When it comes to streaming video, librarians can have it all

“There are certain titles I know professors like to use a lot,” says Chris Martin, head of access services and interim assessment coordinator at Loyola University Chicago Libraries. “The series Race: The Power of an Illusion, that’s been a really important series educationally and our most used title overall.”

Martin has worked in libraries for 16 years and been a librarian since 2012. It was during the pandemic that he persuaded LUC to become a streaming-only campus when it came to acquiring new titles.

And he is proud of the variety of titles he has in his collection. It’s a mix, he says, “between Hollywood and classic foreign titles, ones important for film studies.” But he also has access to documentaries in just about every subject from physics and philosophy to architecture and design, plus strictly educational materials. “We can provide quite a bit.”

“But cost is always a factor based on our budget considerations,” he adds thoughtfully. “That’s something always at the forefront of my mind.”

Any librarian reading this is likely nodding their head in agreement.

So how then has Martin brought his streaming media cost-per-use down from a high of 70 cents to just 23 cents? A savings of 300 percent. How has he managed to meet faculty demand, expand his collection and remain fiscally sound?

Martin seems to be saying: Yes, librarians, we can have it all. Let’s explore how.

START SMALL AND GO FROM THERE

The good news is librarians can dip their toe in the water before wading into the ocean of streaming content available to them. Which means budget integrity can be achieved.

“We started really small and conservative and have gradually built it up,” Martin says. “It took years to get to the point where we are now.” One large trend helped. As DVDs have become outdated, Martin was able to free up money to spend on streaming.

Martin concedes, however, that scale eventually matters. That’s because the fewer titles a school makes available for viewing, combined with a low watch rate, translates into a high cost-per-use, that initial 70 cent number.

But as viewership rises over time, and the number of titles grows, a school’s cost-per-use can begin to drop. And using a variety of lending models allows for catalog expansion and higher viewership.

The real problem comes in, Martin cautions, “if there's zero budget.” It’s then that librarians have “no options.” Which is why he advises libraries must start somewhere.

“There are ways to really think creatively from a content provision standpoint.” Even if you start small, “that has value.”

USE THE SMART PDA MODEL TO STRATEGICALLY MANAGE COSTS

Patron-driven acquisition (PDA), also known as demand-driven acquisition (DDA), is nothing new to librarians. The same model for acquiring e-books has been on the scene since the late nineties

What some librarians may not be aware of is how Smart PDA from Kanopy works. Rather than relying upon a set-it-and-forget-it process, librarians have access to tools and resources allowing them to actively monitor and manage their collection – and the associated costs.

In a nutshell, a budget is set aside upfront for what Martin calls “a pool” of streaming titles that the school has decided to make immediately available to students and faculty as well as titles that faculty can request to add to the pool. But LUC Libraries are only charged a license fee once viewership of specific titles crosses a certain threshold.

“On an annual basis,” Martin says, “we’ll track how many licenses were used in our pool, what our charges are for a given month and then work with our team here on cost management.”

But Martin also evaluates whether to add new titles to that pre-paid pool. “If someone requests something that we haven’t already added to that pool, then I look at the request and try to decide if it’s something we need to add or not.”

In short, then, Kanopy’s Smart PDA model allows LUC to monitor, manage and alter their collection based upon faculty requests and budgetary constraints. It’s an active, strategic process where the librarian has full control.

“Smart PDA did help us from a streamline standpoint. It resulted in less cataloguing and less hands-on time.”

PARTNER WITH A CONTENT ANALYST TO FIND EFFICIENCIES

One of the most helpful aspects Martin enjoys with Kanopy is working with Emma Covelli, his content workflow analyst. Covelli, who holds an MLIS degree, checks in with him on a quarterly basis to review LUC’s content usage and budget projections.

“She’ll make recommendations if we’re underspending or overspending,” Martin says, which is necessary not just for cost containment, but also for the most gratifying part of investing in streaming video: content acquisition.

Thanks to their collaboration, Martin’s been able to add more licensed content to LUC’s pool as well as purchase additional subscriptions falling outside of it. In other words, it’s possible to achieve a streaming video content workflow that allows for expansion while remaining efficient.

