Frighteningly Good Reads

The Bentley Library staff created an online display that is full of chills and thrills. Including both downloadable audiobooks & ebooks, this selection helps you celebrate all things spooky.

In addition to the above collection, plenty of spooky content is available through our streaming film collections, Kanopy and Swank.  If you are interested in learning about horror as a medium, why not start with the master and stream a Talk from Hitchcock himself available through Films on Demand.

Other horror tales and ghost stories are available on our shelves, including the classics, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Bram Stoker’s Dracula and newer authors, Stephen King, Octavia Butler, or Joe Hill. Don’t have time to commit to a whole novel? Why not check out a collection of short stories such as American Fantastic Tales or Flight or Fright!

Do you have a favorite pick you would like to recommend to fellow Bentley Horror Fans? Just drop us a line through Instagram or Twitter.

Happy Haunting.

Database of the Month: Academic Video Online

Bentley Library is pleased to announce an addition to our streaming film database collection! Along with Films on Demand, Kanopy, and Swank, we have just added Academic Video Online from Proquest. AVO is curated for an academic audience and contains a wide range of US and international films on subjects including business, counseling, history, language learning, music, and more. Formats include plays, documentaries, feature films, and US government content from major distributors including CNN, BBC, Dow Jones, and Sony Pictures Classics.

Browsing and Searching

Users can browse by channel type

and search by keyword and filter results based on subject, publisher, person, content type and release date.

Playback

When viewing a film in AVO, there are a number of features to enhance the viewing experience.

Among them:

  • Full transcription
  • Film details, including a synopsis
  • Clip feature that allows users to create clips of the film to share
  • Option to share as a direct link or embed into Blackboard
  • Citation tool for MLA, APA, and Chicago formats
  • Closed captioning for accessibility purposes
  • Mobile playback on all iOS and Android devices.

Getting Help

Be sure to visit the Help Page for tips on searching and browsing, citing and sharing, and information on technical requirements for optimal viewing.


Database of the Month provides a very brief introduction to a useful website or Library database, highlighting key features you should know about. If you would like more information about this resource (or any of the library’s databases), please contact us for research assistance. If you would like a demonstration of this resource for a class, please schedule a research instruction class using the instruction request form.

Database of the Month: Swank Digital Campus (Streaming Films)

This month we feature another of our streaming film collections as our Database of the Month. Swank Digital Campus includes over 100 feature films and documentaries from major studios spanning a number of genres. Films included in this database include cinema classics and contemporary films.

Swank Browsing Screen

This curated collection has popular titles such as Spotlight, Pulp Fiction, An Inconvenient Truth, and Fargo.  Recently released titles such as Moonlight, La La Land, and Fences are also available in Swank.

Browse films by genre on the homepage by scrolling through movie covers or search for titles directly in the search box. Click the film cover to begin viewing.

Swank Video Viewer

Each page for a film includes the film viewer (which can be expanded into full screen mode), release year, MPAA film rating, run time, brief synopsis, director, and actors.

Language audio and subtitle options vary by title. These can be found in the video viewer under the gear symbol [ Swank Gear Symbol ].

Direct links to films are available to share in course sites – the “Copy Direct Link” option will give you just the link where “Copy LMS Link” will give you the HTML code for the link to embed in a course site.

Access

Swank Digital Campus films can be streamed in your browser both on campus and off.

System and Browser Recommendations

Compatible with Mac or Windows. Latest versions of Chrome or Firefox recommended.

———————————————

Database of the Month provides a very brief introduction to a useful website or Library database, highlighting key features you should know about. If you would like more information about this resource (or any of the library’s databases), please contact us for research assistance. If you would like a demonstration of this resource for a class, please schedule a research instruction class using the instruction request form.

Database of the Month: Kanopy (Streaming Films)

Kanopy logo

With an ever-expanding catalog of over 50,000 films, Kanopy delivers diverse content in a variety of genres, from award-winning documentaries, training films, and theatrical releases on a wide range of topics and subject areas that span all academic disciplines. With media from producers such as Criterion Collection, PBS, Media Education Foundation, and Great Courses, this resource is ideal for both faculty and student research needs.

Access:

Streaming films from Kanopy can be viewed on or off campus through Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and IE and are accessed via authentication of your Bentley credentials and allows for simultaneous users of a particular title.

Search and Browse:

If there is a particular film you are looking for, you may search in the following ways:

From the library’s catalog:

Select Books/Video/Audio, enter your search criteria, then click Search.

Then click on the Kanopy link to view the film.

From Kanopy:

Enter your search criteria in the search box at the top of Kanopy’s main page and click the Search icon.

Then select the desired title from the listing of results.

The film should now appear ready to stream, complete with features described below.

 

Features:

  • User Profile – create a profile to:
    • Use Kanopy on device apps such as Roku, IOS, Android, etc
    • Generate personalized content
    • Utilize disability controls and features
    • Access customer support
    • User dashboard
  • Clips and playlists
  • Embed films into course sites
  • Captions and transcripts

———————————————

Database of the Month provides a very brief introduction to a useful website or Library database, highlighting key features you should know about. If you would like more information about this resource (or any of the library’s databases), please contact us for research assistance. If you would like a demonstration of this resource for a class, please schedule a research instruction class using the instruction request form.

