In 2011 a joint subcommittee of the Libraries Committee and the IT Committee was convened to discuss video on demand services for curricular use of films. Members were Victor Bissonnette (Psychology), Sherre Harrington (Library, chair), Josh Hayes (SGA representative to IT Committee), Curt Hersey (Communication), John Hickman (Government & International Studies), Tom Hocut (IT), Martha Reynolds (Library), Dan Robb (Physics).
Attending: Victor Bissonnette, Sherre Harrington (chair), Josh Hayes, Curt Hersey, John Hickman, Tom Hocut, Martha Reynolds, Dan Robb
The committee recommended a semester- or year-long trial of one or more web-based video products during the 2011-12 academic year. Following trials of two subscription services, Films on Demand and Alexander Street Critical Video Editions, and based on faculty evaluations, Memorial Library subscribed to:
Friday, April 15, 2011
Attending were Sherre Harrington (chair), Curt Hersey, John Hickman, Tom Hocut & Martha Reynolds. Victor Bissonnette, Joshua Hayes & Daniel Robb were unable to attend.
After discussion of the how the faculty members in the group use films in their teaching, the desirability of offering streaming video services for course-related films, and the options for doing so, we concluded that the best approach for determining the usefulness of subscription-bases services would be to offer a semester- or year-long trial of at least one of the major products (Films on Demand or Alexander Street). Options for funding the trial include attempting to negotiate an extended free trial of one of the products, using funds from the library's 2011-12 regular allocation for audio-visual materials, and/or using funds from one of the library's endowed funds. Funds will also be reserved for the purchase of films not available via the subscription.
Pricing for Films on Demand: $9,000 per year for the full package. Films on Demand pricing is based on FTE & Carnegie classification. Each collection can also be purchased individually – the prices are:
Pricing for Alexander Street: $13,277 for the full package. Alexander Street pricing is based on FTE + total library materials budget. Each collection can also be purchased individually – the prices are:
They also expect to launch an undergraduate collection in the fall that can be expeced to be somewhat less expensive.
Both products include public performance rights in the license; are for unlimited simultaneous users on & off campus; and have authenticated html embed codes that allow direct access to videos from within course pages. Both have partnerships with PBS, the BBC & others, but only Films on Demand has content from Films for the Humanities & Sciences.
We were also interested in possibilities for digitizing films already purchased in DVD or VHS format. Sherre agreed to collect additional information. However, at today’s webcast Video in the Library: Trends and Best Practices, we were reminded of the lawsuit against UCLA brought by the Association for Information and Media Equipment. AIME represents 16 educational media companies & objected to UCLA’s practice of streaming copyrighted videos on course websites, saying that since course websites are not classrooms, “fair use” exemptions for educational use do not apply. One of the webcast speakers indicated that UCLA has filed a motion to dismiss that will be decided soon, suggesting that it makes sense to wait to see what the outcome is. Links about the suit were added to the video on demand LibGuide: http://libguides.berry.edu/vod
Films On Demand is the web-based digital video delivery service that allows you to view streaming videos from Films Media Group anytime, anywhere, 24/7. Choose from more than 5,500 educational titles in dozens of subject areas. Special features allow users the ability to organize and bookmark clips, share playlists, personalize folders and manage their entire collection through an administrative reporting system. Films On Demand delivers high-quality digital video ideal for students and faculty through online catalogs and learning management systems.
Trial Account
Username: berrycol
Password: digital
Alexander Street Critical Video Editions provides subject-specific content developed by the BBC,PBS, Creative Arts Television, ArtHaus Musik, Pennebaker, Hegedus Films, Cunningham Dance Foundation, Insight Media, and many other publishers and broadcast companies.
For the Alexander Street Press Streaming Video Database trials, access each product individually at the URLs below. You’ll be prompted for the username & password when you attempt to view a film:
User ID: reviewer
Password: 4excelsior53
Bill Davin, 5/6/2011: I have looked at both services and from the science aspect I don’t see anything on the Alexander Street Service that would be of use to us. On the other hand, the Films on Demand have a bunch of very useful videos that would be great for a number of the majors (Biology, geology, EVS, etc). My recommendations would be for the Films on Demand! Thanks for giving us the opportunity to view these services.
Mike Morgan, 5/6/2011: Films on Demand provides a better representation of science-related films.
Stan Pethel, 5/6/2011: Some excellent music related videos. I’ve encouraged music faculty to check it out.
Brian Jory, 5/6/2011: I lean towards Films on Demand.
Christy Snider: 5/16/2011: I’ve checked out both Films On Demand and Alexander Street Critical Video Editions. I am personally a lot more impressed by the Alexander Street Video system than the Films on Demand. Not only does the Alexander Street collection have a much larger number of videos concerning American history, but it allows the user to make clips of exactly what they want to show in class. So that I can pull 1-2 or 3 minutes out of an hour long video if I wanted. Or, I could show 30 minutes of the video. For the films on demand, it looks like you have to either show the entire video or begin it at one of their pre-determined segments – I couldn’t figure what you would have to do to show several segments in a row. While the Films on Demand segments are handy and provide a good selection of short pre-developed clips, I’d much rather have the control to make my own clips – showing exactly the amount of material I wanted.
The searching functions on Alexander Street Video Systems is also much better. On Films on Demand searching is primarily by keyword and broad subject area like ‘humanities’. Alexander Street Video has all its American history videos classified by their time period, event, and specific subject (like Civil Rights, Civil War, Louisa May Alcott), as well as being able to search the transcription of the video for keywords.
Given these choices, I think the Alexander Street Video Collection is far superior both in breadth and utility than Films on Demand (at least for American history).
Examples of libraries that offer to digitize material from their collection for classroom use:
The AIME v. UCLA case centered on a copyright infringement case filed by the AIME and Ambrose Video against UCLA for its videostreaming of digitized material for classroom use. The district court dismissed the case with prejudice in November 2012 (see "November 26, 2012, memo", below), after previously dismissing it in 2011 but accepting an amended complaint.
Ciara Healy, Netflix in an Academic Library: A Personal Case Study, Library Trends, Volume 58, Number 3, Winter 2010, pp. 402-411.
In a sense, libraries that use Netflix or other similar services where they rent but don't own are playing with fire. Their comfort is that those services tend to avoid pursuing actions against educational institutions, but their actions are still outside of the legal limits of copyright law. ("First Sale Doctrine," UNC, 2010)
Given the potential high risks that a Netflix lending program entails, though, I would only enter into such a program with the full support of my institution’s legal department. ("Using Netflix in a Library," Peter Hirtle, LibraryLaw, Sep. 2010)
Netflix says library distribution of rented DVD’s or streaming video violates its terms of use. ("Academic Libraries Add Netflix Subscriptions," Chronicle of Higher Education, Sep. 18, 2010)
Summing up the issue and the distinction between copyright and license violations, Duke University Scholarly Communications officer Kevin Smith told LJ that the practice described raised a red flag: [A] library creating a Netflix account and using it to request items for professors who then borrow those items from the library seems problematic to me. Assuming, as I do, that the disc loaned by Netflix is “lawfully made,” there really is not a copyright problem here (based on the exclusive distribution right) since the first sale doctrine would seem to apply. But the library may well be in violation of the terms of use imposed by Netflix whenever a member joins. ("If Netflix Use Isn't Kosher, Can Libraries Find an Alternative?" Library Journal, Sep. 21, 2010)