Throughout the next year, UW Libraries, along with non-profit organization Ithaka S+R and other academic libraries, will participate in a study to assess streaming media usage on campus.
Some streaming services that UW currently uses include Films on Demand, Kanopy, and even a classical music library.
One challenge COE Library faces in obtaining streaming media services for instructors and research is cost.
“A single title on Kanopy for a one-year lease, meaning we have access to it for one year, can be upwards of $150 per title,” Assistant Librarian Jenn Strayer said. “Just in the last month, January, we spent over $3,000 alone, just in Kanopy.”
“We’ve had, I think, roughly 220 requests,” Strayer said.
The study also aims to collect information on campus instructors’ and researchers’ usage of streaming media.
“They’re working with us to help us navigate through technological changes,” Strayer said. “Searching for the latest trends that are going to affect our work, and in the end also affect our patrons, or our researchers, etc.”
Ithaka S+R works with higher education institutions to “research, evaluate, and provide strategic guidance in a range of areas,” according to their home page.
The study will also investigate faculty members’ comments on current streaming media services and explore streaming media licensing terms.
“We are coming up with a list of faculty within those areas that we’re going to essentially ask them if they want to be a part of this study,” Strayer said.
“But we’re also interested in hearing from faculty that maybe they rarely use streaming media, or if they aren’t using streaming media why are there barriers to that?” Strayer said. “Maybe it’s because they just don’t understand how the landscape works.”
Strayer mentioned that students also benefit from such studies.
“This seems highly removed from what students are doing. But at the end of the day, this stuff does impact you guys directly,” Strayer said. “It impacts what the faculty are selecting for your classes and what kind of content they’re exposing you guys to.”
Academic libraries across the country, such as Georgetown University, Ohio State University, and North Carolina State University, will participate alongside UW in the study.
The results of the study will be available to COE Library after a final report is created.
“Once that report is done we do have access to our data,” Strayer said. “Then we can, if we want to, do our own studies later.”
