KU Libraries’ extensive streaming video options set to expand with new agreements
An extensive collection of streaming video resources provided by University of Kansas Libraries is expanding further with three new agreements. KU Libraries has added nearly 10,000 titles through Kanopy’s Bundled Academic Subscription for Education (BASE), the top 1,000 titles from Swank Digital Campus, and will add more than 1,200 from Films on Demand’s World Cinema Collection.
Accessible to patrons with a KU online ID and password (@ku.edu accounts), the new agreements further provide convenient, on-demand access to films that support teaching and learning. All titles will be searchable in the KU Library Catalog and in the individual streaming platform interfaces.
“The demand for curricular use of streaming video has been on the rise and has increased significantly since the start of the pandemic," said Sara E. Morris, KU Libraries Head of Collections Strategy and Development. “KU Libraries is excited to offer these new collections, which significantly broaden and increase the types of titles we provide. By adding these products to our offerings, we hope to have useful content for all academic areas and enhance teaching and learning at KU. It’s our hope that these materials can be integrated into coursework as instructors prepare for the next academic year and beyond.”
These agreements build on KU Libraries’ other streaming video offerings, which also include Academic Video Online, Ambrose Video, Digitalia Film Library, Vanderbilt Television News Archive and Met Opera, among others. Some titles include public performance rights (PPR) – showing a film to a group of people in a public space – while others are restricted to individual or classroom use. A full list of video platforms is available in the Streaming Video LibGuide.
Kanopy BASE | BASE Title List
KU Libraries has long provided access to Kanopy, a conglomeration that included all of its Criterion Collection, California Newsreel and PBS collections, among others. Developed with librarian and educator feedback, the Kanopy BASE package includes a wide array of 10,000 titles covering multiple courses of study. Kanopy BASE was added to KU’s Libraries’ Kanopy collection on April 1.
Films and documentaries in the Kanopy BASE collection range from core curricular subjects like race and class studies, sociology and education, to subjects that cater to the whole student like mental health, psychology, and health and fitness. Kanopy BASE’s comprehensive collection has been designed as a stable academic reference and resource that will grow with time.
Swank Top-1000 Collection | Swank Title List
The Swank Top-1000 collection from Swank Digital Campus, available through KU Libraries on May 1, provides access to the most-requested films in Swank’s collection of over 25,000 feature films, documentaries and foreign films from the largest movie studios, including Walt Disney, Warner Bros., Paramount, NBCUniversal, Columbia Pictures, Lions Gate, MGM, Miramax and more.
The titles in the Top-1000 collection – adjusted annually in June – reflect a wide range of topics and academic disciplines and are available for use in research and teaching. Popular titles currently include Academy Award Best Picture winners like “American Beauty,” “Casablanca,” “Ghandi,” “The Godfather,” “The King’s Speech,” “Moonlight,” and “Schindler’s List.” Previously, KU Libraries licensed individual titles from Swank. Titles in this collection do not include PPR.
Films on Demand’s World Cinema Collection | FOD World Cinema Title List
KU Libraries already provide Films on Demand, but are adding an additional 1,285 titles with a pending agreement to include the World Cinema Collection in May. The collection includes titles from Africa, America, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East, films from the silent era, from the mid-20th century, as well as award-winning contemporary works. The agreement will increase access to non-English films, with subtitles available on foreign language films.
In addition to streaming video, KU Libraries maintain a collection of physical media items (DVDs, CDs) for use by patrons. The majority of KU’s film DVD collection, as well as books on films and motion pictures, can be found in Watson Library, with more discipline-specific holdings at branch libraries like the Gorton Music and Dance Library on the second floor of Murphy Hall and the Murphy Art and Architecture Library in the basement of Spencer Art Museum.