Instructional Use of Media Collection

Our Video Collections

JMU Libraries has a large collection of videos available for your use.

Find streaming videos already in the JMU Libraries Collection.

Questions?  Please contact your Liaison Librarian.

Video Collections for Teaching

Video can be an effective way to engage students in learning about concepts. We want our collections to support your use of video in teaching. We must also balance this with the need to respect copyright holders’ rights. To do this, you will want consider a few different options for how you might incorporate videos into your courses.

• Show during a class session
• Put physical copy (such as a DVD) on Course Reserve for 4-hour checkout
• Link to existing streaming videos in our collections
• Use videos from third party streaming services or freely available content
• Request that JMU Libraries make an item be made available (in part or in whole) for streaming in your Canvas course
• Host streaming videos yourself in Canvas

More details and guidance are available about these different options for incorporating streaming videos into your courses.

Copyright Considerations for Streaming Videos

Options to stream videos will be limited by copyright and licensing terms. The TEACH Act (as codified in 17 U.S. Code § 110) governs lawful use of copyrighted visual media in the online learning environment. In practice, this means

• The TEACH Act allows for the streaming of reasonable and limited portions of audiovisual work.
• Highly creative works may not be streamed in their entirety.
  • Examples of highly creative works include popular, mainstream videos, any type of video that is a work of fiction, or any video that includes creative, dramatic elements, or artistic endeavors like dance or musical performance.

For more information about  the TEACH Act, please refer to the TEACH Act section of the Copyright @ JMU guide.

JMU Libraries Online Instructional Use of Media Service

We can help acquire licenses, digitize physical videos, and/or create clips of videos for use in your Canvas course. We comply with the above copyright considerations to ensure that copyright holders’ rights are respected and that JMU and/or its employees are not placed in the position of being potentially liable for copyright violations.

JMU Libraries may choose to purchase streaming video rather than hosting a streaming video ourselves; course instructors can then refer their students to these items in the library’s collection. Purchasing streaming video licenses can require a significant amount of time (weeks or months). The licenses can also be expensive. We will work with you to try and find solutions that balance your instructional goals, licensing requirements, time, and cost to the best of our ability. We will not be able to digitize Blu-ray content. If necessary, we will also work with you on possible alternative solutions.

To Request Streaming Video Content for Your Canvas Course

Submit your request(s) here

You must submit a separate request form for each title requested. We will respond to your request within a few days to acknowledge your request. We will investigate the possibility for streaming and notify you about options. If we are able to complete the request, it may still require several weeks to secure the license so please plan accordingly.

Please Note

This is not a library e-reserves service. For those types of requests, please visit the Course Reserves page.