How librarians can collaborate with faculty on film in the classroom

In a recent webinar “From Screen to Syllabus,” documentary film and educational experts along with academic librarians described how documentaries bring diverse voices and real-world issues into the academic setting. Documentaries connect students with authentic voices, elevate people’s stories and explore current topics of the day. Importantly, by providing visual and emotional context, they make complex topics more accessible and engaging for students.

Librarians can help faculty integrate this important content into their classrooms, driving student engagement and success, whether teaching ethics, biology, psychology or the social sciences.

Here are five practical tips for librarians to collaborate with faculty to raise awareness of documentaries and promote their integration into the curriculum.

1. 1. Identify relevant documentaries for course integration: Librarians can play key roles in helping faculty identify documentaries that align with their course content and research interests. A single documentary can often support multiple disciplines, making them collection workhorses.
      Elinor Kowarsky, Co-Founder, Co-CEO at Film Platform, a distributor of premier documentaries, said: “We curate films that can reach across multiple disciplines.” A great example is iHuman a documentary that can be used in computer science, ethics and political science courses, reflecting the growing interest in AI and its societal impacts, and the myriad ways these themes weave together. Similarly, The Invisible Extinction is suitable for biology, public health and medicine.
   2. Leverage available resources and discussion guides: Providing faculty with ready-to-use resources such as discussion guides can facilitate the integration of documentaries into their teaching. Fran Sterling, Director of Blueshift Education, highlighted the importance of these resources: “Take advantage of the curriculum guides provided by Film Platform to help faculty easily incorporate documentaries into their syllabi and classroom discussions.”
   3. Promote documentaries from the collection through targeted outreach: Effective communication with faculty about the availability and relevance of the documentaries in the library’s collection is essential. Regular meetings with subject liaisons and targeted newsletters can inform faculty about new and relevant documentaries. Gisèle Tanasse, Film & Media Services Librarian at University of California Berkeley agrees: “We have clusters of science librarians, where through regular conversations with them, we’ll highlight films that we know may interest their instructors.”
   4. Leverage data and usage statistics: Using data to demonstrate the impact and relevance of documentaries can be persuasive. Scott Spicer, Media Outreach Librarian at the University of Minnesota shared his approach: “I do a lot of data analytics on our usage and keep abreast on the big topics being discussed on campus. I’m also looking at patterns to get a sense if what’s being shown in class.” By presenting faculty with usage statistics and case studies, librarians can help faculty better understand and use the documentary content libraries have available.
   5. Highlight the pedagogical value of documentaries: Emphasizing the unique educational benefits of documentaries can help faculty see their value and make use of valuable library content. Documentaries offer authenticity and a human connection that can make abstract concepts more tangible and relatable for students. By highlighting these aspects, librarians can encourage faculty to incorporate documentaries into their teaching strategies. Spicer noted, “The pedagogical value is to engage and motivate individuals to care… to advocate and change their behavior.”

Other suggestions include:

• • Sponsor campus screenings (depending on public performance rights availability) (see ideas in our resource guide)
  • Use documentaries to support calendar celebrations, i.e.. Black History Month, Mental Health Awareness Month, etc. (see ideas in our resource guide)
  • Leverage social media channels to promote films to your audience. Explore Academic Video Online Marketing Toolkit and resource guide for ideas)
  • Share blogs written about the films with your faculty and students via newsletters and social media to increase awareness of the availability of these resources at your library. (see ideas in our resource guide)
  • Join VideoLib to tap into the rich network of media librarians and their expertise.

Recommended resources to explore from our panelists:

• • Fernandez, M., and Serrano, A (In Press). Streaming Video Collection Development and Management. Bloomsbury Publishing.
  • Spicer, Scott. 2018. “Perspectives on the Role of Instructional Video in Higher Education.” In The Routledge Companion to Media Education, Copyright, and Fair Use, edited by Renee Hobbs, 236–57. New York: Routledge.
  • ACRL Choice White Paper. Tanasse, G. (2021). Implementing and managing streaming media services in academic libraries.

Documentaries, with their ability to humanize and contextualize topics, are invaluable resources in the academic setting. By following these tips, librarians can effectively collaborate with faculty to integrate these valuable resources into their classrooms, enriching students' educational experiences and fostering a deeper understanding of complex issues.

To explore these strategies further watch the recording the webinar “From Screen to Syllabus: Using Documentaries to Strengthen Library and Faculty Collaboration.”

Ready to explore Film Platform documentaries and more in Academic Video Online? Request a free trial.