Streaming video at the University at Albany Libraries
| Pages | 26-29 |
| Published date | 02 January 2018 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/CC-01-2018-004 |
| Date | 02 January 2018 |
| Author | Mary K. VanUllen,Emily Mock,Emmalyn Rogers |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Collection building & management |
Streaming video at the University at
Albany Libraries
Mary K. VanUllen and Emily Mock
University at Albany –State University of New York, Albany, New York, USA, and
Emmalyn Rogers
University of Alabama, Huntsville, Alabama, USA
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this study is to examine the options for streaming video service available to libraries and determine which platform would
best fit the needs of the University at Albany Libraries.
Design/methodology/approach –Usage data and faculty and student feedback about the streaming video collections already in use by the
libraries were compiled to evaluate current needs, and information was gathered about a selection of additional streaming video platforms to be
considered.
Findings –It was determined that a multi-disciplinary collection with a patron-driven-style subscription model would be the best choice to add to
the libraries streaming video offerings.
Research limitations/implications –This study focuses on the needs and experiences of the University at Albany Libraries, but the methodology
can be used by other institutions assessing their own collections.
Originality/value –Most of the current literature related to streaming video in libraries focuses on building new collections, with little discussion of
adding to existing collections –a gap which this study aims to fill.
Keywords Academic libraries, Collection building, Case study, University at Albany, Vendors, Streaming video platforms
Paper type Research paper
Tracing its roots back to 1844, the University at Albany is a
research institution with a student enrollment of over 17,000 in
nine schools and colleges. An Association of Research Libraries
member, the University at Albany Libraries owns more than 2.2
million print volumes and approximately 6,000 videos in physical
formats. Streaming video is a relatively new introduction, and
understanding the optimal products for student and faculty use is
a complicated matter.
Streaming video as a format brings with it a number of
collection development challenges. No one vendor provides
access to all of the titles the campus needs. As noted by
Ferguson and Erdmann (2016), librarianscan select individual
titles as requested by faculty, add discipline-specific packages
or look to patron-drivenor demand-driven acquisition (PDA or
DDA) models with broader discovery pools exposed to the
campus community. Content can be purchased for the life of
the file or licensed, commonly with a one- to three-year term,
and the cost of individualtitles can be high.
The University at Albany Libraries’first streaming video
resource, American History in Video –a collectionof primarily
documentary and contemporaneous newsreel footage –was
purchased in 2010. It was well-receivedby facultyand students
in the History department, who were early adopters of
streaming video in the classroom.
It was several years before additional subject-specificvideo
resources were added. In 2014, the University Libraries added
Psychotherapy.net, selecting a 40-title collection of videos
relevant to social work, as requested by faculty. Psychotherapy.
net offers a collection of more than 300 titles, and we have been
able to modify individual selections annually based on curricular
needs. In 2015, three science resources –JoVE Behavior and
JoVE Neuroscience, both peer-reviewed video journals and JoVE
Science Education Database –were added. JoVE resources
demonstrate experimental techniques and concepts to
researchers and students in a visual manner. Latin America in
video, a collection of over 400 titles was added in 2016.
As the popularity of commercial providers such as Netflix,
Hulu and Amazon Video skyrocketed, the demand for
expanded academic offerings rose from faculty and students,
and the Libraries looked to increasing access to a broad base of
titles. In 2015, EBSCO began to include a substantial
collection of AssociatedPress video clips of primary source and
documentary footage with several popular research databases,
but unfortunately the usefulness of this collection has been
severely limited because of the unavailability of persistent links
(EBSCO InformationServices, 2017).
Inthesameyear,theLibrariesbeganaPDAlicensewith
Kanopy, which hosts a large collection of quality films, including
content from Criterion Collection, Great Courses, Kino Lorber,
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on
Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/2514-9326.htm
Collection and Curation
37/1 (2018) 26–29
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 2514-9326]
[DOI 10.1108/CC-01-2018-004]
Received 10 May 2017
Revised 11 August 2017
Accepted 28 August 2017
26
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