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Film Resources at the Library

Finding Films Elsewhere

Whittemore Library is a member of MLN, the Minuteman Library Network.  You can search for books, films, and other multimedia materials in Whittemore Library only or you may search the whole network.  With a Minuteman library card, you are able to request materials from any Minuteman library and may have them sent to Whittemore or any other member library for your convenience.

DVD Digitization and Streaming

The Whittemore Library will assist faculty members to stream media required for use in their online courses. Physical media material that is not required for course content can be placed on Reserves. Digitized physical media streaming is for students enrolled in courses that instructors have requested the materials for. Streamed content can only be made available for student use once authenticated by the University’s learning management system. The Library subscribes to streaming media databases that included appropriate viewing rights. Faculty requests to convert DVDs to digital media for use in classrooms will be reviewed on a title-by-title basis for copyright compliance. DVDs to be converted must be owned either by Faculty, a department, or by the Whittemore Library.

Faculty will consult with the Library on how the content will be used in the online class. The Library will inform faculty about any copyright considerations. If the Library is able to secure a streaming copy, then this copy would be used instead of the DVD. The digitized content from the DVD will be uploaded onto Panopto and the link will be emailed to the faculty to provide secured access through the University’s learning management system.

The Library complies with U.S. Copyright Code and other related laws including but not limited to the Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act (TEACH Act) and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

Procedure

  1. Faculty will submit a request to convert their DVD to a digital format through the Request to Digitize DVD form.
  2. The Library will check its streaming video databases to see if there is a streaming version available. If a streaming copy is not available in the library subscription database and the Library is unable to purchase the streaming license, the Library will schedule a consultation with the faculty member to discuss copyright considerations for the Library to be able to convert the DVD to digital format. The consultation should include a discussion about the portion of the film that will be used, the pedagogical rationale, and fair use considerations.
  3. After the consultation, the Library will have two weeks to process the request.
  4. The instructor is responsible for posting the URL to the learning management system class site. Instructors must apprise students of copyright restrictions applicable to specific films, including but not limited to restrictions on capturing streamed content and distributing streamed content.
  5. All links to streamed content should be removed at the end of each semester or at the end of a specified period of time during the semester.