Cinema

Most media -- including DVDs, VHS cassettes, CDs, CD-ROMs, and audio cassettes -- are located on the 1st floor of the J.D. Williams Library. (CLICK HERE FOR MAP)

Music LPs are stored offsite and must be requested using the form in the item's catalog record.

Microforms (both -fiche and -film) are also located on the 1st floor. 

UM Libraries has access to a limited number of streaming video titles. As an academic library, however, we do not have subscriptions to Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, or other platforms available to individual subscribers. 

Kanopy Streaming Video

Kanopy is an on-demand streaming video services for libraries that provides you an easy way to watch movies and documentaries whenever you want, on the convenience of your own device. The library does not subscribe to all of the titles available on Kanopy.

Academic Video Online

Academic Video Online provides access to more than 63,000 videos. The database includes scholarly video material of virtually every video type: documentaries, interviews, performances, news programs and newsreels, field recordings, commercials, demonstrations, original and raw footage including tens of thousands of exclusive titles. There are thousands of award-winning films, Academy,® Emmy,® and Peabody® winners along with the most frequently used films for classroom instruction, plus newly released films and previously unavailable archival material.

DVDs are organized by Library of Congress and are not filed alphabetically by title.

Documentary and educational/informational films are located in the SAME CALL NUMBER RANGES as books on the same topic.

• DS557 = Vietnam, History of Asia
• GV880 = Baseball, Sports
• M1500 = Musical films and operas
  

Fictional films and television shows are usually found in the PNs:

• PN1992.8 = Television shows (by genre)

• PN1997 = Films originally produced before 2001

• PN1997.2 = Films originally produced after 2001

NOTE: Foreign Films, regardless of production date, are grouped together BY COUNTRY within the PN1997 range.

• Ex: PN1997.F8 = French films / PN1997.M6 = Mexican films

Literary Adaptations have the same call number as the original work:
Ex: Breakfast at Tiffany's = PS3505.A59 B712 1999

• PR = British Literature

• PS = American Literature

• PG = Russian Literature

• PL = Asian Literatures (Japanese, Chinese, Korean)

• PQ = Romance Literatures (French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese)

• PT = Germanic Literatures

Use the "Content Type" section in the left column to limit your results to "DVD," as seen in this screen capture.

Don't know where to start?

Use a KEYWORD search to look for certain words in a catalog record. Search by: KEYWORD -- Limit by format (video/films)
NOTE: the word "movies" is rarely used in a library catalog. Search for "films" instead.

• insurance fraud
• eating disorders
• world war ii

Looking for a specific film? Search by TITLE.

• rear window (look for the DVD and VHS icons)

NOTE: a TITLE SEARCH can also bring up books or materials ABOUT a certain film, such as criticism or interpretation or, in some cases, an original screenplay.

Looking for a specific actor, actress or director? Search by AUTHOR (last name first). 

• hitchcock alfred
• stewart jimmy
• kelly grace

Are you looking for a specific type or genre of film? Search by SUBJECT heading.

• feature films
• documentary films
• historical films
• detective and mystery films
• adventure films
• horror films
• war films
• silent films
• animated films (but for The Simpsons? Animated television series)
• foreign films (if looking for a specific country, include that in your search --> foreign films france)

Are you looking for an adaptation of a particular book?

1. Search by TITLE, and look for the VHS/DVD icon in the item list -- OR
2. Search by SUBJECT with the official version of the author's name with "film and video adaptations

• shakespeare william 1564-1616 film and video adaptations