Typical questions

• • Where can I get access to old public health information films?

• • Are there any transcripts of TV news broadcasts?

Starting points

• • Most students will be familiar with streaming services such as BBC iPlayer and Netflix. However, the majority of libraries do not use the most well- known commercial sites, instead they have access to other services which offer educational licenses for viewing. Students often need to be made aware of these and to be given advice on whether their content is indexed in full on the library catalogue.

• • Despite the rise of free services such as YouTube, not all film and TV content is available online. Staff/students should also be warned about the potential copyright risks and lack of reliability of some sites.

• • Access to purchasing and viewing films may also be limited by geographical location. Note that although students may be able to view film titles on the catalogues of other libraries, licenses often prohibits online viewing for visitors or borrowing via interlending services.

• • This chapter lists a range of recommended academic resources. It includes a section on the many free historical services being made available via national archives and film institutes worldwide. Other examples of film databases can be found in the subject chapters.

• • Note that information about the academic study of film is contained in the

Media Studies chapter.

Recommended resources

Study guides

Screenonline [Basic]

www.screenonline.org.uk

Authoritative free online encyclopedia of British film and television created by the British Film Institute. Contains articles and film clips about specific personalities and genres. Includes lesson plans for teachers.

Television and Radio Index for Learning and Teaching (TRILT) (Subscription) [Specialist]

bufvc.ac.uk/tvandradio/trilt

Service of the British Universities Film and Video Council. Comprises a searchable database of listings for more than 560 TV and radio channels from 1923 onwards. Free access to recent listings is available for non-subscribers. Links are provided to online content from BoB (see below) where available and programme alerts can also be activated.

Digital libraries

BoB (Subscription) [Basic]

learningonscreen.ac.uk

Streaming service for TV and radio made available to the UK education community by Learning on Screen. Over 1 million programmes available from over 60 channels (most UK-based). Comprehensive coverage, with transcripts of the main British terrestrial TV channels. Some coverage of CNN news and a few European suppliers. Users can create and share playlists and film clips.