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Online Resources: Films on Demand

Learn about the library's online resources: what types of sources they contain, search strategies, and unique features.

About Films on Demand

Films on Demand     Films on Demand logo

Films on Demand is a proprietary database that allows you to access full-length and clip-length videos covering a wide range of topics, from art to sociology. Students can use videos or clips for research, or include short clips in their presentations. Faculty can embed videos in Blackboard courses and build assignments around them.

Locate videos and clips by conducting a basic keyword search or by selecting a subject and using subtopics to narrow the search. The Special Collections include programming from PBS, BBC, TED, and various other sources.

Create your own account to save videos and clips to a playlist or folders for easy retrieval and playback at any time.

Accessing Films on Demand

Do I have to log in?

If you are using a campus computer or campus WiFi, you should be able to directly access the resource. If you are off-campus, you will be prompted to log in using your Single Sign-On username and password. Contact the library if you have any problems accessing the resource.

Searching in Films on Demand

You can access Films on Demand either from the Find Journals/Other Online Resources page on the Library tab in Blackboard or by clicking the Films on Demand link on the library’s webpage. Off-site users will be required to authenticate using their Single Sign-On information. On the Films on Demand home page, enter a keyword in the search field, or use the Menu icon (three horizontal lines) to search by subjects, popular categories, or featured producers.

 

After executing the search, the search results can be narrowed down with Filter Options.

 

Click the title of a video from the results list to view the video.

Viewing a Film

When you select a film, the video will appear along with some other tools. At the top right there will be an option to view the transcript of the video, and an option to see the segments within the video (not all videos have been broken down into segments).

You can select a segment to view, or you can choose to play the entire video by clicking the play button.

Below the video are other tools you can use, such as:

  • Citation, to generate a citation in several different formats.  APA citations generated with this tool are incomplete--please see the next box below on how to properly cite content in APA format from Films on Demand.
  • Share, to email a video to someone
  • Add to, to add a video to a playlist or folder (you will need to create and log into your own account)
  • Embed/Link, to embed your video in your Blackboard course for instance.

Library Database References

**When using a generated citation, you must double check it for accuracy! It’s not unusual for a database to have an error in a citation!**

Database information is typically not included in most references because sources can be found in multiple platforms. The goal of a citation is to allow the reader to find the source, not to tell them how to find the source. Meaning a particular article may be found in Ebsco, or Gale, on the publisher's website. Database information is only included if they have "original, proprietary content and works of limited circulation" (Business Insights, Proquest dissertations & theses, Cochrane database of systematic reviews). URLs are usually not included because the reader would need to login to access the source, but your professor may request that you include them.

The citation tool above results in this for an article:

Peters, R., & Quinn, M. (2018). Agrowtopia: Cultivating Community, Consciousness and Capital on Campus. Journal of Case Studies, 36(3). Retrieved from https://bi.gale.com/global/article/GALE|A597895516/48398b0d65e763958fb4d0e51125f445?u=centpenn_itc1#

The correct citation will not include the database information because the article can be found in other databases or through an online search. If there were a DOI, the DOI url would be included. If there were page numbers, they would be included after the issue number. Since there isn't a DOI, or page numbers, and the URL would take the reader to a login page the URL is not included. The reference ends after the volume number.

Peters, R., & Quinn, M. (2018). Agrowtopia: Cultivating community, consciousness and capital on campus. Journal of Case Studies, 36(3).

In Business Insights there is a good chance you will be retrieving items that are not articles, but reports and other data. These sources do not have the citation tool option. These reports might not be found elsewhere so the name of the database is included, along with the retrieval date if they update over time and are not archived.

Author. (Year, Month day of publication). Title of the report [Type of report]. Database name.

OR, if the content updates and you should include the retrieval date:

Author. (Year, Month day of publication). Title of the report [Type of report]. Retrieved date, from Database name.

For example:

GlobalData. (2019, March). Starbucks Corp - Financial and strategic analysis review. Business Insights.

New Constructs. (2022, February 19). Meta Platforms Inc. (FB) [Investment report]. Retrieved March 11, 2022, from Business Insights.

Starbucks Corp. [Company profile]. (2019). Business Insights. Retrieved February 13, 2020, from Business Insights.

McDonald's Corp. (2020).  [McDonald's Corp. interim - last 5 periods Income statement]. Retrieved February 18, 2020, from Business Insights.

** When using a generated citation, you must double check it for accuracy! It’s not unusual for a database to have an error in a citation!**

Database information is not included in most references because sources can be found in multiple platforms. The goal of a citation is to allow the reader to find the source, not to tell them how to find the source. Meaning a particular article may be found in Ebsco, or Gale, on the publisher's website. Database information is only included if they have "original, proprietary content and works of limited circulation" (Proquest dissertations & theses, Cochrane database of systematic reviews). URLs are not included because the reader would need to login to access the source.

