Video Content: Finding Video Content: for Students
Finding Video Conent: for Students
This page provides information about locating video content for students at Miami University. Miami collects video on physical media (such DVDs and VHS cassette tapes), and also provides access to videos through streaming services, with a focus on videos requested by instuctors for teaching purposes. This guide provides informaton on how to see what videos Miami has, and some suggestions on how to look for video that is outside Miami's collections.
*Note that some video materials held by the Miami Libraries are stored on older formats such as VHS and DVD. DVDs and VHS tapes are stored in the Instructional Media Center in the basement of King Library. The center has viewing stations with DVD and VHS players available for you to use, and librarians who can help you get your video started.
Here are the top three ways that we recommend you look for a video you are interested in watching:
- Check Miami's library catalog. You can search for streaming and physical media held by the Miami libraries using the library catalog (see below for tips on searching).
- A website (such as Justwatch or Reelgood) that identifies paid commercial sources of streaming video and helps you compare the cost you will have to pay for access.
- Your local public library. Many public libraries are able to provide access to streaming video and other services to college students.
Finding Video Content in the Miami Library Catalog
The Miami library catalog is the best place to start when searching for video at Miami. The catalog provides information about all videos currently accessible through the Miami Libraries, including both streaming video and video on physical media, such as DVDs. While Miami holds video in many formats and has access to many video databases, all videos purchased and currently available through the Miami Libraries can be found using the Miami library catalog. The Miami library catalog does not search free video, and does not provide search results from commercial website such as Youtube or Amazon.
The Miami University library catalog
Some videos leased by Miami have expiration dates. See the expandable sections below for information about searching for videos in the catalog, and checking for expiration dates on streaming video content.
Searches made from the Library's homepage, with the default "Books and More" tab selected will produce search results that include video content, such as film available on DVDs or video streams. Once you have searched using the "Books and More" tab, you can narrow your search results to video only by expanding the "Material Type" tab to the left o the screen, and checking the box for "Videos" (see below).
In the above example, you can see that the item's Notes field indicates that this video will expire on November 30, 2019. If the item record for a video does not have an expiration date in the notes field, this is likely because Miami had purchased this video permanently, or because Miami pays to renew this resource on a continuing basis.