To get help with Library purchases:
karengruber@muhlenberg.edu or extension 3570.
Every semester, we receive many requests from faculty to embed access to streaming films in Canvas for specific classes. Both hosted streaming film access and a DSL (Digital Site License) can provide for this, however there are some differences between the two.
See the tabs below for more information, and contact the Library if you need help deciding which kind of access is best for your situation.
Streaming film access is hosted by the vendor and is not stored locally. Streaming access is best suited to limited needs of a semester or a term of one to three years. The average cost of streaming a film is approximately $125 per semester or $150 per year, or more. Occasionally a perpetual access license is available (usually at least $500) if ongoing access will be needed. See the 'perpetual access' tab for more information.
A Digital Site License (DSL) gives the College a multi-year term license to stream a digital film and allows us to host the film locally on our own platform. The license sometimes includes a copy on DVD. Purchasing a DSL is better utilized if you will be consistently showing a film for three years or more. The cost of a DSL can be three times that of a hosted streaming film--usually around $500. This costly investment is why we ask that you be fairly certain that the film will be in high rotation for a significant amount of time.
Some vendors or filmmakers will provide a film with "perpetual" rights, that is the rights to stream the film or video forever (theoretically). Perpetual rights can be either for vendor hosted streaming (like through Academic Video Online- AVON), or for locally hosted DSL video (often directly from the filmmaker.) They are usually more expensive, but they secure Muhlenberg the rights to stream the video for a much longer time which can eventually result in lower cost per use.