LibGuides: Library Content for Online Teaching and Learning: Streaming Videos

Leatherby Libraries Streaming Video Policy

Streaming Video Policy
Please scroll down to "Streaming Video" to find information for faculty who wish to request streaming videos for use in instruction and learning.

Streaming videos through Zoom or other video-conferencing software

The library does not recommend sharing streaming video through Zoom or other video-conferencing software, as it often results in poor audio and/or video quality. In addition, some streaming platforms have copyright protections and encryption in place which disables sound or images from being shared in this manner. We recommend directing students to view these materials on their own outside of class. For library-licensed streaming video resources, you may share permalinks to the content through Canvas or in the video-conference chat to direct students to the material.

Streaming Video Resources

Below are some of the top streaming video resources we recommend to assist with virtual teaching and online coursework.

To view a full list of streaming video resources offered by the Leatherby Libraries, please see the Database A-Z list.

Swank Digital Campus This link opens in a new window
Streaming films and documentaries from 30+ major studios. Our subscription provides the 1,000 most-requested videos on the platform (updated June 2024). Faculty may create accounts to request additional titles per the Streaming Video Policy. | How to create an instructor account and request films.
Kanopy This link opens in a new window
Streaming films and documentaries from Criterion Collection, Kino Lorber, The Great Courses, and Psychotherapy.net. Faculty may log in and request additional films on https://www.kanopy.com/search to be added per the Streaming Video Policy. | Terms of Use. Coverage: 1894-present.

Other recommended resources for streaming video:

Academic Video Online This link opens in a new window Cross-search subscribed video collections from Alexander Street Press. Virtually every video is fully transcribed in addition to being indexed for subjects, people, places, release date, language, publisher, and video type. Terms of Use.
Asian Film Online: Volume 1 This link opens in a new window A comprehensive repository of documentaries, feature films, and shorts that provides a first-hand perspective into contemporary Asian issues through the voices of Asian filmmakers and content producers. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1938-present.
Counseling and Therapy in Video Volumes I-V This link opens in a new window Provides 1500+ hours of streaming psychology and counseling videos, including demonstrations, training, sessions, reenactments, lectures, discussions, and workshops. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1985-present.
Dance in Video This link opens in a new window Contains dance productions and documentaries by the most influential performers and companies of the 20th century. Selections cover ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, experimental, and improvisational dance, as well as forerunners of the forms and the pioneers of modern concert dance. Terms of Use.
Digital Theatre+ This link opens in a new window Video recordings of theatre, audio, and poetry productions as well as interviews, lectures, documentaries, teaching materials, and written resources on all aspects of theatre. Terms of Use.
Drama Online: National Theatre Collections 1-3 This link opens in a new window Videos and images of National Theatre Live Broadcasts, including Greek legend, Shakespeare, and contemporary plays. Terms of Use. Coverage: 2010-2024.
JoVE This link opens in a new window Science videos illustrating key concepts, research techniques, and experiments in the fields of biology, chemistry, engineering, environmental sciences, psychology, medicine, and more. Terms of Use | Syllabus Mapping | Faculty Resource Center
Met Opera on Demand This link opens in a new window More than 800 Metropolitan Opera performances in streaming HD video. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1936-present.
New World Cinema: Major Independent Features and Shorts, 1990-Present This link opens in a new window Includes 200+ full-length feature films from leading independent distributors such as Kino Lorber, First Run Features, Film Movement, and Global Lens, as well as some 50 award-winning short films. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1990-present.
SAGE Research Methods Online This link opens in a new window A tool to learn about research methodologies through books, reference content, videos, case studies, and more. Helps users design research projects, understand particular methods or identify a new method, conduct their research, and write up their findings. | Terms of Use.
Silent Film Online This link opens in a new window Contains more than 1,000 streaming online films that represent the foundation of modern cinematic technique and film theory. The collection covers silent feature films, serials, and shorts. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1890s-1930s.
Socialism on Film This link opens in a new window The world as seen in documentaries, newsreels, and films by Soviet, Chinese, Vietnamese, Eastern European, and Latin American filmmakers. Access includes: Module 1: Wars & Revolutions. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1918-present.
Theatre in Video This link opens in a new window Includes nearly 2,000 plays by 419 playwrights, information on related productions, theaters, production companies, as well as selected playbills, production photographs and other related ephemera. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1930s-present. Restricted to 5 users at a time.
USC Shoah Foundation's Visual History Archive This link opens in a new window Streaming video of over 53,000 primary source testimonies of survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other crimes against humanity, including the Nanjing Massacre and the Guatemalan, Armenian, and Tutsi genocides. Terms of Use. Coverage: 1915-present.

Can the library license films from Netflix, (HBO) Max, Disney+, or a similar service?

Services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and so on rely on subscriptions from individual users. As a result, they do not allow institutions/universities to license their films or TV shows. On rare occasions, films from these services may become available in Kanopy or Swank, but if they are only through the subscription service, then it will not be possible for the library to license these films for faculty members.