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Collage of screenshots from the featured films.

Our library student assistants are back with the second round of curated picks from Docuseek. Offering more than 3,000 high-quality independent films with an emphasis on social and environmental issues, Docuseek is an invaluable resource for teaching and learning. Why not get started with one of the following standout selections?


Become inspired and emotionally invested in a facet of life that is commonly taken for granted: music. A classical pianist worthy of eternal preservation across time and space, take a look at how impactful Ludwig van Beethoven’s compositions have been on people from different backgrounds. To most, Beethoven’s music pieces are simply works of art, but to the individuals in this documentary, they mean salvation, hope, and freedom. By Kianna

Motherhood is a beautiful thing, but there is a side to it that is often not seen. The wife of a passionate film director, Valerie’s happiness was captured through a camera lens, but it failed to document her descent into depression. Once a respected and renowned makeup artist, she slowly fell apart after having to trade her old life to fulfill her role as a mother of two. Emotional and intimate, this documentary is an ode to all women like Valerie who feel like they sacrificed their freedom for family. By Kianna

This documentary follows a woman who helps connect families with those who have loved ones incarcerated. The film follows a van and the woman named Kristal who drives it and her story with her own family being in and out of prison and how that has affected her life and her loved ones as well. Their story revolves around love, the unsureness of it all, hope, and their rocky journey. The film emphasizes the flaws in the criminal justice system and the disproportionate impact on Black and Brown people. By Gabby

Vincent Van Gogh’s rise to become one of the most renowned artists is a tale of struggle and perseverance. This documentary follows his sister-in-law, Johanna Van Gogh, facing over 15 years of disdain in order to follow her late husband’s ambition for the world to see Vincent’s artwork. With beautiful impressionistic-style animations and rich emotions, this documentary brings their story to life, one of passion and resilience--if people can understand the man, perhaps they will understand his craft.

This film discusses the use of pharmaceuticals that help the consumer find happiness, lessen pain, or even attain peace. The documentary follows six individuals from six different countries who face different personal issues such as ADHD, anxiety, depression, tiredness from work, etc. It shows how everyone faces similar struggles despite living different scenarios, and questions if humans use pharmaceuticals as a crutch rather than constructing their own happiness.

In the second installment of A Perfect Meal, researchers explore the many benefits of olive oil, also known as liquid gold. During this episode, a study involving approximately 7,500 participants was conducted to examine the benefits of adopting a diet rich in fats from olive oil. Tune in to find out the results! By Nadia


Many thanks to our library student assistants for their summaries. We'll be posting these throughout the summer, so stay tuned!

As a reminder, our electronic resources are available to all current Leeward CC faculty, staff and students. When accessing our resources from off campus, you may be prompted to log in with your UH credentials first. If you have any questions, please reach out to our friendly librarians at lccref@hawaii.edu.

Docuseek student picks, part 1.

Summer is here! It's the perfect time to expand your worldview and gain fresh perspectives. Fortunately, the Leeward CC community has access to Docuseek, the premier resource for curious minds. But with more than 3,000 high-quality documentaries to choose from, how do you get started?

We consulted with members of our most important campus community: our students! Please enjoy these film recommendations, personally selected and summarized by our awesome library student assistants.


Kianna's Picks

Take a trip through the history of the Olympics to learn about the women athletes whose achievements were lost to rigid gender stereotypes during their time. This short film highlights game-changing competitors that were never taken seriously simply due to their gender. The discrimination and scrutiny faced by women in the past persists into the modern world of athletics, additionally impacting women of color and the LGBTQ+ community.

Follow filmmaker Martina Radwan’s touching six year journey, as she guides and mentors three Mongolian children, Baaskaa, Baani, and Nasaa, through their youth in an emotional documentary. From orphans living on the street and being forced into child labor, Martina was the one person who stayed to help equip these kids with skills, education, and values so they could have a chance at success and survival in their merciless world.


