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Criterion on Demand Renewal 2015-2016

Response Deadline: 
December 19, 2014

Subscription Term

Begins: 

January 1, 2015

Ends: 

August 31, 2015

BC ELN is pleased to offer a licence for Criterion on Demand, a streaming media service offering access to over 2,000 major motion pictures (largely Hollywood films). BC ELN is coordinating this licence for consortia across Canada through Consortia Canada.

BC ELN libraries have enjoyed an extended free trial of this product, which expires December 31, 2014. Libraries wishing to continue to access the product after that date will be invoiced for an 8 month term to synchronize with the Aug. 31 end date. The extended free trial is due to our payment to Criterion for educational PPR rights shortly before the Copyright Act was amended.


Updates: 

2014-9-18: The vendor has made the titles available as an Excel spreadsheet. Contact the BC ELN office for the title list. It includes columns for title, URL, year, director, cast, summary, etc. Libraries are welcome to use the spreadsheet to generate their own MARC records, and/or load the spreadsheet into other tools such as discovery layers, knowledge bases, etc.

2014-12-04: ConCan are currently negotiating some amendments to the license. This page will be updated when an agreement is reached.

2014-123-15: Usage stats have come in. Please contact BC ELN for your institution's usage since August.


Overview

Platform: 
Criterion-on-Demand
Remote Access
Unlimited Access

Additional Information

Access:

Access on and off campus through IP authentication. Downloading films to a laptop for later viewing is also possible. EZproxy config info is available at https://pluto.potsdam.edu/ezproxywiki/index.php/Category:Example_Configurations#Criterion-on-Demand

Access to the films should be through loading records into either a library's ILS or other systems (discovery layers, knowledge bases, etc.) using the MARC records and/or Excel spreadsheet below. The links to play the films on the vendor's website will likely be removed.

Additional Implementation Details:

1. Title Requests

Criterion is willing to add new titles to the platform at the request of libraries. Criterion must already hold the Canadian rights for the film/studio in question. The request form is on the right side of this page:
http://www.criterionondemand.com/why-criterion-on-demand/large-film-library

2. MARC Records

Access to the films is via links embedded in MARC records. A .mrc file of MARC records (3.4 M) is available.

Although the website lists all the films, Criterion has chosen not to add direct links to play the films. This is a deliberate decision to distinguish this educational market product from other consumer platforms.

3. Title Lists

The title list has been added as a 274 page PDF above. The website also has excellent search and browse features.

4. Silverlight

In order to play films, the user must have the Silverlight browser plug-in installed. This is a DRM system which is designed to prevent mis-use of the digital content. Silverlight is free and takes only a few minutes to download and install. Silverlight is compatible with a wide variety of operating systems and browsers including:

  • Internet Explorer 8+, Firefox 12+, Chrome 12+, Safari 4+
  • Windows 7+, Mac 10.5+

Not every browser and OS combination is compatible. Please see the System Requirements tab on http://www.microsoft.com/getsilverlight/Get-Started/Install/Default.aspx for more details.

5. Downloading Films

In addition to streaming films, it is also possible to download films for later viewing. This may be useful for a classroom with poor or no internet access. Access to a downloaded film will expire after 48 hours. [to be confirmed] See the guide (linked above) for details.

 

Questions? Contact: 
Brandon Weigel