Does the Library offer popular streaming service access for students/staff/faculty?
Does the Library provide a Netflix/Hulu/iTunes/Amazon Prime/PBS/BBC/Disney+ subscription for students/faculty?
Answer
Unfortunately, these consumer-based services (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc) do not have a mechanism for institutional subscriptions, so the Library cannot provide access to them.
Popular services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc have a direct-to-consumer model. Despite repeated requests from universities and public libraries, they do not have institutional accounts that would let the library subscribe to the service and offer the content to our patrons. There is no way the library can provide access to series or original content unless the service chooses to make that content available on DVD or through some other stand-alone means (or for free).
However, the Library licenses videos (including feature films and documentaries) via multiple alternate services.
You can find these resources by searching for Media in the library catalog, as you would a DVD or a book. Alternatively, you may explore the databases individually at: https://libguides.sdsu.edu/streamingmedia
PBS does allow educational use for a selection of their programming; however, that portion is limited to what is freely available off of their website: https://www.pbs.org/video/
Netflix does allow educational use of a small selection of documentaries, and have made those titles available through the Netflix US YouTube channel. These titles may swell and decline at the discretion of Netflix.
- Netflix US YouTube Channel
Netflix has made a selection of their documentary features and series available YouTube for educational use in the classroom. Selections change over time, and SDSU has no control over this content.