Policies

Mission

It is the NJIT Library’s mission to support instructors by providing materials such as films via streaming media for educational use. As the demand for film viewing increases in course curricula, the Library will strive to meet instructional needs by acquiring licenses for films via streaming media as well as educating the NJIT community on the unique issues that surround the ever-changing and complex environment of licensing digital media in the university setting.

Objective

NJIT Library’s primary role is to assist in obtaining licenses for streaming media for in-class viewing. An additional role is to provide streaming media licenses for students’ outside-of-class viewing after investigating all of the options available for a particular work.

Where feasible and budget permits, the secondary role is to provide streaming media licenses or student's outside-of-class viewing after investigating all of the options available for a particular work.

Clientele

Streaming media are procured for NJIT students and instructors who will benefit from teaching and learning with these unique resources. 

Guidelines and Procedures

The NJIT Library gathers licensing for films via streaming media on a case-by-case basis. All requested films must be part of a course curriculum that requires the viewing of the film. 

We currently provide licensing to films using the following platforms:

• Swank (https://www.swank.com/)
• Kanopy (https://www.kanopy.com/)

The Library will do its best to provide as many instructor requests for films as possible should they be required viewing for a course. However, due to several constraints, such as budget and licensing restrictions, we may not be able to fulfill every request. 

A film’s acquisition will be considered based on the following criteria: 

• Availability from specific platforms (primarily Swank and Kanopy)
• Licensing restrictions
• Available in DVD version only
• Streaming license for use from NJIT Media Repository (Kaltura or Panopto)
• Time of request (preference will be given to requests received 30 days prior to the start of the semester)
• Funds in the streaming media budget
• Other factors, such as: size of audience, number of requests per class (i.e. we may not be able to fulfill requests for numerous films in a single course), historical usage of specific titles

Requests are made by filling out the Streaming Media & DVD Request Form. 

Status of Requests

Film requests will be placed on a list for consideration and selected for licensing on a case-by-case basis. However, a film may not be licensed and available for streaming until 30 days before the semester begins.  Streaming media providers license films for only a limited time (typically one year). Beginning a license 30 days before the semester begins will ensure that students will have access to these films for an entire semester.  

Instructors will need to make film requests yearly – even if the same film has been licensed in the previous year – to ensure a new license is created for the upcoming semester. 

 Please consult our Streaming Media FAQ for more information.

Approved at the October 2022 Librarian Team Meeting