Watch Streaming Videos through Murphy Library!
Murphy Library provides access to thousands of streaming video titles licensed for use by our faculty, staff, and students. Titles include documentaries, feature films, ethnographies, primary source material, and more. Most videos are device-independent; if particular software is required for streaming, this will be indicated by a note in the catalog.
This guide provides convenient links to our online video collections; information on how to find and request films; and additional information about the platforms to which we have access, including accessibility and public performance rights information. Any questions can be directed to the Collection Development Librarian, Pam Cipkowski (8567).
Available Collections
The main streaming video collections available at Murphy Library are listed below. See the tabs at the top of this guide for additional, platform-specific information.
- Kanopy
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Kanopy is a streaming video platform that contains independent and documentary films on a wide variety of subjects.
- Docuseek This link opens in a new windowCollection of streaming videos that feature independent, social-issue, and environmental films from renowned leaders in documentary film distribution. The collection covers various subjects, including anthropology, business, counseling, film, health, history, music, and more. The Advanced Search feature offers filters by subject, genre, language, title, date, film length, and by the more than 80 languages represented in the collection.
- Films On Demand (Infobase) This link opens in a new windowFilms On Demand is an online video platform that provides access to a dynamic collection of over 35,000 titles. Special features allow users to organize and bookmark clips, share playlists, and create personalized folders.
- American History in Video (Alexander Street) This link opens in a new windowAmerican History in Video provides a collection of video available online for the study of American history, with 2,000 hours and more than 5,000 titles on completion. The collection provides access to commercial and governmental newsreels, archival footage, public affairs footage, and documentaries.
- Black Studies in Video (Alexander Street) This link opens in a new windowThis collection features documentaries, newsreels, interviews, and archival footage surveying the evolution of black culture in the United States. Includes California Newsreel's African American Classics collection that includes films covering history, politics, art and culture, family structure, social and economic pressures, and gender relations. This current release includes 145 videos totaling 141 hours.
- Ethnographic Video Online (Alexander Street) This link opens in a new windowThis resource brings together a wide range of streaming video, written ethnographies, field notes, seminal texts, memoirs, and contemporary studies, covering human behavior the world over. The database contains more than 1,800 documentary films and over 100,000 pages of full-text material, including tens of thousands of pages of previously unpublished material from major archives. Includes Volumes 1 & 2 Second Edition.
- Filmakers Library Online (Alexander Street) This link opens in a new windowThis resource presents points of view and historical and current experiences from diverse cultures and traditions world-wide. This release now provides 1,019 titles, equaling approximately 806 hours.
- LGBT Studies in Video (Alexander Street) This link opens in a new windowA cinematic survey of the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people as well as the cultural and political evolution of the LGBT community. Features award-winning documentaries, interviews, archival footage, and select feature films exploring LGBT history, gay culture and subcultures, civil rights, marriage equality, LGBT families, AIDS, transgender issues, religious perspectives on homosexuality, global comparative experiences, and other topics.
- The PBS Video Collection: Fourth Edition (Alexander Street) This link opens in a new windowOver 1200 PBS titles, including familiar series such as NOVA, Nature, American Experience, and Frontline.
- Digital Theatre+ This link opens in a new windowDigital Theatre+ is a collection of high definition filmed theater productions and supporting materials, including study guides and interviews with leading industry figures. Funding for this resource is provided by the College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities.
Research Assistance
Librarians can help you learn to make the most of the information resources, tools, and services of Murphy Library and beyond!
Weekdays & Sunday afternoons (fall/spring):
Any time (year-round):
- Email us -- we'll email you back asap
- Schedule an appointment (in-person or online)
Local history and/or archives research? Special Collections / Area Research Center specialists are available!
- Email us at specoll@uwlax.edu
- Call us at 608.785.8511