We will endeavor to fill all requests, but please note that many libraries across the country and around the world are still not lending from their print collections. Many of the libraries that are loaning materials will be operating at reduced staffing levels (as are we) so it may be more challenging to locate certain materials and it may take longer to get requested items.
Thanks for your patience. We look forward to filling your requests! Questions about Doc Del? Get in touch.
The Halifax Dalhousie Libraries spaces will have a delayed opening at 2 p.m. today due to the current weather conditions. The MacRae Library will open at 9 a.m. Stay safe and see you later!
UPDATE: 8:52 A.M., SEPT. 23
The Sir James Dunn Law Library is opening at 9 a.m.
Due to the current conditions, all Dal Libraries spaces will be closing at 6 pm tonight. Stay safe everyone!
The move to online teaching this fall presented a number of new challenges for everyone. One area where the Dal Libraries have seen exponential growth over the past few months is in the number of requests we’ve received for streaming videos.
Since classes have moved almost exclusively online, we have received over 280 requests for videos. Even if a film is already held as a physical copy in the Dal Libraries’ collection, we still must find a streaming source of the video for the online teaching environment.
To support online teaching and learning, the Dalhousie Libraries have recently added several streaming video collections: Audio Ciné, Criterion, Curio, Films-on-Demand, and Kanopy. (The content on Kanopy is limited to a selection of films purchased to support specific classes.) All of the videos found in these collections can be used in online teaching.
Despite the now thousands of films and documentaries that are available through the Dal Libraries in these new streaming video resources, faculty members often require videos that are not held in one of the streaming collections we subscribe to. When that happens, the Dal Libraries need to find the distributor of the video and acquire a licence for that video.
Tracking Down Videos
Films are a particular challenge to locate. Unlike books and journals, we don’t have access to a standardized and comprehensive list to locate a distributor. Sites like IMDB offer clues but the information is not always complete, up-to-date, or accurate. Once we do locate the distributor, we then explain that a professor at Dalhousie University wants to screen their film to a class online and ask if they have the option of providing us with an educational streaming licence.
Sometimes the distributor does not have a streaming service or digital files they can share with us, or we learn that the distributor we located no longer holds the rights and we have to conduct another search. Sometimes, the distributor can’t acquire Canadian streaming rights.
When we do find the correct distributor who has a version of the video available for educational purposes with Canadian streaming rights, our Copyright Office then reviews the licence. If all is well, we sign the licence. Staff on the Resources team then make the video accessible through the Novanet catalogue and we notify the faculty member that the video is ready.
Timelines and Costs
The process to acquire a single title can take a week to over a month and on average costs $200–$300 for a licence. A licence usually lasts for 6–12 months. Within these ranges, there is much variation. One distributor was charging as much as $4,000 US for a one-year licence. Some licences last for only two weeks.
What about Netflix and YouTube?
Services such as Netflix, HBO, and Crave only sell subscriptions to individuals for household use and do not offer educational licensing. If the video you are seeking is exclusively available through one of these commercial subscription services we are not legally able to provide access to the video.
Additionally, for students living and studying outside of Canada, content across these services will vary depending on where the user lives. For example, the content on Netflix in Canada is not the same as the content on Netflix in the US. YouTube raises similar problems — some countries have completely blocked access to their residents.
Start Early
We encourage faculty to start their search for streaming videos in our existing subscriptions before placing a request, but we recognize there will be times when a specific film or documentary is needed. As the timeline to locate the distributor and review and sign the licence can take up to a month for a single video, the earlier these requests can be submitted, the better. If it turns out the video is not available for streaming in Canada, the faculty member will be informed as soon as possible so they can adjust their syllabus accordingly.
Dalhousie faculty and staff can complete this form to request a specific streaming video to support 2020/21 online teaching. A Dalhousie login is required.
Streaming Video Subject Guide
The Dalhousie Libraries’ Streaming Video subject guide provides links to the streaming video services we subscribe to and copyright guidance as it relates to using video in online teaching.
These subscriptions provide access to thousands of feature films, documentaries, educational films, and video clips covering a wide range of subject matter and genres, available to Dalhousie and King’s faculty, students, and staff. The guide also includes listings for a number of sources that are freely available on the internet.
New Streaming Video Collections at the Dalhousie Libraries
Having a problem with an eResource? (films, journals, books, databases)
Please use this form. It collects the information we need to solve the problem.
The following spaces are open by appointment for limited and safe access to Dal Libraries spaces for current Dalhousie faculty, instructors, students, and staff.
Locations not listed (Sexton Library, Sir James Dunn Law Library) are not yet ready to be booked. Weekend hours will roll out in the coming weeks.
Please note: The spaces will be closed for cleaning from noon–1 p.m. and from 4–5 p.m.
After you log in to the booking system, choose the location you want (or express printing) from the drop-down menu to see which time slots are available. Depending on the space, a study table, study room, or a computer can be booked for three-hour time slots. Computers can also be booked for 30 minute express printing.
Bookings should be made a minimum of 24 hours in advance by completing this form.
Join us for a wonderful evening of Atlantic literature and stimulating conversation.
We’ll start with readings by the 2020 finalists of the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award — Shandi Mitchell (The Waiting Hours), Jaime Burnet (Crocuses Hatch from Snow), and Michael Crummey (The Innocents).
Following the readings, there will be a conversation between St. John’s, Nfld. writers Michael Crummey and Sharon Bala.
Thursday, September 17/7 p.m.
Online via Zoom
Please register using this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1R4tHrYTQPWFTLgb30yjEw
A message from the Dean of Libraries, Donna Bourne-Tyson
We are really looking forward to welcoming you back to our on campus spaces, some of which have been closed since March due to COVID-19. Since March, we’ve been busy providing services online and now we’re excited to see you back on campus as well.
No matter where in the world you will be this fall, we’re here for you online, with all of the services and supports you’d expect from a research library system. On campus, while you’ll still get many of our regular services, there are a number of changes I’d like to tell you about.
The health and safety of all Dalhousie students, faculty, and staff is our top priority. We’ve worked closely with the University’s Return to Campus Committee to establish the process of opening our spaces safely.
By mid-September, most of our library spaces will be open on a new fall schedule, which will include evening hours but not late-night hours. Spaces will be accessible by booking a time slot with your Dal Card. Consult the hours table on libraries.dal.ca for specific reopening dates and hours by location.
Here’s what you can expect as each of our spaces open in the coming weeks:
Spaces
Services and Resources
And don’t forget to check out the library events calendar, found by clicking the “Events” link on our landing page, to find virtual library orientation sessions and other events. For more information and updates, visit the Dal Libraries’ COVID-19 page.
We’re counting on you to help us keep everyone using the Dal Libraries safe. We ask for your cooperation and thank you for your patience while we all work together to create safe and welcoming learning spaces.
I would like to thank all the staff of the Dalhousie Libraries who have worked so hard in getting us ready to open on campus, spending countless hours planning as well as doing hands-on tasks like moving furniture and setting up new booking systems. Everyone has worked incredibly hard to make the libraries as safe and as accessible as possible.
Things will definitely be different this term, but the Dalhousie Libraries are still here for you, both online, and on campus. Wishing you all my best for a successful and safe term.
Donna Bourne-Tyson
Dean of Libraries
Alyssa Gallant
Library intern at the Killam Memorial Library
1. What brought you to the MI program at Dal?
I got a Master of Archival Studies at UBC in 2012 and worked as an archivist in Ontario since then, but I wanted to move back to the east coast and decided to come to Dal to get a background in librarianship.
2. What drew you to the internship opportunity at the Dal Libraries?
I have a background in archives, but have never worked in a library before, so when I heard about the internship opportunity at the Dal Libraries, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get familiar with that setting and put everything I was learning in my classes to good use.
3. What’s your educational background?
I have a Master of Archival Studies (2012) from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and a Bachelor of Arts (2009) in History from St. Francis Xavier University (StFX).
4. What have you been doing during your internship and how has the pandemic shaped your internship?
Like everyone, I am sure this pandemic is shaping my internship in both positive and negative ways. I was very much looking forward to working with everyone in person this summer, but I am enjoying the challenge and independence of working from home. So far this summer, among a few other projects, I have begun looking for copyright licenses for films to be used in classes this fall.
5. What is your favourite summer activity? Or your favourite Halifax activity?
I like going for long drives in the summer to small towns around Nova Scotia, seeing the sites and eating at local restaurants. The Annapolis Valley is a favourite destination.
Lauren Skabar
Research and Reference Services intern at the Killam Memorial Library
1. What brought you to the MI program at Dal?
I had got a summer job with Cumberland Public Libraries after the first year of my undergrad and fell in love. I stayed for three more summers, and knew I knew I wanted to keep working to provide accessible community resources and barrier-free access to information.
2. What drew you to the internship opportunity at the Dal Libraries?
I had worked on the access services side of academic libraries during my undergrad, but wanted more hands-on experience with research and reference questions. This internship was the perfect opportunity for that!
3. What’s your educational background?
I have a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, with a double major in political science and history.
4. What have you been doing during your internship and how has the pandemic shaped your internship?
During my internship, I’ve been providing research and reference assistance on LiveHelp, as well as in person at the Killam Library. This summer I have been working on special projects around sensory-friendly library spaces, video licensing, and online resource guides.
5. What is your favourite summer activity? Or your favourite Halifax activity?
My favourite summer activity is usually attending outdoor concerts, but this summer my favourite activity has been walking my dog along the waterfront.
As we approach the fall 2020 term, the Dal Libraries are working to provide alternative access to the print course reserves collection. Among the readings on course reserves, there are usually a number of course textbooks (e.g. items from the library’s collection, or books loaned to the library by an instructor).
With teaching and learning moving largely online for the fall term, instructors are asking that print textbooks on reserve be replaced by e-textbooks, to provide better access to students. However, there are numerous textbook publishers that do not permit libraries to purchase electronic textbooks. Many existing course textbooks are simply unavailable to libraries in any other format than print. Textbook publishers have built their profit models around selling textbooks directly to students.
Despite the library’s commitment to make copies of required readings available to students where possible, the following publishers are examples of those that will not allow us to purchase an e-textbook version of their publications:
This means that in courses that have adopted textbooks by these publishers, students who purchase the print or e-textbook will have access, but the textbook in its entirety will not be available via print or electronic course reserves.
The Dal Libraries encourage instructors to explore and identify viable alternatives to textbook readings, including:
The Dal Libraries will seek to secure online materials that are free from digital rights management restrictions (DRM) in order to ensure relative ease of student access and use. DRM includes limits on the number of users that can access a resource at any one time, as well as limits on copying, printing and downloading.
Instructors who are teaching Fall term courses are advised to submit course reading lists to the Dal Libraries’ Course eReserves submission form as soon as possible. If faculty wish to consult the library about specific resources, liaison librarians/subject selectors are available to provide support.
The above text was adapted with permission from a June 22, 2020 news post by the University of Guelph Library (https://www.lib.uoguelph.ca/news/commercial-textbooks-present-challenges-virtual-environment).
Released August 4, 2020