In Credo, either use the citation tool at the top of the page or find the APA citation following each entry.

credo cite tool

Copy and paste the citation, and then make any necessary corrections.

This is how a citation from a reference work is generally structured.

Author's last name, First initial. Middle initial. (Year). Title of entry. In Title of reference work (edition). Publisher name.

This is what the copied citation looks like using the citation tools in Credo:

credo APA citation screenshot

Almost correct, but it does not need the URL in 7th edition APA. This is how it should look:

Posluszny, D., Spencer, S., & Baum, A. (2007). Post-traumatic stress disorder. In S. Ayers, A. Baum, C. McManus, & et. al. (Eds.), Cambridge handbook of psychology, health and medicine (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

The following example, is if there is no author.

Hormone therapy. (2016). In Merriam Webster's Medical Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. 

** When using a generated citation, you must double check it for accuracy! It’s not unusual for a database to have an error in a citation!**

Database information is not included in most references because sources can be found in multiple platforms. The goal of a citation is to allow the reader to find the source, not to tell them how to find the source. Meaning a particular article may be found in Ebsco, or Gale, on the publisher's website. Database information is only included if they have "original, proprietary content and works of limited circulation" (Proquest dissertations & theses, Cochrane database of systematic reviews). URLs are not included because the reader would need to login to access the source.

Ebook Central has a Citation tool available both on the Detail Page and in the Reader view of the ebook. Ebook central cite book tool screenshot       Ebook Central Cite tool in read online

Book and ebook citations are treated the same. They require the following elements: author(s), year of publication, book title, book edition (if applicable), and publisher name. Ebook Central does not need to be listed as the database.

Author's last name, initials. (year of publication). Title of book: With only capitalization of first word of title and subtitle and any proper nouns. Publisher. DOI or URL

Ebook Central Citation tool example

Change the format in the drop-down box to APA. The citation ends after the publisher's name because there is no DOI and the URL will not work without logging in. "Dark Knight" is one of Batman's most well-known nicknames, and the name Batman is also a proper noun, so all three words should be capitalized. You also don't need to include the business structure information (Limited). The corrected citation is:

Brooker, W. (2012). Hunting the Dark Knight: Twenty-first century Batman. I.B. Tauris & Company.

 

**When using a generated citation, you must double check it for accuracy! It’s not unusual for a database to have an error in a citation!**

Database information is not included in most references because sources can be found in multiple platforms. The goal of a citation is to allow the reader to find the source, not to tell them how to find the source. Meaning a particular article may be found in Ebsco, or Gale, on the publisher's website. Database information is only included if they have "original, proprietary content and works of limited circulation" (Proquest dissertations & theses, Cochrane database of systematic reviews). URLs are usually not included because the reader would need to login to access the source.

 

 

When you click the Cite tool button the popup screen provides citations in a variety of styles. Scroll down to find the APA citation. Copy & paste it into your paper and then correct it for 7th edition style if necessary. Articles should follow this format:

Author's last name, first initial. middle initial. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume#(issue#), pages-pages. DOI or URL

In the example below, the first word of the subtitle (after the colon) should be capitalized, but the 'of' in the Journal title should not be.

ebsco APA citation

Corrected citation:

Dury, R. (2016). COPD and emotional distress: Not always noticed and therefore untreated. British Journal of Community Nursing, 21(3), 138–141. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjcn.2016.21.3.138

Business reports are treated differently because these reports might not be found elsewhere; in this situation the name of the database is included. If the information updates over time and is not be archived, include the retrieval date.

Author. (Year, Month day of publication). Title of the report [Type of report]. Database name.

OR, if the content updates and you should include the retrieval date:

Author. (Year, Month day of publication). Title of the report [Type of report]. Retrieved date, from Database name.

Citation example of corrected MarketLine report in Business Source Premier:

MarketLine. (2019, October 28). Company profile: Netflix, Inc. Business source Premier.

[You'll find the date on the first page of the PDF, bottom left.]

**When using a generated citation, you must double check it for accuracy! It’s not unusual for a database to have an error in a citation!**

Database information is not included in most references because sources can be found in multiple platforms. The goal of a citation is to allow the reader to find the source, not to tell them how to find the source. Meaning a particular article may be found in Ebsco, or Gale, on the publisher's website. Database information is only included if they have "original, proprietary content and works of limited circulation" (Proquest dissertations & theses, Cochrane database of systematic reviews). URLs are not included because the reader would need to login to access the source.

Films on Demand does have a Citation tool available directly below the video frame. 

FOD tools cite highlighted

HOWEVER--Films on Demand citations for APA are usually incomplete and should not include a URL (APA citations should only have a retrieval date if the content might change).

