Creating a Streaming Video Collection for Your Library

Using vendor licensing and fair use guidelines, library collections can contain thousands of online videos either purchased or through in-house digitization. In this book, the authors share their knowledge developed in building and maintaining a streaming video collection. Highlights include key information and tips, as well as recommended best practices, for the licensing and acquisitions processes, providing access, promoting the collection, and evaluating the library and vendor collections. The authors cover the options for acquiring streaming video titles and options for hosting videos. The book is structured with an introduction, a chapter on each key process with subsections on specific aspects of those processes, and finally with a concluding chapter which looks at the future of streaming video collections for libraries. Creating a Streaming Video Collection for Your Library will serve as a key reference and source of best practices for libraries adding streaming video titles to their collections or for any library that is already offering streaming video. Since this is a relatively new area of collection development, this book will help libraries and video vendors establish consistent guidelines, licensing models and workflows.

Adding a streaming video collection to a library can be a daunting idea for the novice, from deciding how to begin to choosing titles and vendors and the information technology involved. This well-written and comprehensively researched book provides chapter-by-chapter advice from beginning to end of the process from authors who have firsthand knowledge of the subject. Accordingly, this is a must-read for any library thinking of adding a streaming video collection., [T]he book performs very well...in the frequent lists of considerations intended to guide the reader through making decisions. . . .The authors have done a good job of raising the right questions. For the library or librarian looking for direction in starting a locally-hosted streaming video collection, these questions will help organize the librarian's thoughts and bring attention to the right issues.

Cheryl J. Duncan is director of Acquisitions & Cataloging at James Madison University where she negotiates contracts and licenses for e-resources and streaming media. Erika Day Peterson is director of Media Resources at James Madison University. In addition to managing the Media Resources Center, she is responsible for the selection and maintenance of the video collection, including streaming video.