Library Guides: Affordable Course Content (Greater Allegheny): Library-licensed Content

Searching for e-Books

The search box above will initiate a simple LionSearch for e-books containing the keywords you provide. For a more productive search experience, it is recommended that you further refine your results by publication date, discipline, and/or subject using the options to the left of the results list. It might be helpful to add "textbook" to your keywords if that is the type of content you are seeking, although the effectiveness of this technique varies widely.

Alternatively, you can search for e-books in the library's new catalog interface at https://catalog.libraries.psu.edu/?f%5Baccess_facet%5D%5B%5D=Online&f%5Bformat%5D%5B%5D=Book&q=&search_field=all_fields. You may find that the subject, genre, and call number options for refining your search work more effectively to discover relevant results.

The University Libraries also license many electronic textbooks for World Campus classes, which are available for all Penn State instructors to use. To view the list of titles, go to https://libraries.psu.edu/about/libraries/world-campus-and-penn-state-online/world-campus-e-books. To find a title in our catalog, copy and paste the ISBN into the big search box on the library's homepage.

Streaming Video Sources

Here are some of our most popular sources of streaming video content. To search our new catalog interface for streaming videos on a particular topic, start at https://catalog.libraries.psu.edu/?f%5Baccess_facet%5D%5B%5D=Online&f%5Bformat%5D%5B%5D=Video&q=&search_field=all_fields. For a list of subject-specific video databases and information about public performance/copyright issues, go to http://guides.libraries.psu.edu/videoresources/.

Academic Video Online (AVON) This link opens in a new window
Offers over 66,000 titles on topics including business, counseling, health, etc.
"Academic Video Online has more than 66,000 titles spanning a wide range of subjects including anthropology, business, counseling, film, health, history, music, and more. More than 14,000 titles are exclusive to Alexander Street."
Filmakers Library Online This link opens in a new window
Provides access to over 1,200 titles on topics including race and gender studies,criminal justice, health and bioethics, psychology, literature, and more.
Over 1200 video titles distributed by Filmakers Library are available through this online streaming service. Topics covered include: race and gender studies, human rights, globalization and global studies, multiculturalism, international relations, criminal justice, the environment, bioethics, health, political science and current events, psychology, arts, literature, and more.
Films on Demand (Films Media Group) This link opens in a new window
Distributes online documentaries from the BBC, Cambridge Education, and other publishers.
Films Media Group distributes online documentaries from a variety of producers, including Films for the Humanities and Sciences, A&E Television Networks, Bill Moyers, BBC, Cambridge Educational, and Open University. Search for specific movie titles, or browse a list of all the online documentaries licensed by the Penn State University Libraries.
Kanopy Streaming Service This link opens in a new window
Includes hundreds of documentaries, many of which are licensed at the request of instructors for one-year terms.
Kanopy distributes documentaries, independent and world cinema, and classic and award-winning films from a variety of filmmakers, including the Media Education Foundation. Search for specific movie titles, or browse a list of all the online documentaries licensed by the Penn State University Libraries. To find out when the license for a Kanopy video expires, contact the Music and Media Center at musiccenter@psu.edu.
New World Cinema: Independent Features and Shorts, 1990 - Present This link opens in a new window
Includes over 200 feature films from leading independent distributors, along with 50 award-winning short films.
The collection includes over 200 full-length feature films from leading independent distributors such as Kino Lorber, First Run Features, Film Movement, MK2, and Global Lens. There are also some 50 award winning short films. All films were presented at major film festivals, many were nominated for awards, and many have won major awards. Films include the Oscar®-nominated Twilight Samurai, directed by Yôji Yamada, and Oscar-nominated The Scent of Green Papaya, directed by Tran Anh Hung. Collectively the films in the database have won more than 1,000 awards.
PBS Video Collection This link opens in a new window
Provides access to over 200 titles, including Frontline, NOVA, American Experience, etc.
This collection of more than 1,600 streaming videos provides video documentaries and series from PBS. From science to history, art to Shakespeare, diversity to business & economics, and more, the PBS Video Collection provides access to one of television’s most trusted networks. Includes episodes from Frontline, NOVA, American Experience, Odyssey, and more.
Swank Motion Pictures, Inc. This link opens in a new window
The University Libraries' primary vendor for streaming popular movies. Films in this database have been requested by instructors who are using them in class, and are typically licensed for one-year terms.
Over 18,000 movies from major Hollywood studios are available online to Penn State instructors for classroom teaching, via a University Libraries license with Swank Motion Pictures. These titles do not appear in the library catalog.