You can start with the citation from Films on Demand, but you will need to correct it and finish it yourself with help from a style guide, a librarian, and/or your professor.

Here is an example citation from a Films on Demand video:

Films on Demand incorrect citation from tool

As you can see, the video director or producer is missing.  However, that information is easily available in the database. 

In the image below you can see, in the Details section, that the video producer is Java Films. 

A correct APA citation for this film would be:

Java Films (Producer). (2014). The mobile revolution [Video]. 

Many videos in Films on Demand are divided into segments, and sometimes you might only use a segment in a project/presentation. 

To cite a segment: Add the segment name and number to the citation

Java Films (Producer). (2014). Disruptive technology [segment 13]. In The mobile revolution [Video].

 

**When using a generated citation, you must double check it for accuracy! It’s not unusual for a database to have an error in a citation!**

Database information is not included in most references because sources can be found in multiple platforms. The goal of a citation is to allow the reader to find the source, not to tell them how to find the source. Meaning a particular article may be found in Ebsco, or Gale, on the publisher's website. Database information is only included if they have "original, proprietary content and works of limited circulation" (Proquest dissertations & theses, Cochrane database of systematic reviews). URLs are not included because the reader would need to login to access the source.

Articles should follow this basic format:

Author's last name, first initial. middle initial. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume#(issue#), pages-pages. DOI or URL

 

Gale tools with cite circled

This is the citation that Gale displays:

Volkow, N. D., & Blanco, C. (2020). Medications for opioid use disorders: clinical and pharmacological considerations. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 130(1), 10+. Retrieved from https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A612694392/AONE?u=centpenn_itc1&sid=AONE&xid=64436e81.

It should be:

Volkow, N. D., & Blanco, C. (2020). Medications for opioid use disorders: Clinical and pharmacological considerations. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 130(1), 10-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1172/JCI134708   

The page numbers indicated (10+) weren't correct. Downloading the article you are able to find the page range on the PDF, and there was a doi provided.

 

Customizing Films on Demand

Creating a Personal Account

You can create a personal Films on Demand account, which will allow you to create playlists and save films and clips to your favorites.

  1. If you are not at a Central Penn College location, you will need to authenticate using your Single Sign-On ID and password to initially log into Films on Demand.
  2. Click the Your Profile icon at the top right and fill out the new user form.
  3. You can use a personal email account, and choose any password you like.

Once you have created an account, you may use this account information to log into Films on Demand any time you are asked for a user ID and password for this database. You can also use the Sign in with Microsoft option to link your accounts

 

You will also use the account you create when you want to save or access films and clips added to a playlist or saved to your favorites list.

Playlists

 

You can create a playlist of films or clips. To create a playlist:

  1. Find a film or clip that you want to add to the playlist.

  2. Click the Add to+ button beneath the video.

  3. Select the Playlist tab.

  4. In Select Items to Add to Playlist, choose to either:

  • Add Full Title - Click on this option to add only the full title to your playlist.
  • Add All Segments - Click on this option to add all segments for a video to your playlist. This will exclude the full title.
  • Individual Segments - You can use the CTRL key and your mouse to select as many individual segments as you like.
  • Add To Playlist - Select an existing playlist to add more content to.
  • New Playlist - Enter a name for the playlist and click on this button to create a new playlist from the selections.

To access a playlist, click the Profile button and select My Content. On the My Content page, you can share, edit, copy, and delete playlists, and add playlists to a folder.

 

Favorites

  1. Click the Full Title or the Segment name that you want to add to favorites.
  2. Click the Add to+ button under the video.
  3. The default tab is Favorites
  4. You will have the option to add films/segments to an existing folder or to create a new folder in Favorites.

To access your favorites, click the Profile button and select My Content. Go to the folder you added it to.

Using Films on Demand videos in Blackboard

Find the video you would like to use in Films on Demand. Click the Share icon. Films on Demand share icon

From the box that pops up. Select the Embed/Link option and copy the Record URL

Films on Demand record url option

In Blackboard go where you would like to embed the video. Click Build Content - Create item. Enter the name you would like to use to indicate the activity. Enter your text in the box. Click the Insert/Edit link in the toolbar. In the box that pops up Paste the Record URL you copied from Films on Demand and make sure to select top Open link in New Window. Save. Change other Blackboard options and click Submit.

Blackboard insert Edit link

It will look like this to students

what Blackboard link with text looks like

Contact the Library

The Library is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday,  & Friday from 10AM - 5PM and Wednesday from 1PM - 8PM.

If you need help from the librarian or need to access the library resources outside of those hours let us know!

Call or text 717-728-2500 or email Library@centralpenn.edu to make an appointment.

Remember the Learning Hub is also open with lots of great faculty and staff willing to help with tutoring, advising, and general questions.

Chat with a Librarian

Library Director