Go beyond the book: Access educational video that's entertaining, too

Need a current source for a paper or project that doesn't have to be gleaned from a peer-reviewed journal?

Take a look at the Films On Demand electronic resource, accessible through the Emma Waters Summar Library homepage by clicking "Databases, Ebooks and Media" under the Quick Links on the righthand side of the page.

Users can peruse a list of 24 subjects that range from "Anthropology" to "World Languages," all provided from different video content producers worldwide.

Or click on "Special Collections" to choose materials from a specific producer, such as Films for the Humanities and Sciences, ABC News, NOVA and other PBS programming, British Broadcasting Corp., and several more, 33 producers in all.

To give you an idea how much professionally produced video content we're talking about here, consider that the BBC page provides 589 titles alone.

View newsreels, which address such topics as the infamous dramatization of H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds" -- which panicked thousands of people when it appeared on radio in 1938 -- and video of speeches by U.S. presidents, such as President Ronald Reagan's speech in 1987 at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

The latter comes from the National Archives and Records Administration. 

Ninety titles can be found under the "History and Politics (Jazz and Depression)" subtopic, listed under "Archival Films and Newsreels." 

A quick search of "Archival Films and Newsreels" brings up 77 pages' worth of video, the most recently added being President Richard Nixon's address on Vietnam.

Clicking on "View segments in this video" yields a list that includes "Purpose of Speech," "Nixon's successes in Vietnam," "Attacks in Cambodia and Laos," "Success of Vietnamization and Appeal to Hanoi" and six more segments.

Users can email the videos, add them to a playlist or add them to a list of favorites for quick retrieval.

A quick look at bio., the Biography Channel's content, shows 59 titles, the most of which are found under the "History" subtitle. Biographies include Einstein, Rembrandt, Marco Polo, Patrick Henry and Charles Dickens.

Watch productions recorded by the Royal Opera House, act by act if you so choose. View celebrated producer Ken Burns' extensive projects on everything from America's national parks to the history of jazz to the personality of Mark Twain.

Learn about electricity and magnetism or computer systems by accessing Shopware.

If you have questions, stop by the library. Meanwhile, visit Films on Demand now to see the variety of content available to Union faculty and staff.

Next post: The deadline for taking advantage of matching funds in Union's IGave campaign for the new library is fast approaching.