Instructional Content by Major

Here are some of the best databases to search for instructional content in each of PSUGA's major degree programs.

Administration of Justice

Criminal Justice and Public Safety in Video This link opens in a new window
Includes hundreds of hours of video for students of criminal justice.
Criminal Justice and Public Safety in Video includes hundreds of hours of video for professionals and students in criminal justice and public safety. Documentaries and interviews provide personal field experiences as well as insight into the function and controversies of the justice system. Students will benefit from invaluable training videos that demonstrate how to respond to potentially-dangerous situations, all from the safety of the classroom. Featuring titles by In the Line of Duty, BBC, and A&E Television, Criminal Justice & Public Safety in Video provides an authoritative resource for both students and experts.

Biobehavioral Health

Health and Society in Video This link opens in a new window
Offers hundreds of documentaries and interviews on health and wellness issues and their impact on society.
Health and Society in Video defines and explores today’s latest medical progress in health and wellness issues and their impact on society-- with hundreds of premium documentaries, profiles, reports, and interviews.
Royal Society of Chemistry Journals and eBooks This link opens in a new window
Includes books in biology, chemistry, and biophysics.
Scientific publisher of biology, biophysics, chemical science, materials, medicinal drug discovery and physics high-impact journals and books.

Business/Marketing/Supply Chain Management

Business Education in Video This link opens in a new window
Features case studies, documentaries, interviews, lectures, and more.
Business Education in Video features case studies, documentaries, interviews, biographies, and lectures that focus on the human side of commerce. Following the case method employed by top business schools, these films offer a first-hand look at how the conflict between unlimited demand and limited resources plays out in real life. Subjects covered include Globalization, Operations & Logistics, Management, Marketing, Finance, Strategy, Entrepreneurship, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, International Business, Negotiations, Ethics, Cross-cultural communication, Technology, and much more.
Business Expert Press Digital Libraries This link opens in a new window
Includes over 100 current books on topics in business and product management.
A fully searchable collection of more than 600 current business-related e-books.
Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) This link opens in a new window
Includes over 100 reference works and manuals on business topics.
A collection of over 2000 reference resources.
Harvard Business Publishing Collection This link opens in a new window
Hundreds of books on business and management subjects.
This is a collection of more than 800 eBooks covering business and management subject areas. New titles are added each year. The license agreement includes unlimited concurrent user access. Content may be used as assigned course material.
International Business Online This link opens in a new window
Includes training and instructional videos, case studies, textbook selections, and research reports.
International Business Online is a learning database that synthesizes for the first time online the world’s highest quality applied multimedia content for the study of international business.This online collection is curated by business experts and closely aligned to the syllabi of today’s international business courses. Collectively, it will grow to include a mix of more than 4,000 expert-selected primary source documents, including corporate training videos, instructional films, case studies, text book chapters, research reports, sample business documents, and self-assessments.
SAGE Business and Management Video This link opens in a new window
Streaming content on a variety of topics within business, entrepreneurship, marketing, etc.
This streaming video collection covers the following subjects: business ethics and corporate social responsibility, entrepreneurship, human resource management, international business and management, leadership, marketing, organization studies, strategic management, and more.
SAGE Business Cases This link opens in a new window
Case studies on entrepreneurship, international business, marketing, operations management, etc.
This collection of case studies covers the following subjects: entrepreneurship, human resource management, international business, marketing, operations management, and more.

Communications

Communication & Mass Media Complete This link opens in a new window
Includes hundreds of book chapters along with the most comprehensive index of articles on all aspects of communications.
CMMC incorporates CommSearch (formerly produced by the National Communication Association) and Mass Media Articles Index (formerly produced by Penn State) along with numerous other journals to create a research and reference resource of unprecedented scope and depth in the communication and mass media fields.
Media Education Foundation (MEF) This link opens in a new window
The Media Education Foundation produces and distributes documentary films and other educational resources to inspire critical thinking about the social, political, and cultural impact of American mass media.
The Media Education Foundation produces and distributes documentary films and other educational resources to inspire critical thinking about the social, political, and cultural impact of American mass media.
Vanderbilt Television News Archive (1968-present) This link opens in a new window
Includes more than 30,000 network evening news broadcasts and 9,000 hours of news-related programming.
Vanderbilt Television News Archive is the world's most extensive and complete archive of television news. The collection holds more than 30,000 individual network evening news broadcasts from the major U.S. national broadcast networks: ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN, and more than 9,000 hours of special news-related programming including ABC's Nightline since 1989. These special reports and periodic news broadcasts cover presidential press conferences and political campaign coverage, and national and international events such as the Watergate hearings, the plight of American hostages in Iran, the Persian Gulf war, and the terrorist attack on the United States on September 11, 2001. In addition, through its detailed content related to news events, this resource also serves as a unique reference tool for studying historical and political events. Users have the ability to stream online some videos from the Archive's collection. Others can be secured via Interlibrary Loan.