“The idea,” Martin says, “is to recognize that if you have some dollars to spend, you can still use that money wisely.”

CHOOSE A PROVIDER OFFERING THE CONTENT YOUR SCHOOL NEEDS

Martin laughs recalling an anecdote about a professor who told him they wanted “something really easy, something YouTube-like…a one-stop shop” for educational content. While Martin may not be able to provide exactly that, he says he “can provide a selection of content providers that offer as much breadth as possible.”

Which may be why he turns to Kanopy again and again to meet the needs of LUC instructors. In fact, Martin reports that the service is the most used at LUC Libraries. This falls in line with a 2022 Ithaka S+R study revealing that 83% of higher ed libraries have a licensing agreement with Kanopy, more than with any other provider. “They have a really comprehensive collection,” Martin says, “and cover a lot of content areas, particularly in academia, that are really important.”

When asked for specifics, Martin first mentions the Criterion Collection. “There’s, like, 550 Criterion titles available. So many critically acclaimed and award-winning films like Paris Is Burning (Jennie Livingston, 1990), Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica, 1949), and The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman, 1958).” Having access to that catalog is “a really important piece” because it helps him meet the needs of film studies, communications and history departments.

But Kanopy is also where Martin turns for media needed by social and natural science professors. “We do have some content from The Great Courses that gets used a fair amount,” he adds, as well as PBS series and influential documentaries like I Am Not Your Negro, based on an unfinished work by James Baldwin.

And for librarians such as Martin who value diversifying the films their classrooms consume, Kanopy is also a strong solution. In a recent survey of academic librarians that Kanopy commissioned, 77 percent say DEI is crucial to their streaming video collection. Yet 65 percent report that their current offerings do not meet their students' need for diverse cinema.

“They’ve made it very clear,” Martin says of Kanopy, “especially in the last few years, that as a B corporation, DEI is important to them. They've sought to provide additional content and make sure that they're addressing DEI needs, which are important to us.”

Finally, Martin mentions two additional points that keep him aligned with Kanopy. “From a UI [user interface] standpoint it seems to be the easiest for people to use.” Ithaka S+R’s survey also mentions this. And Kanopy has the strongest brand recognition. “Faculty in particular,” he says, “think of Kanopy when they think of streaming media.”

STREAMING MEDIA IS THE FUTURE

“I see streaming media as very important,” Martin adds. “My job is to make sure we're providing an array of materials that help address the pedagogical needs of our students, faculty and staff.”

One way he accomplishes this is by partnering with Kanopy. “When the pandemic hit,” Martin says, “we realized that streaming was here to stay, and that it was going to be our future investment for the most part.” The era of DVDs appears to be over.

Martin’s strategy is backed up by data published by Ithaka S+R: “Libraries predict that the proportion of their materials budget dedicated to streaming media will double over the next five years.”

Faculty feedback at LUC has been positive. “I think people are happy to have more streaming content,” Martin says. “The reception to what we offer, and our service, has been good. People appreciate that we have this.”

Important to keep in mind is the number one factor influencing streaming media decisions. According to Ithaka S+R’s survey, with 96 percent of librarians reporting, the “impact on instruction” shapes their choices more than anything else when purchasing and renewing streaming media licenses.

And remember, it’s okay to start small. “For peers wondering about how to fit streaming media into their portfolio,” he adds, “just know that there are options. There are ways to think creatively about how to offer streaming media to your users.”

Learn more about how Kanopy helps academic libraries reach their streaming video goals.

Michael Jortner is a freelance writer living in Phoenix. His work has appeared in Inside Higher Ed, USA TODAY Network titles, The Desert Sun and Desert Outlook, Phoenix Magazine, Los Angeles Business Journal, Bay Area Reporter, Phoenix Home & Garden and JazzTimes, among many more.

This custom content is sponsored by Kanopy and developed by Inside Higher Ed's sponsored content team. The editorial staff of Inside Higher Ed had no role in its creation.