Database of the Month: IMDB.com

film reel and slate

Awards season is just around the corner when Hollywood bestows various honors related to film and television. Whether you are a cinephile or a casual viewer, the Internet Movie Database, or IMDb, can be a wonderful resource to help you navigate the ins and outs of the industry.

IMDb (www.imdb.com) is a freely available database that originally started in 1990. The database includes millions of records and is considered to be an authoritative source for film and television.

Content includes:

  • Records for movies and television shows
  • Entries for industry professionals and celebrities including actors, directors, writers, composers, producers, and more (including filmographies and brief biographies)
  • Trivia
  • Quotes
  • Industry news & event coverage
  • Box office charts & trends
  • Release calendars

Found movies on IMDB that you would like to watch? Bentley Library has a number of DVDs and streaming films.

Search the Bentley Library Catalog to find our available DVDs or search one of our streaming film collections:

  • Films on Demand offers educational film titles in a variety of subject areas.
  • Kanopy includes many various collections including films from the Criterion Collection, documentaries, films appearing at various international film festivals, Academy Award winning films and nominees, and more! Browse collections or search for specific titles.
  • Swank Digital Campus includes both classic and contemporary films. Some past award winners such as American Beauty, Argo, The Hurt Locker, and The Departed are available in our collection. Can be searched by title or genre.
Image Credit: thumb_film_reel_2_1. By ScypaxPictures, 2010, (Flickr). Used under Creative Commons License BY-ND 2.0 with no modifications.

———————————————

Database of the Month provides a very brief introduction to a useful website or Library database, highlighting key features you should know about. If you would like more information about this free web resource (or any of the library’s databases), please contact us for research assistance. If you would like a demonstration of this resource for a class, please schedule a research instruction class using the instruction request form.

Streaming Films and MediaCore Workshop

MediaCore imageSwank Digital Campus imageKanopy image

The Bentley Library and the Academic Technology Center will be jointly hosting a workshop on streaming film databases and a new resource, MediaCore. The session will be held on Wednesday September 30th from 2:00-3:00 pm in the Research Instruction Center (RIC) on the bottom floor of the library.

The library has recently added two new streaming films databases to our collection, Swank Digital Campus and Kanopy. Swank Digital Campus specializes in popular feature films, both classic and contemporary. Many of the films accessible through Swank Digital Campus have been placed on reserve in the past, and, as such, this is a great curriculum resource for Bentley faculty. Kanopy focuses on critically acclaimed feature films and award-winning documentaries on political,social, and cultural topics. MediaCore is a cloud-based video solution that will allow faculty to upload videos to their course sites in Blackboard without worrying about storage space and permission issues.

Librarians will be going over how to access and  best use the streaming film databases, specifically how to easily place films from these resources in Blackboard for use in courses. Gaurav Shah and Steve Salina from the ATC will go through the process of uploading films to Blackboard using MediaCore and answer any questions about this resource.

Click here to register for the workshop.

Please see this In the Know post for more information on these new resources.

New Streaming Films at the Bentley Library

Swank Digital Campus imageKanopy image

 

 

 

*Updated on 09/01/15

Have you tried to view a movie for class, and it’s been checked out? Wanted to easily embed full length, award-winning documentaries into Blackboard for use in your class? Don’t feel like making the trek to the library during a blizzard to find that classic film? The Bentley Library now has access to 2 new streaming films databases: Swank Digital Campus and Kanopy.

Swank Digital Campus specializes in popular feature films, both classic and contemporary.  We have access to over 50 films through Swank Digital Campus, including Gangs of New York, Despicable Me, Vertigo, The Dark Knight, The Lego Movie, and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Every film in Swank can be placed in its entirety in Blackboard.  To place films in Blackboard, please contact Matt Van Sleet at mvansleet@bentley.edu or Stephen Tracey at stracey@bentley.edu. Many of the films accessible through Swank Digital Campus have been placed on reserve in the past, and, as such, this is a great curriculum resource for Bentley faculty.

You must download Microsoft Silverlight to stream the films in Swank Digital Campus. Microsoft Silverlight will not work in the Google Chrome browser. Microsoft Silverlight can be downloaded here.

Swank screenshot

 

Kanopy focuses on critically acclaimed feature films and award-winning documentaries on political,social, and cultural topics. Some of the well known producers whose films are available through Kanopy are Criterion Collection, Media Education Foundation, Kino Lorber, and New Day Films.  Whole films or custom-created clips can be placed in Blackboard for use in Bentley courses.

Kanopy screenshot

 

Additionally, we have recently purchased a cloud-based video solution (MediaCore) that will allow faculty to upload videos to their course sites in Blackboard without worrying about storage space and permission issues. Videos uploaded in a specific course will only be available to students enrolled in that course. Please contact ga_atc@bentley.edu for more information.

Each of these databases can be accessed from the library’s new Streaming Films page.