Kanopy Videostreaming Service Offered By Library For Faculty

Kanopy LogoKanopy, our on-demand streaming video service, is a wonderful resource and we are happy to see it being so well-used.  However, our library materials budget is limited and we cannot sustain the current level of spending. This academic year we have already spent over $14,000 to lease about 90 films (an important note here is that we do not own the films, we only purchase access to each one for one year). In order to continue this service we need to reduce the cost.

Previously, Kanopy films were automatically purchased after 30 seconds of viewing by any user with access to the library, including walk in visitors.

In an effort to eliminate purchases being triggered by casual users and focus on class-related use of the rich academic material included in Kanopy, we have made the following changes:

1. We removed films to which we do not have current access from the catalog. (We used to have all 21,000+ films listed, available for viewing and automatic triggering).

2. Kanopy films to which we do have current access still appear in the catalog for the use of the whole campus community. These will be removed at the end of the one-year subscription period. New films to which we have purchased access are added promptly to the catalog for immediate availability.

3. All films available through Kanopy can still be browsed via the database A-Z list; however, we have added a statement that films can only be requested by faculty:

Kanopy Database Screenshot

4. We moved the Kanopy films listing on Accessing Films at SHU so now Kanopy is part of Streaming for classroom use further supporting the idea that Kanopy films are for academic purposes rather than entertainment. Note that we have other streaming video resources listed there as well.

5. Faculty can browse, search and request Kanopy films directly through the Kanopy interface. Films to which we have access will appear first. To watch or request a video:

          • Click on the film you want, or mouse over it and click on “watch”. If we have access to the film it will open and give a prompt to play it. You will not know if we have access to a film until you click on it – do not assume we have access simply because you see a film’s cover shown on the Kanopy site!
          • Note that you will always see this message at the top of the page, but that does not mean the film is not available—you should be able to play the video:

Limited Access Message

          • If the film is not available, instead of the “play video” or “watch” option you will be prompted to fill in this request form:

Request Form Screenshot

Videos requested by faculty typically will be available within two working days and often less.

If you have questions about Kanopy, please contact:
Acquisitions Librarian Sulekha.Kalyan@shu.edu


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