Video and Media Resources

Changes to Kanopy

Rising costs necessitated changes in access to some Kanopy videos. 

Why? Kanopy billed the Library via a patron-driven acquisition (PDA) model—when a video accrued four 15-second “plays,” Kanopy charged the Library for a one-year license. For the calendar year 2018, Kanopy invoiced the Library $86,760 for streaming video use. This price is outrageous. As click counts grew and as Kanopy increased in popularity, the cost of the PDA model became unsustainable.

As a result, the Library has moved to mediated access for some Kanopy videos. Regularly requested Kanopy-exclusive videos (list at left) will renew automatically every year, but other Kanopy videos will require prospective viewers to request access via a form on the Kanopy video service site. Mediated access began May 6, 2019.

With mediated access, you have to fill out a form (example to the right ⇒).

You will see this form for any video not already licensed. The form says that the film is not available at the library and asks you for the following information: your name; your email; whether you are a librarian, an academic, a student, or other; and the reason why you want to watch the video. Please press send to submit the form to UVa librarians for review. You will then soon receive an email response with more information.

Videos already licensed will appear ready to play.

During the work week, the Library strives to provide access to approved requests within 24 hours, but this time frame is not guaranteed. 

Fortunately, many popular Kanopy videos are available via other video subscription services at the Library. The Library will direct users to these films instead of Kanopy videos as necessary. For example, Films on Demand and Avalon carry highly used California Newsreel and Media Education Foundation videos like the Eyes on the Prize series and Killing Us Softly films.

As faculty and instructors foresee streaming video needs in their courses, they should notify the Library via course reserves services, via subject liaison, or through video collection librarian Leigh Rockey, lar4k@virginia.edu. The Library can best accommodate your curricular requests when given time to prepare.

Because Kanopy PDA costs have grown beyond the capabilities of the Library’s budget, the Library hopes that Kanopy users will now focus only on educational and research needs. Viewing for entertainment purposes is discouraged.

The Library has negotiated with Kanopy for other access models, such as subscription, but none of them are realistic in terms of cost. In the chart below, you can see Kanopy costs rising every semester.

This bar chart shows how the cost of Kanopy has gone up a lot since Fall 2014. Here are the costs by semester showing the increase: Fall 2014 $3,000, Spring 2015 $11,895, Fall 2015 $8,755, Spring 2016 $11,400, Fall 2016 $18,650, Spring 2017 $23,184, Fall 2017 $27,840, Spring 2018 $35,160, and Fall 2018 $51,600.