Nadia's Picks

In the first episode of The Perfect Meal series, we dive into the health risks associated with the Western diet and explore the benefits of embracing a Mediterranean way of eating. Through vivid storytelling and expert insights, this episode unveils the impact of highly processed foods and contrasts them with the wholesome, nutrient-rich meals of the Mediterranean. Discover why this age-old diet could be the key to healthier living in a world increasingly overwhelmed by unhealthy food choices.

In this short film, Adonis, the director explores the underground world of bodybuilding, shedding light on the impact of steroid use and the unhealthy body image that dominates modern society. The story follows a group of young men as they navigate their journeys with fitness, self-esteem, and peer pressure. As they delve deeper into the world of extreme bodybuilding, the film emphasizes the physical and psychological consequences of their choices, particularly focusing on how societal expectations and toxic masculinity drive them toward dangerous solutions for self-improvement. The director's aim is to raise awareness of the harmful effects of steroid use and the societal pressures that contribute to male body insecurities.


Gabby's Picks

This 93-minute documentary looks into the US housing crisis with its racial inequality and classism. The film interviews those who have experienced being houseless and their feelings on the housing crisis along with their own individual experiences. They share their stories on the hardships and how they can advocate within their own community through this crisis. The film features groups that advocate for affordable housing, one of them being Moms4housing which is an activist group created by three formerly homeless Black women that advocate for housing rights. The film talks about the importance of finding solutions and working together to solve this crisis so that others do not have to go through this forever. The film also emphasizes the history of how people of color and ex-convicts face the brunt of the housing crisis and continue to do so affecting every aspect of their lives.

This 28-minute documentary relates a women’s perspective on abortion from a liberation point of view. The women interviewed in this video reveal their experiences with abortion in America during the time in which it was still illegal to obtain one safely, before the Supreme Court decision of 1973 which made it legal. This first-hand perspective on abortion from the women who got one is the first account made in a documentary in support of abortion rights for women in the US. It gives insight into how the women felt, their headspace when pregnant, and their abortion stories. The video also includes the forced sterilization stories of women of color in a time where the discrimination and genocide of people of color in many areas of the US happened through sterilization. These are their intersectional stories to tell and the inequality of it which all comes down to women being allowed to have the choice.

Many thanks to Kianna, Nadia and Gabby for their summaries. More to come!

As a reminder, our electronic resources are available to all current Leeward CC faculty, staff and students. When accessing our resources from off campus, you may be prompted to log in with your UH credentials first. If you have any questions, please reach out to our friendly librarians at lccref@hawaii.edu.

Collage of screenshots from four Docuseek titles.

Docuseek continues to add interesting new documentaries to its streaming platform. Here are just a few of the more than 2,800 titles available.

A fascinating look at the Haenyeo, female divers in Jeju Province, South Korea. These fearless women, some well into their 80s, work tirelessly year-round, diving deep into frigid and often dangerous waters to retrieve abalone, conch, and other treasures of the sea. Shunning underwater breathing devices and modern tools, their breath-holding capacity is their greatest asset.

La Paloma is one of the most frequently played songs in the world. This film traces its journey through history from its birth in the 1860s to the diverse settings across the globe where the haunting melody lives on. From a political rally in Mexico to a burial in Romania; from Nazi Germany to a wedding in Zanzibar; La Paloma has even left its mark on Hawaiian slack key guitar.

After serving in Afghanistan, an Islamophobic former U.S. Marine hatches a plan to bomb the Islamic Center of Muncie, hoping to kill at least 200 people. But what happens when he goes to assess his target and is welcomed warmly by his enemies? Interviews with the ex-Marine, his family, and members of the close-knit Muslim community reveal the surprising outcome of this story.

Equal parts repellent and fascinating, this short film is like a visual poem, narrated and set to music. Time-lapse photography reveals the natural process of food and animals molding, decomposing, and ultimately transforming into new forms. Who knew that putrefaction could be so beautiful? Even so, watching this film during your lunch break is probably not a good idea!

As a reminder, all current Leeward CC faculty, staff and students are welcome to use our streaming video services. When accessing our electronic resources from off campus, you may be prompted to log in with your UH credentials first.

