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BU Electronic Resources: Film & Television

BU Library search function

BU libraries has a very useful search function: a meta search engine, through which you can search across all collections, journals, databases and books - including down to article level in individual journals. It's advisable to sign in using your BU credentials (bu.edu email and password) to ensure you are seeing all the results. The sign in option appears at the top right-hand corner of the page. Please click on the image to access the search function.

 

For all and any help with resources please contact the library at any stage.

Journals

The university subscribes to a broad range of titles relating to film and television. To search for and access individual titles, use the BU Libraries Search function. 

To select journal titles, choose the journals option from the drop-down menu as shown in the screenshot below. To access journals search please click here

Below are some suggested journals for film and television:

There is a very useful, and brief, video tutorial on using the Search function which can be viewed by clicking on the icon below:

E-Books

Similar to e-journals, the university has access to a broad range of platforms and suppliers for electronic books.

Proquest Ebook Central encompasses a wide variety of subjects and titles, and is a very nicely designed user-friendly platform. Click into the logo to access:

We have a very useful subject guide to e-books, which you can access from the link below. This gathers together all of the university's e-book platforms along with reliable third-party open access collections: E-Books Research Guide

Video & Multimedia

BU has a range of excellent multi-media platforms for film and TV. Below is a section of these with brief descriptions and links through to the platform. In order to search all databases for those with majority video content, go to the main A-Z list and search using 'video' or similar terms: Database A-Z page

 

TED Talks are of course a great source of content for a broad range of subjects and topics. However please do be very careful if you choose to use this. The majority of content is released under the Creative Commons (CC) licence CC BY–NC–ND 4.0 

Please consult the licence here and ensure the conditions are followed: CC Licence for TED

To access TED please click the image below:

Lantern

A useful resource for film and television is Lantern. This is the search platform for the Media History Digital Library from the University of Wisconsin, and provides access to a vast range of historic books and magazines on film and broadcasting. It's entirely open access so all content if free to use in teaching, subject to some T&Cs, such as crediting and acknowledging materials used - please view the About pages before use.

Please click into the logo below to access the resource

Open Access Materials

The university has an extensive repository for materials produced under open access, OpenBU. Click into the image below to find the landing page - from here you can access subject specific collections and the main page for articles, all of which are searchable:

Databases for Film and Television

The university has access to a broad range of film, TV and Media databases. The section highlights just a few of these, and the link to the main A-Z list can be found at the base of this box. Hover over the "i" for more information on each resource.

 

From the main landing page for databases, you can search resources using your own terms, the A-Z list, or use the pre-set subjects and database type options as shown below. Currently we have 6 databases devoted to film and television, though many other sources, such as Factiva, will have related and relevant content. To access the page, please click into the image. 

Box of Broadcasts (BoB)

Box of Broadcasts - or BoB for short - is a unique resource. This is a UK-based television/radio archive and streaming service, which covers all UK terrestrial channels. It's records go back to the early 1990s, so the breadth of content is vast, and it is constantly updated each day as programmes are broadcast. 

The first time you use the service you will need to register using your BU.edu email, and this is a very quick process. 

The benefits of this service are:

  • Programmes can be booked in advance of being aired, and are then emailed to you when ready to view.
  • Create personalized playlists of broadcasts. 
  • Edit broadcasts into clips and create playlists of these. 
  • Easily share and/or embed broadcasts and playlists.  

To access BoB:

  • Visit Learning on Screen
  • When prompted type Boston University into the box (this will appear as you type)
  • Sign in from here using your bu.edu credentials (email and password)

Please click into the image below to access a full set of instructions for using the service. 

Below are a series of brief how-to videos, made by Learning on Screen who provide us with BoB, covering all essential elements of using the service. Click into the image below to access these:

Images

The Copyright Guide has links through to an extensive list of image sources, plus guidance on using these materials in line with UK rules. Please click into the image below to access the guide:

Please contact the library for all and any copyright related questions.

News sources

We have a useful and detailed guide dedicated to current news and news sources. Click into the image below to access:

 

An interesting site for news content is Pressreader - this offers digital versions of global newspapers and magazines covering a broad range of subjects. Click into the logo to access: