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About Kanopy Streaming Movies: For Faculty & Professors

Kanopy Films for Professors

Kanopy is a video-streaming platform dedicated to thoughtful and thought-provoking films. Founded in 2008, Kanopy was established to provide academic institutions with essential films that foster learning and conversation.

Kanopy Base Collection

The Hammermill Library has an expanded subscription called Kanopy Base or KBase. This comes with over 8,000 films, documentaries, videos, and more! You can freely browse, view, and share these with students. This provides an experience similar to other streaming services, where you can browse and discover new titles to use in your courses or simply enjoy.

For a list of available titles, visit the library catalog or title list here:  

Requesting additional Titles for Access

When a film is available in Kanopy but not included in our KBase subscription, it might be possible to purchase a licence. Leases to films in Kanopy may be purchased by the library, and they are typically licensed for a period of one year. Requests for access to additional Kanopy content may be made by professors only for support of curriculum. Because the cost can sometimes be quite high for additional films outside the KBase collection, the library reserves the right to request financial support from individual departments if needed.

To make a request, search for the film title in Kanopy or choose from the subjects on the Kanopy subject page. When the results page is shown, click on the title you wish to request:

kanopy searchClick to enlarge

When you click on a title it will be available to view if it is already in our collections. If it is not, it should lead to a page with information about the movie and a request form. If you'd like to use the film for pedagogical purposes, fill our the request form. A Mercyhurst librarian will receive and evaluate your request.

kanopy formClick to enlarge

For more information on searching, browsing, sharing, embedding, closed captions, and more, please visit Kanopy's official Help Pages here.

If Kanopy does not carry the title you need

If you can't find the title you need in Kanopy, contact a librarian here and we will attempt to locate it.

 

What is Mediated Mode?

This means that any new Kanopy lease will need to be approved by the Library staff. Faculty may search for films that the Library does not already license in Kanopy. When attempting to access a film for which the Hammermill Library does not have a license, faculty will have the option to request the title using the “request” button next to the film, fill out Kanopy's request form, and the Library will work with the requestor to fill their need.

How do I know what Kanopy films we have access to?

If you find a title from Kanopy in the catalog it is immediately available to watch until the expiration date noted in the record. You can also search Mercyhurst University's leased Kanopy film collection and you will be able to immediately play all leased films.

What happens when I request a film?

The request is forwarded to Darci Jones Director of University Libraries for review. The Library needs three (5) working days to process and order the film. If you make a request on the weekend or after hours, the lease process will begin the next working day. Once the film is available, you will be emailed with a link and the film will be added to the Library catalog.

What do I do if I want to assign a film for my class or need a film for my research?

You can search the Kanopy's entire catalog of films from Mercyhurst's Kanopy page at this URL: https://mercyhurst.kanopy.com (do not search from Google or www.kanopy.com). If you find a film in Kanopy that you want to assign for your class or you need for a project, you can submit the request in Kanopy. There will be a "request" form for titles we do not lease. The Library will only be leasing films that are used for teaching, research, or projects, so please include your course name and number for which you will use the film or if you need the film for academic research purposes.  Please make your request at least three (5) working days before you need the film to be accessible.

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