Great news! Hawaiian Soul, the award-winning short film by ʻĀina Paikai, is now available to stream! All current Leeward CC faculty, staff, and students may access the video through this link (click on the UH Streaming Videos link).

Hawaiian Soul movie poster.

About the film

Against the backdrop of the 1970s native rights movement, George Helm, a young Hawaiian activist and musician must gain the support of kūpuna (community elders) from the island of Maui to aid in the fight of protecting the precious neighboring island of Kahoʻolawe from military bombing.

More about George Helm and Kahoʻolawe

Inspirational, beautifully filmed, and featuring exquisite music, Hawaiian Soul is a must-see!

Due to high cost and low usage, access to Feature Films for Education will end on 1/31/2024. Other options for streaming videos include Kanopy, Swank Digital Campus, Academic Video Online, and Docuseek. Please see our Videos collection page for more information.

If you need help finding a film for your class, please reach out to your librarian subject liaison for assistance. Not every film is available for academic streaming, but we always try our best to get you what you need.

 


 

New videos from Docuseek image with screenshots of 5 videos.

Docuseek continues to add interesting new documentaries to its streaming platform. One of our awesome library student assistants, Izumi Watt, selected and summarized five of these new titles below.

This film combines four short documentaries highlighting stories of immigrants to America from Korea, Cambodia, China, and Japan. The films are: A Portrait of Us, directed by Sarah Park; Conversations at the Register by Brandon Soun and Lan Nguyen; What Remains by Ginger Yifan Chen; and Sincerely Miné Okubo, directed by Yuka Murakami.

The phrase “Matter Out of Place” refers to any object or impact not native to the immediate environment. Nikolaus Geyrhalter, the director, travels all over the world to put a spotlight on various examples of matter out of place. The documentary focuses on the expanding problem of human-made refuse and the endless struggle to control it.

Directed by Eric Khoo, this film shares the life and creations of Yoshihiro Tatsumi, inspired by his book A Drifting Life and five of his iconic stories. Tatsumi’s works follow his experiences with high and low moments in life. His artistic style of gekiga (dramatic pictures) transformed the manga landscape in the mid-1900s.

The Pretendians, directed by Paul Kemp with Drew Hayden Taylor, discusses indigenous identity and appropriation of the rights of native people in Canada and the United States. Drew Hayden Taylor, an Anishinaabe author from Curve Lake First Nations, visits gift shops, universities, and reservation gas stations to investigate instances of fraud related to falsely claimed indigenous identity by “Pretend Indians.”

The Apollonia is a schooner, a type of sailing ship with two or more masts. She is captained by Sam Merrett as the crew ships freight up and down the Hudson River. Windshipped, directed by Jon Bowermaster, follows the ship and crew as they revive an age-old method of moving products to cities along the banks of the river. This practice of sail freight attracts businesses interested in sustainable and carbon neutral options for shipping their products.

We hope you find these videos as interesting and informative as we did!

As a reminder, all current Leeward CC faculty, staff and students are welcome to use our streaming video services. When accessing our electronic resources from off campus, you may be prompted to log in with your UH credentials first.

Picture of a movie theater screen with text: streaming video updates.

Seen any good movies lately? Crowds may be flocking to the theaters for live-action Disney mermaids and high-jumping Nintendo characters, but the library provides you with the best in academic video streaming from the comfort of your own home . . . or maybe even from the beach, weather permitting!

Kanopy, Docuseek, Academic Video Online, Feature Films for Education, and Swank Digital Campus are among our major streaming film platforms. We introduced you to all of these (and more) in a series of blog posts last summer. Perhaps you may recall, from the post on electronic resource access models, that some of our platforms regularly add and remove titles from their collections. Today's post will give you content updates from two such platforms: Kanopy and Docuseek.

Kanopy Additions and Removals

Picture of a film strip with text: New update Kanopy.

There's been a lot of activity on Kanopy, one of our largest streaming services.