Energy Engineering

Engineering Case Studies Online This link opens in a new window
Includes documentaries, case studes, lectures, and interviews on engineering failures and successes in a variety of subfields.
Engineering Case Studies Online will dramatically improve teaching and research by providing a single, comprehensive source for a wide range of video and text material focusing on engineering failures and successes. At completion, the collection will contain 250 hours and 50,000 pages of quality documentaries, accident reports, experiments, visualizations, case studies, lectures and interviews from leading engineering institutions around the world.

English

English Poetry, Second Edition This link opens in a new window
Includes the works of over 2,700 poets from the 8th to the early 20th century.
Provides complete texts of the works of over 2,700 poets from the 8th to early 20th century--in all, more than 183,000 poems. Based on the New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature, but also includes English language poets from Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. Generally includes original texts published during the authors' lifetimes.
Literary Theory This link opens in a new window
Contains over 800 works by more than 350 authors.
Literary Theory traces the history of literary theory and criticism from Plato to the present. It contains over 800 works by more than 350 writers. Among the works included are: formal treatises on criticism, essays and manifestos, literary prefaces, theories of imagination, taste and aesthetics, and major examples of contemporary theory.
Literature Online Core (LION Core) (legacy) This link opens in a new window
Full-text access to 300,000+ works of poetry, prose, and drama in English.
With over a third of a million full-text works of poetry, prose and drama in English, together with the definitive online criticism and reference library, Literature Online is the world's largest cross-searchable database of literature and criticism.
Twentieth - Century African American Poetry This link opens in a new window
Features almost 9,000 poems by 62 African American authors of the 20th century.
A database of modern and contemporary African American poetry, featuring almost 9,000 poems by 62 of the most important African American poets of the last century, including Langston Hughes, Jean Toomer, Imamu Amiri Baraka, Audre Lorde and Rita Dove.

Information Sciences & Technology

EDUCAUSE Library This link opens in a new window
Includes books and other resources on the use and management of IT in higher education. NOTE: This is one of the very few library databases that requires you to create a (free) personal account.
Users must click on login in the upper right hand corner and create a profile account with their psu domain e-mail to gain access.The EDUCAUSE Library is an international repository for information concerning use and management of information technology (IT) in higher education. It aggregates over 24,000 resources submitted by EDUCAUSE, EDUCAUSE Center for Analysis Research (ECAR), EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI), Higher Education Information Security Council (HEISC).
Safari Learning Platform: Academic Edition This link opens in a new window
Provides access to thousands of textbooks, manuals, and videos on programming and software applications.
Safari Academic Edition includes more than 35K book titles plus 30K+ hours of video, proven learning paths, case studies, interactive tutorials, audio books, and videos from O’Reilly's global conferences. Includes access to exclusive O’Reilly content and resources from more than 200 other publishers.

Psychology/Social Work

Counseling and Therapy in Video: Volumes 1 - 5 This link opens in a new window
Offers over 400 hours of video on issues and procedures in social work, psychology, and psychiatric counseling.
Counseling and Therapy in Video is an online video collection for the study of social work, psychotherapy, psychology, and psychiatric counseling - over 2400 hours and more than 2000 videos of actual, re-enacted, and scripted therapy sessions. Includes searchable transcripts to find footage of interest. Many videos include Teaching and Discussion Guides, and a number are eligible for Continuing Education (C.E) Credits as indicated.
PsychiatryOnline Premium Package This link opens in a new window
Includes complete access to the DSM-5 along with many textbooks, handbooks, and manuals.
The PsychiatryOnline Premium Collection is a web portal to a group of psychiatric references from American Psychiatric Publishing. The primary resources are the DSM-5™ and The American Journal of Psychiatry, as well as 16 different textbooks and these additional journals: Psychiatric Services, Academic Psychiatry, Journal of Neuropsychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences and Psychiatric News. The platform is completely searchable across all of the content and also offers access to CME credits, current APA Practice guidelines and medication information for patients.