Russia presented its human-like AI robot. It fell down as it walked onto the stage.

There are films that have rights that drop off platforms, like Kanopy, and then, it's a huge challenge to restore access, once rights expire and no one is motivated to bring the film back, thinking that it's niche and there's no market or appeal or potential audience. 4/

Some films have institutional license versions and then others that are intended to educational buyers outside of academia, because that's what the filmmaker is considering, and they haven't thought of their film coming up in the classroom. 3/

Researchers at The Ohio State Univ. found that Spanish-language films, works by Latinx filmmakers, are among the hardest to source for academic use. 2/

The market for independent filmmakers and producers can go direct-to-consumer, but their indie self-distribution often doesn't consider the university/college licensing market, and they are missing out on opportunities. 1/

It's so interesting that many of the works that are ephemeral & unlicenseable for libraries are not works of world cinema from the Global South, as I'd expect, but American films, indie films, documentaries, episodic series of all kinds--all seemingly right under our noses. 5/5

As librarians, do we have a mandate to ensure ongoing access? At this point in time, we are directing cultural heritage priorizations, and media librarians have choices to make in terms of what rights we pursue, as content goes more digital. 4/

As we move away from physical objects in our media collections, and it becomes more ephemeral, how do we help people access "locked content"? The business of film and media isn't always interested in improving access, or commodifying certain properties 3/

The data also shows that quite a few films from Japan were among the requested materials that the library was not able to acquire. My thought is that the distributors and filmmakers were likely impossible to reach or communicate with... 2/

So interesting to hear about "unlicenseable," unavailable films from Christine Smith as part of the Video Trust Conference. The most inaccessible films are recent films, from the U.S., and rather than long-form films, now episodic original series are less available. 1/

There remains a lot of work to be done, and opportunities around the holidays, to promote inclusive, nuanced, considered collections and diverse perspectives. It was useful to hear how others have approached challenges to library materials as part of this keynote presentation.

Would-be censors fortunately cannot disappear streaming content that #libraries have licensed for thematic promotions, and in conjunction with library displays. It's also onerous to do this with #ebooks in public library collections. #censorship

Library policies can be your friend, if you have would-be censors in your community who check out controversial items en masse, in effect enacting #censorship by hoarding materials. Put rules in place to keep materials available and visible if they are on display.

Excited to be with my people online at the 2025 Video Trust Annual Conference this week. Media librarians, film distributors, people who appreciate media in libraries, please join us! Nov 11-12-13. https://t.co/FrUHc6Hrit #filmdistribution #medialibrarians #filmlibrarians

The Penn Libraries has a vast range of films in its collections about #Indigenous Americans. Come see our display of films in Van Pelt! Featured films available to stream - Native American Heritage Month: https://t.co/A8lldoSqaW #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth #NativeStudents #NAIS

Our closing keynote 11/13, Regina Longo on Sustaining Communities of Practice in Polarizing Times. Together we are fighting cuts, slash-and-burn tactics, that are paralyzing the work of #librarians, #archivists, national parks, public media. Join us! https://t.co/8bHE4rw5Cj 8/8

Also on 11/12, Community-Driven VHS Digitization: The Academic Libraries Video Trust. An institutional partnership to help digitize and preserve aging and threatened #VHS collections. Save your library's old VHS tape, especially rare material that never made the leap to DVD! 7/8

Then on 11/12, Made in #Michigan: Digitizing and preserving the #MichiganState WKAR Early Television Films Collection, a 16mm film collection from a public TV station undergoing #digitization and preservation, part of a congressionally funded project. #earlytv #tvhistory 6/8

On 11/12, Managing Streaming Media Collection Development in Uncertain Times. How does an R1 library support streaming media collection development, facing budget and staff shortages, esp. when a university is dealing w/ economic challenges and declining enrollment? 5/8

Also on 11/11, A Case Study of Ethnic Studies Media Acquisitions in the Post-Pandemic Academic Library. Streaming media acquisitions are essential, and media on #Latinx, #NativeAmerican and #AsianAmerican experiences are in demand. How do we navigate rights? #filmdistribution 4/8