Additions 😊

Removals 😢

If you notice that a film you need for your class has been (or is scheduled to be) removed from Kanopy, please contact your librarian subject liaison or the Reference Desk. It is possible we may be able to acquire it in another way, or help you explore other options.

Docuseek New Additions

Picture of a movie marquee with text: New Films on Docuseek.

More than 100 new titles have been added to our Docuseek platform recently. The titles below, with vendor-supplied descriptions, are just a handful of the newly available documentaries.

Filmmaker and philanthropist Abigail Disney grapples with America’s profound inequality crisis. The story begins in 2018, after Abigail encounters workers at the company that bears her name struggling to put food on the table. Could she, a descendent, with no role in the multinational conglomerate, use her famous last name to help pressure Disney and other American corporations to treat low-wage workers more humanely?

A chronicle of resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), WE ARE UNARMED bears witness to this historic event from the first week of September 2016 to forced evacuation on February 23rd, 2017. Award-winning filmmaker Gwendolen Cates goes behind the scenes with three Lakota women who play central roles – Kelly Morgan, the tribal archaeologist, Phyllis Young, the longtime activist who became the movement spokesperson and strategist, and Holy Elk Lafferty, the young camp leader.

ZERO GRAVITY follows a diverse group of middle school students from San Jose, CA, who compete in a nationwide tournament to code satellites aboard the International Space Station. Their mission: compete with teams across the country to write the most strategic code for surveying satellites, known as SPHERES. These satellites will help map out a GPS system to successfully orbit Mars in the future, opening the door to infinite opportunities and exploration on the Red Planet.

A story about the challenge of keeping Dolpo’s ancient culture alive as the area becomes less isolated. It centers on Pema’s parents’ expectation that Pema will return to Dolpo when he completes his education, marry a Dolpapa woman, and manage the family’s land. As the only son, this is his role in Dolpo’s traditional culture. Pema is torn between his duty to the family and his desire to live the modern life that he now prefers.

Town Destroyer explores the ways we look at art and history at a time of racial reckoning. The story focuses on a dispute over historic murals depicting the life of George Washington: slaveowner, general, land speculator, President, and a man Seneca leaders called "Town Destroyer" after he ordered their villages destroyed during the Revolutionary War.


As a reminder, all current Leeward CC faculty, staff and students are welcome to use our streaming video services. When accessing our electronic resources from off campus, you may be prompted to log in with your UH credentials first.

There are countless hidden gems waiting to be discovered. Let us know what you find!

Over the past two months we introduced you to resources for streaming videos at Leeward CC, including Academic Video Online (AVON), Feature Films for Education/Swank Digital Campus, and Docuseek. For the final post of this series, we've saved the (arguably) best for last: Kanopy.

Kanopy logo and sample film displayed on laptop and mobile phone.
Image source: Kanopy, Inc.

Kanopy at a glance

  • Currently contains more than 28,000 films, with new titles added periodically.
  • Offers something for everyone, including feature films, documentaries, classics, foreign films, and more.
  • Suppliers include The Criterion Collection, The Great Courses, A&E, The History Channel, Kino Lorber, A24 Films, Magnolia Pictures, and many more.
  • Operates on a pay-per-use model (we are charged a small fee each time a video is played).
  • We also have the option to purchase up-front licenses for high-use titles.

Using Kanopy

To access this resource, start at our A-Z Databases page and select Kanopy from the list. Kanopy requires you to use a (free) personal account. If you already have an account, click on LOG IN in the top right corner. If you need to create an account, click on LOG IN TO LEEWARD and follow the prompts. For security purposes, do not use the same password that you use for your email.

Kanopy login screen showing buttons for creating an account and logging in to an existing account.

Browse through the new releases and categories of interest on the page, or use the Browse and Search functions in the top left corner.

Kanopy screenshot showing browse and search functions.

Click on any title to get to the video page. From this page you may Play the film or add it to your Watchlist. Select the Share tab to generate direct links and citations.

Any films added to your Watchlist are accessible by clicking on My Lists from the top left corner and selecting the My Watchlist tab.

