Effective January 1, 2020, the University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press has moved to a mediated access model for Kanopy, one of several documentary and film streaming services available to University of Delaware students and instructors. The model going forward will allow new licensing requests only for course-related films (prioritizing distance education support). Increasing costs of the service have surpassed available funds, necessitating this new model.
Knowing this is a popular service with faculty and students, we did not make this decision lightly. Because of the service’s popularity, however, our annual expenditure for the platform has tripled in recent years with continued increases expected going forward.
Kanopy’s business model is based on the number of views per title, and four views (30 seconds or more) of any film results in a charge to the Library of $150 for a one-year license. This model is, unfortunately, unsustainable as the platform becomes more popular and annual costs become unpredictable.
The following changes have taken place under the new model:
- New Kanopy film licensing requests will only be granted to instructors for course-related material.
- Instructors can submit the form generated in Kanopy (sample below) or contact the Film & Video Collection Librarian.
- If you are using a film for a class and are concerned about a licensed film’s expiration date, please check for this information in DELCAT or contact the Film & Video Collection Librarian.
- If it is not necessary to stream a film, the library will purchase a DVD copy as available.
- Existing Kanopy licensed films can still be found on the platform and are listed in DELCAT.
- Requests for non-course related films will not be licensed through Kanopy. The Library will assist in providing access via other platforms or formats.
The University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press has other streaming services with quality film content available for your use. We encourage patrons to explore titles already in DELCAT and on other film streaming platforms.
For additional questions about using Kanopy for a course, or about streaming media, contact Meghann Matwichuk at mtwchk@udel.edu .