Effective September 20, 2019, the Duke University Libraries have transitioned to a title-by-title access model for Kanopy, a popular library of streaming video titles. This change comes as a result of the unsustainable increase in cost of providing unlimited access through an automatic licensing model.
Kanopy’s pricing for libraries under our previous model was based on views per title. Once a title was viewed three times for longer than 30 seconds, we were charged a licensing fee of $135 for one year of access.
Under the new model, users will still be able to watch and stream all of our currently licensed films in Kanopy (of which there are more than 800). New titles may still be requested by members of the Duke community, but they will not be accessible automatically.
We understand and respect how popular streaming media has become. It is an invaluable instructional resource and a gateway for lifelong learning. We regret having to make this change. But we could neither justify nor sustain Kanopy’s skyrocketing price tag.
Duke is not alone in having made this difficult choice. The libraries at Stanford and Harvard have also had to limit their use of Kanopy, and the New York Public Library system recently canceled their subscription to the service due to the unsustainable cost.
Here’s a summary of what’s changing:
- We will only subscribe to Media Education Foundation titles on Kanopy.
- Already-licensed films can still be found on Kanopy and are listed individually in our online library catalog.
- All other titles may be requested via the Kanopy platform or through a course reserve request.
- We will continue to accept faculty requests for Kanopy films and videos assigned in courses. If you are a faculty member, use our “Place Items on Reserve” form for these titles. If you are using a film for a class and are concerned about the expiration date of our license for it, use the same form to ensure access.
Other options for streaming and viewing video
We have a number of other streaming video platforms available to members of the Duke community. For a complete list, please refer to our Streaming Video guide.
We also encourage you to explore our extensive DVD and Blu-ray holdings, which you can find in our online catalog and have delivered to the Duke library of your choice.
For more info
For additional questions about Kanopy or about our film streaming options, please contact:
Danette Pachtner
Librarian for Film, Video & Digital Media
danettep@duke.edu