Screenshot showing My Lists and My Watchlist functions.

Kanopy has many other features, including captions, transcripts, custom playlists, and a mobile app. For more detailed information, please visit Kanopy Help.

Keeping Kanopy affordable

Kanopy offers a wide variety of quality films in an attractive user interface, so it's a very popular resource. Our Kanopy usage has increased steadily over the years, peaking during the pandemic-induced pivot to online learning. The downside is that higher usage leads to higher costs, since the great majority of our titles are pay-per-use. The chart below illustrates the trend in our monthly pay-per-use costs from 2019 - 2021.

Chart showing Kanopy monthly pay-per-use costs increasing from Jan 2019 - Dec 2021.

Fortunately, there are steps we can take to keep Kanopy affordable. You can help us out by notifying your library subject liaison or lccref@hawaii.edu if you intend to assign a Kanopy film for your class. Why?

  • Some Kanopy films are also available via other resources (such as AVON) that charge a flat subscription fee for unlimited viewing of all titles on the platform. We can see if the title you want to use is available through one of these resources instead.
  • If your title is available only through Kanopy and is likely to receive high usage (60+ views over the next year), it may be more cost-effective for us to purchase an up-front license. Licensed films do not incur additional pay-per-use fees.

Top 10 Kanopy videos at Leeward CC

What's popular on Kanopy? Over the past 12 months, the following videos were the most viewed:

  1. The Navigators: Pathfinders of the Pacific
  2. Miss Representation
  3. Leonardo and the Mona Lisa
  4. First Contact
  5. Decoding Neanderthals
  6. First Steps
  7. Hitler's Art Dealer
  8. Pidgin: the Voice of Hawaiʻi 
  9. Slaying the Dragon: Media Sterotypes of Asian & Asian American Women
  10. Blue Gold: World Water Wars

. . . and that's a wrap!

Drawing of clapperboard and film.

We hope you've learned something new about all of the great video resources available to you through your library. If you have any questions, please contact your library subject liaison or lccref@hawaii.edu. We are always happy to help!

Over the last few weeks, we gave you an overview of the library's streaming video platforms, introduced you to Academic Video Online (AVON), and shared some great resources for feature films. This time our focus is on Docuseek, our newest streaming platform.

Docuseek logo and film images.

Docuseek at a glance

  • Provides access to more than 2,000 documentaries from independent distributors.
  • Content providers include Bullfrog Films, Icarus Films, Collective Eye, GOOD DOCS, and more.
  • Covers a wide range of subjects, with an emphasis on social issues, anthropology, environmental issues, and history.
  • These films are generally not available through other streaming platforms.

Using Docuseek

To access this resource, start at our A-Z Databases page and select Docuseek from the list. If you are off campus, you may be prompted to enter your UH login first.

The home page displays popular/timely films and top subjects.

Docuseek home page screenshot.

Click on the Browse link at the top of the screen for an A-Z list of films available, the Subjects link to view films categorized by hundreds of subject areas, or the Search icon to perform a title or keyword search.

Screenshot showing the Browse, Subjects, and Search functions on the Docuseek homepage.

After performing a search or browsing the A-Z list of films available, you may filter your results by subject, year, or source (distributor). Enter your criteria in the left sidebar, then click on the Filter button. Advanced search functions are available by clicking on the More search options button.

Screenshot showing Docuseek filter options.

After selecting a video, you may generate a direct link by clicking on Embed. Many videos have transcripts, which may be viewed by clicking on the Transcript button. Some videos even have interactive transcripts that allow you to click on a section of text to skip to the corresponding part of the video.

Screenshot showing Embed and Transcript features in Docuseek.

Additional features, such as creating clips and playlists, are available to registered users. Register for your free personal account by clicking on the Register link at the top of any page.

Screenshot showing Docuseek Register link.

Top 5 Docuseek videos at Leeward CC

Docuseek is a very recent addition to our streaming video platforms, but these are the most popular titles so far:

Screenshot from Out of State.

Out of State

Native men return to Hawaii after their cultural reawakening at a private prison in the Arizona desert.

Screenshot of Affluenza.

Affluenza

Diagnoses the 'disease' of materialism and prescribes its antidote, simple living.

Screenshot of Adam Smith, The Birth of the Free Market.

Adam Smith, The Birth of the Free Market

Episode 1 of the Capitalism series. Capitalism is much more complex than the vision Adam Smith laid out. Indeed, it predates Smith by centuries and took root in the practices of colonialism and the slave trade.

Screenshot of Net Cafe Refugees.

Net Cafe Refugees

Internet cafes have existed in Japan for well over a decade, but in the mid 2000’s customers found a new use for these spaces: living quarters.

Screenshot of Death by Design.

Death by Design

Investigates the electronics industry and reveals how even the smallest devices have deadly environmental and health costs.

Intrigued? It's hard not to be when compelling stories are brought to life so vividly through film. Experience these stories, and hundreds more, at Docuseek.

Tune in next time, when we'll cover one of the library's most popular resources: Kanopy!

Line drawing of a person with a frustrated expression, looking at a computer.
"I could have sworn I saw it here before . . . "

Has this ever happened to you? You stumble upon a series on Netflix, watch every episode, and really enjoy it. A year later, you decide to re-watch it, only to find that it has vanished without a trace! What happened?

In short, Netflix doesn't own all of the content that is made available through the platform. They negotiate licensing agreements with the content owners, and some of these agreements expire. If you want guaranteed access to your favorite show, you usually need to purchase it, either on DVD or through a different streaming service.

Many of the library's electronic resources operate in much the same manner. Read on to learn about two of our main access models--subscription and perpetual--and how the type of model may affect the resources you use.

Subscription model

Drawing depicting a financial transaction between a streaming video company and a user.

With the subscription model, we usually pay an annual fee that gives our users access to everything that is currently included in the collection. Examples of subscription resources:

What's great about this model?

  • It offers a large amount of content that would be unaffordable if purchased individually.
  • The collections are continually refreshed with new content.
  • There is usually no limit to the number of simultaneous users.

What's not so great about this model?

  • We cannot select the individual titles included in the collections.
  • A relatively small amount of content is removed periodically, and we have no control over what is removed.

If you've ever found yourself in a situation where you can't find an ebook or video that you know you've seen before, chances are it was a subscription title that was removed from the platform. Vendors generally add and remove content throughout the year, but some do their large removals in the summer and at the end of the year.

For example, this is the list of ebooks that will be removed from Ebook Central after June 30, and this is the list of videos leaving Academic Video Online after July 11.

Perpetual access model

An hourglass on its side.

With the perpetual access model, we purchase the titles we want, and they are ours for as long as we have access to the platform. This purchasing model is available on many of the same platforms that offer subscription collections.

What's great about this model?

  • We select only the titles we want, so we have greater control over the collection.
  • These titles will not disappear unexpectedly.
  • Some ebooks are priced for one, three, or unlimited simultaneous users, so we may select the option that best fits our needs.

What's not so great about this model?

  • Not all titles are available for purchase, and some are only available for one user at a time.
  • Prices can be very high, depending on the title.
  • Titles in rapidly changing fields will be outdated in a few years.

How can I tell if the ebook or video I want to use for my class is going to be there for sure?

Unfortunately, you probably can't tell, so it's best that you contact your library liaison or lccref@hawaii.edu to check. If your title is part of a subscription package, it is sometimes possible to purchase it under a perpetual access model, as well. For some streaming videos, limited-term licenses may also be available; this works well in situations where the video is needed for 1-3 years, but not permanently.

Memo pad with "remember" written on it.

The key takeaway here is that it is a good idea to contact us if you are planning to use an ebook, streaming video, or other library resource for a class assignment or other important purpose. We cannot guarantee that perpetual access will be available for everything, but we will make every effort to prevent unpleasant surprises from happening.

Now, if Netflix would only bring back Friends . . .

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