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 theatre and performing arts. 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
There is a very useful, and brief, video tutorial on using the Search function which can be viewed by clicking on icon below:
Suggested journals:
Video & Multimedia - Theatre Specific
BU has a number of platforms specific to theatre and performing arts, but you can also find relevant content in multidisciplinary collections listed in the box below this one.
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Music & Performing Arts (Audio & Video Collections) This link opens in a new window Music & Performing Arts' collections include American Music, Classical, Contemporary World, Jazz, Popular, Smithsonian's Global Sound, Ethnographic Sound Archives, American Film Scripts, Asian American Drama, Black Drama, North American Drama, and Theatre in Context. Search results include links to the full text of the Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online (1997-2001), with additional audio examples.
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OntheBoards.TV This link opens in a new window OntheBoards.tv is a collection of videos of full-length performances by artists working in dance, theater, music and other forms. Performance are filmed in Seattle, Portland, Austin, and New York. The aim of OntheBoards is to "introduce audiences to artistic innovators who are defining the future of dance, theater and music."
An interesting resource is BUniverse. This is the student-led platform for hosting video content on a broad range of topics and subjects, and includes some content for theatre. To discover more, please visit the section: About BUniverse
To access the resource please click into the image below:
Video & Multimedia
The university subscribes to a number of excellent multidisciplinary video and audio platforms. It is advisable to consult these first for any content you wish to use in your teaching, since use of content from third party sources can be fraught with licencing/ownership and copyright issues. However, this box includes external sources for video content you may consider using, but please consult the terms of use, which are included here.
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Academic Video Online This link opens in a new window Academic Video Online delivers more than 67,000 titles spanning a range of subject areas including anthropology, business, counseling, film, health, history, music, and more. It includes documentaries, films, demonstrations, and other content types.
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Kanopy This link opens in a new window Kanopy is a provider of documentaries, training films, and theatrical releases available as streaming video. Clips from the videos can be embedded in presentations or shown in class. Films in the Boston University Libraries catalog are licensed to Boston University for educational and research use only, for BU students, faculty, and staff.
TED Talks are of course a great source of content for a broad range of subjects and topics. However, TED has previously considered the education sector as 'for profit', as a university 'sells courses' to students, which would usually require content to be purchased. This is largely disputed, and the majority of TED content (unless otherwise stated) is released under the Creative Commons (CC) licence CC BY–NC–ND 4.0 meaning that it can be used in teaching, provided the terms of the licence are followed.
Please consult the licence here and ensure this is adhered to if you are using TED content: CC Licence for TED
Please see this link for for the full TED Terms of Use
To access TED please click the image below:
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:
Databases for Theatre
This section highlights some of the more specialised theatre and performing arts databases, although many of the Humanities, Social Science or multi disciplinary databases will offer relevant content. Hover over the "i" on each resource for a brief description.
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Performing Arts Database This link opens in a new window Performing Arts Database locates citations for writings spanning the disciplines of theatre, dance, and music. These writings chiefly originate in subject-specific trade journals, magazines, and more established scholarly journals. Some full-text is included. Content is international in scope with the majority of the original content having been produced in the United States and Europe.
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Project Muse This link opens in a new window Project Muse provides digital access to scholarly journals and books in the humanities and social sciences. The scholarly content comes from non-profit scholarly publishers, including university presses and societies. The full text resources include journal articles, book reviews and book chapters.
Multi-disciplinary databases
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Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window
Academic Search Premier contains indexing, abstracts and full-text articles for scholarly publications, most of them peer-reviewed. The subjects covered include topics in the social sciences, humanities, general science, education and most areas of academic study.
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Periodicals Archive Online This link opens in a new window
A full text archive of millions of articles published in more 700 magazines, and journals in the humanities and social sciences, in English and other Western European languages.
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Gale Academic OneFile This link opens in a new window
Multidisciplinary database that includes scholarly journals in the physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, business, literature, and other subjects.
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. 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.
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:
