Putting your Patrons

in the Driver’s Seat

Assessing the Value of On-Demand Streaming Video

Presented by

Annie Erdmann, Simmons College, ann.erdmann@simmons.edu

Jennifer Ferguson, Simmons College, jennifer.ferguson@simmons.edu

Scott Stangroom, UMass Amherst, stangroom@library.umass.edu

Why Study Streaming Video?

• Distance learning• Faculty demand and

the “flipped classroom” • Non-DVD compatible

technology• Staying relevant to our

patrons…

From Pilot to Practice

Previous Pilot Study Findings

• An 85% and 70% improvement in ROI vs. outright collection purchases and DVDs

• Colleges with 26,000 and 30,000 students

• 40% of DVDs never used and ~9 views on average over their lifetime

• 60% of academics use online video for teaching yet 80% are unaware the library offers it (same with students)

Would our experience echo the pilot?

Would our FTE (4K vs. 28K) make a difference?

Were we experiencing the same issues and what was driving it?

Could we find a way to crack the “awareness

gap”?

Part I: The Situation with DVD

Surprisingly Low Usage

% of DVD Collection by Lifetime CheckoutsUMass

Losing Relevance Over Time…

DVDs Checked out by Timeframe Post Acquisition (cumul.)Simmons only, by Year

Our DVDs lose their value over time

… Consistently at Both Campuses

DVDs Checked out by Timeframe Post Acquisition (cumul.)Simmons & UMass, 2004-2014

Damage & Loss is also a Concern

DVDs Lost, Damaged & Weeded by Year of AcquisitionSimmons only

 

These Issues Reduce the ROI on DVDs

$18.15

$20.15

$131.17

$119.83

UMass

Part II:Launching Video PDA

Kanopy’s Streaming Video PDA

• Launched Kanopy’s PDA model in late 2013

• Step 1: Set a manageable upfront budget cap

• Step 2: Opened up broad collections of over 20,000 films

• Step 3: Usage triggers• Step 4: Quarterly invoicing,

live usage monitoring

We Didn’t Know You Wanted That!Top 10 Films

Simmons1. Mental Disorder / Illness Symptoms

(Symptom Media)

2. Here One Day (Indep.)

3. Appraisals in Action (TV Choice)

4. The Seventh Seal (Criterion)

5. Thin Ice: The Inside Story of Climate Science (Green Planet)

6. The Legacy of Unresolved Loss (Psychotherapy. net)

7. When Students Write (Stenhouse)

8. Writing with Mentors (Stenhouse)

9. Unnatural Causes (Cal. NR)

10. The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari (Kino)

UMass1. Race the Power of an Illusion (Cal.

NR)

2. The Revisionaries (Kino)

3. Frontline - Generation Like (PBS)

4. Animation Before Unification (DEFA)

5. Blood And Sand (Kino)

6. Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (TDC)

7. Rome Open City (Criterion)

8. For The Price of a Cup of Coffee (Green Planet)

9. Miss Representation (Indep.)

10. First Contact (DER)

We Buy Only What We Use A Lot

61%11%

4%

3%3%

18%

UMass

53%

15%

6%

3%

4%

19%

Simmons

123455+

% of films watched by number of plays

Let’s compare the purchase model...

*Playback represents a single click on the playback button, irrespective of viewing time.

Apr-1

2

May

-12

Jun-

12

Jul-1

2

Aug-1

2

Sep-1

2

Oct-1

2

Nov-1

2

Dec-1

2

Jan-

13

Feb-1

3

Mar

-13

Apr-1

3

May

-13

Jun-

13

Jul-1

3

Aug-1

3

Sep-1

3

Oct-1

3

Nov-1

3

Dec-1

3

Jan-

2014

Feb-2

014

Mar

-201

4

Apr-2

014

May

-201

4

Jun-

2014

Jul-2

014

Aug-2

014

Sep-2

014

Oct-2

014

Nov-2

014

Dec-2

014

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Filmakers Library OnlineTotal Playbacks by Month

Simmons only

To

tal

Pla

ybac

ks*

… and how this translates into value.

Total Playbacks = 81

Total Cost to Date = $21,400

Cost Per Playback = $264.20

2011 2012 2013 20140

10

20

30

40

50

60

Counseling & Therapy in Video, Volume I

UMass only

To

tal

Pla

ybac

ks P

er Y

ear

Plays Per Paid Film (ROI)

1 A play is defined as 30 seconds or more viewed2 Checkout is a checkout from the library irrespective if played3 Upfront payment with ongoing annual fees. Plays per film per year since available (declining year on year)

Kanopy PDA

DVD

Purchased Coll.

UMass Simmons

Plays per Triggered Film 203 56

ROI ($/play)1 $0.74 $2.42

Lifetime Checkouts / DVD 7.2 5.9

ROI ($/checkout)2 $18.15 $20.15

Plays per film3 0.01 0.10

ROI ($/play)* $264.20 -

Part III:Closing the Awareness Gap

Oct

-13

No

v-1

3

De

c-1

3

Jan

-14

Fe

b-1

4

Ma

r-1

4

Ap

r-1

4

Ma

y-1

4

Jun

-14

Jul-1

4

Au

g-1

4

Se

p-1

4

Oct

-14

No

v-1

4

De

c-1

4

Jan

-15

Fe

b-1

5

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

5000UMass

Simmons

Vid

eo C

lick

s

Awareness campaign started

Total Video Clicks by Month

Increasing Awareness and Building Use

Our Promotional Project

1. LibGuide links

2. Faculty / Liaison emails

3. Email signature images

4. News blog

5. Posters

6. Social Media

7. Database list

Promotional Initiatives

What Were They Looking For?

Type of search query % of Total producer 9% theme 67% title 16% person 5% place 3%

DEFA, Criterion

Psychology, gender

Miss representation,

The Actress

Japan, Michael white

Results By Channel

Sessions % New Bounce Rate

Pages / Session

Avg. Duration

Email 366 33% 39% 3.9 0:03:54 LibGuide 310 20% 17% 6.8 0:06:25 Email Signature 25 40% 80% 2.1 0:01:38 Social media 13 69% 62% 2.0 0:00:24 Search widget 87 36% 24% 4.6 0:06:31

So What?• PDA has been a highly effective & economical model

– Significantly greater ROI compared to DVD or purchased collections of streaming video

– Solves problems of predicting demand & unused/obsolete media

– Success at both campuses despite size differences

• We were able to greatly impact awareness– Faculty engagement has been important to success (esp.

email and LibGuides)– Still working on student engagement (social media, etc.)

What Now?

• Using PDA to inform collection development and promotion– Carving out curated collections– Promoting the subjects and materials that we know faculty

want

• Determining how the films are being used, by whom and for what reasons– Length of play– In or out of the classroom– Research or recreation– Feature films or documentaries

What Next?

• The changing landscape for media in education– Increasing legitimacy of films in course work– Increasing number of courses teaching with film

• The changing landscape for streaming films– Rapidly increasing number of streaming titles available to

us every year– Access versus ownership an increasingly important

concept for media collections

thank you

Presented byAnnie Erdmann, Simmons College, ann.erdmann@simmons.edu

Jennifer Ferguson, Simmons College, jennifer.ferguson@simmons.edu

Scott Stangroom, UMass Amherst, stangroom@library.umass.edu