine.

Both DVDs and streaming options can work for this purpose, though given the current online teaching and learning environment, library DVDs are not recommended for class assignments.

Not all films are available to purchase in streaming format for the library and may be prohibitively expensive for the library to lease. This is especially true of feature films. In that case, we recommend contacting the Media Librarian to determine the best approach—be it asking your students to rent or purchase from a streaming platform or selecting different material. We can help you identify which platforms carry a specific film or you can also check on this yourself by looking at a site such as JustWatch. Some faculty may be hesitant to ask students to rent a film online. However, students are used to watching films this way. The fee is quite modest (generally 3 or 4 dollars) and can be considered analogous to purchasing a book for classroom use. We will work with you to identify the ways in which films may be available.

Using film and video in online classes

For online classes, streaming video is the best option for students to access films for class. As already mentioned, for reasons of availability and cost, the libraries may not be able to license every film needed. Asking students to rent or purchase access from an online platform is a common way that faculty make films available to their students. Contact us for further help with this as you are planning your course.