Open Educational Resources

The resources listed below offer quality, freely accessible collections of online video. The list includes very niche collections as well as those with wide interest, such as BBC Online Media; AP Archive Video; Civil Rights Digital Library; Frontline, NOVA, Great Performances, and other PBS collections; the Moving Image Internet Archive; National Film Board of Canada; the Smithsonian Institution Collection; and YouTube Movies.  Posted with the permission of University of Minnesota librarian Scott Spicer, who compiled it along with Arizona State University media librarian, Deg Farrelly.

A-G

• Al Jazeera Video (CC)

  Al Jazeera's Creative Commons Repository contains broadcast footage that Al Jazeera has released under various Creative Commons licenses.

• American Archive of Public Broadcasting
• AP Archive Video

  AP Archive is the film and video archive of The Associated Press -- the world's largest and oldest news agency. Our cameramen have been capturing the iconic moments that have shaped the world in which we live and we have over 1.7 million news, sports, entertainment and fashion stories dating back to 1895 to share with you, here and on our British Movietone channel - https://www.youtube.com/c/BritishMovietone

• Archaeology Channel Video

  The Archaeology Channel provides free access to a large collection of streaming media covering archaeology worldwide.

• Archive of American Television

  Hosted by the TV Academy Foundation this archive provides access to hundreds of in-depth video interviews with TV's greatest legends and pioneers. These television history interviews can be browsed by person, show, topic or profession. New interviews and indexes are added regularly.

• ART:21

  Created by P.B.S., this Web site is patterned after a nationally broadcast series on contemporary art, artists, and ideas. Among other things, this site has an online lesson library, teacher materials and discussions. Full episodes are available in the PBS video portal.

• BBC History of the World in 100 Objects

  Director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor, narrates 100 programs that retell humanity's history through the objects we have made. Each episode consists of an image of the item discussed, and a radio narration lasting about 15 minutes.

• BBC Online Media

  Provides online access to BBC's archives including themed collections of radio and TV programs, documents and photographs.

• British Movietone (see also: AP Archive)

  British Movietone is arguably the world's greatest newsreel archive, spanning the period 1895 – 1986. Shot on 35mm film, this global archive contains many of the world's enduring images and is rich in coverage of news events, celebrities, sports, music, social history, science, lifestyle and quirky happenings. It was the first newsreel to include sound, the first to use colour film, the first to break many exclusive stories, and is your first and last stop for newsreel footage. see also: AP Archive

• British National Archives Media Player

  Collections of British National Archives digitized and original video and audio content, including categories of Family History, Military History, Social History, Political History, Law and Order, Archives, and International.

• British Pathé

  A collection of 85,000 films: "Spanning the years from 1896 to 1976, the collection includes footage not only from Britain, but from around the globe of major events, famous faces, fashion trends, travel, sport and culture. The archive is particularly strong in its coverage of the First and Second World Wars."

• CDC TV

  Web visitors can now view or download videos on a variety of health, safety and preparedness topics. The library of videos will expand to include single-topic presentations as well as different video series focused on children, parents, and public health professionals.

• Cineteca (University of Chile)

  The Cineteca (University of Chile), the oldest film archive in the country, has made over 150 films spanning the entire history of national cinema freely available to download or stream online.

• C-SPAN Video Library

  Contains all C-SPAN programs since 1987, indexed, abstracted, and cataloged by the C-SPAN Archives staff. Programs are indexed by subject, speaker names, titles, affiliations, sponsors, committees, categories, formats, policy groups, keywords, and location. The congressional sessions and committee hearings are indexed by person with full-text.

• Civil Rights Digital Library

  Provides access to online films, texts, images, and audio recordings related to the Civil Rights movement in the United States in the 1950's and 1960's. CRDL is a partnership among librarians, technologists, archivists, educators, scholars, academic publishers, and public broadcasters. The initiative receives support through a National Leadership Grant for Libraries awarded to the University of Georgia by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The site provides both simple keyword searching and advanced searching. Content also can be browsed by Events, Places, People, Topics, Media Types (including print, government records, correspondences, etc.) Other features of the site include numerous instructional materials, including lesson plans, quizzes, slide shows, study guides, and worksheets.

• Civios

  An initiative of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, Civios offers short and visually engaging digital materials to inform public affairs discussions. These materials translate policy-relevant scholarly research for policymakers, practitioners, and the broader public.

• CNN Films: Digital Shorts

  Original short films directed by established and rising filmmakers.

• Culture Unplugged

  Culture Unplugged (C.U.) provides access to hundreds of documentary films, that spans multiple facets of global issues, produced through a "socially and spiritually conscious" lens. Note: This link defaults to documentaries from CU's virtual film festival. Scroll down and select "Show Films from Archive" for access to more content.

• Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) Video Collections

  The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) brings together the riches of America's libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world. Individuals can access a trove of thousands of videos across these institutions through DPLA's search interface (by selecting the "moving images" filter on results after performing a keyword search).

• Ensia Video Archive

  "Ensia is a solutions-focused nonprofit media outlet reporting on our changing planet." Their mission is to "motivate and empower people around the world to create a more sustainable future by sharing stories and igniting conversations across sectors, geographies, ideologies and disciplines." All videos are licensed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported license.

• Europeana

  A collection of 29 million digital images of paintings, music, films and books from Europe's galleries, libraries, archives and museums. Included are images, texts, sounds and videos.

• EUscreen

  The EUscreen portal offers free online access to thousands of items of audiovisual heritage. It brings together clips that provide an insight into the social, cultural, political and economic events that have shaped the 20th and 21st centuries. As well as chronicling important historical events, the EUscreen portal allows you to explore television programmes that focus on everyday experience. EUscreen is also intended to be a resource for educators, researchers and media professionals searching for new audiovisual content from across Europe. Note: see http://euscreen.openimages.eu/media for CC licensed content shared for repurposing.

• EVIA Digital Archive Project - Ethnographic Video for Instruction & Analysis

  Collaborative endeavor to create a digital archive of ethnographic field video for use by scholars and instructors. Funded since 2001 by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation with significant contributions from Indiana University and the University of Michigan, the Project has been developed through the joint efforts of ethnographic scholars, archivists, librarians, technologists, and legal experts. Beyond the primary mission of digitally preserving ethnographic field video, the EVIA Project has also invested significantly in the creation of software and systems for the annotation, discovery, playback, peer review, and scholarly publication of video and accompanying descriptions. Viewing videos requires registering for an account and agreeing to the end-user license agreement.

• Folkstreams

  Provides streaming access to a large collection of documentary films about American folk, or roots, cultures. Includes essays about the traditions and filmmakes, transcriptions, study and teaching guides, suggested readings, and links to related websites. Site provides simple keyword and advanced searching, as well as ability to brose by subjects, regions, titles, filmmakers, and other categories. Video displays include links to additional, related films.

• Frontline

  View complete episodes of a large selection of films from the acclaimed PBS public affairs series.

• Global Performing Arts Database

  GloPAD (Global Performing Arts Database) records include authoritative, detailed, multilingual descriptions of digital images, texts, video clips, sound recordings, and complex media objects related to the performing arts around the world, plus information about related pieces, productions, performers, and creators.

• The Great Depression Interviews

  From the stock market crash of 1929 to the beginnings of World War II, The Great Depression tells the dramatic and diverse stories of struggle and survival during the worst economic crisis in U.S. history. Originally debuting on PBS stations in 1993, the 7-part series was met with critical acclaim, winning an Emmy for writing and a duPont-Columbia Award. These interviews are part of the Henry Hampton Collection housed at the Film & Media Archive at Washington University Libraries. Each video and transcript represents the entire interview conducted by Blackside, Inc., including portions that did not appear in the final program. For more information, please contact the Film & Media Archive.

H-P

• HEAL: Health Education Assets Library

  A national repository/referatory of free, web-based multimedia teaching materials in the health sciences. The collection is comprised of images, animations, videos and audio-files. Registration is required.

• History Channel Video

  Selected full length History Channel programs.

• Internet Archive

  The Moving Image Archive within the Internet Archive provides access to nearly a quarter million films, uploaded by Archive users, and ranging from classic full-length films, to daily alternative news broadcasts, to cartoons and concerts. Videos in the Archive are organized into 15 broad sub-categories: Animation and Cartoons, Arts & Music, Computers & Technology, Cultural & Academic Films, Ephemeral Films, Home Movies, Movies, News & Public Affairs, Open Source Movies, Spirituality & Religion, Sports Videos, Video Games, Vlogs, and Youth Media. The Archive also contains the Prelinger Archive, the most complete and varied collection of ephemeral films (advertising, educational, industrial, and amateur) in existence.

• Internet Archive: TV News

  The Internet Archive works to preserve the published works of human kind. Inspired by Vanderbilt University's Television News Archive project, the Internet Archive collects and preserves television news. Like library collections of books and newspapers, this accessible archive of TV news enables anyone to reference and compare statements from this influential medium. The collection now contains 350,000 news programs collected over 3 years from national U.S. networks and stations in San Francisco and Washington D.C. The archive is updated with new broadcasts 24 hours after they are aired. Older materials are also being added.

• IMDb TV

  Ad-supported free access to many popular feature films and TV series. Designed for personal, non-commercial use. By viewing content on IMDb TV, you agree to the Amazon Prime Video Terms of Use.

• Media that Matters

  Annual collection showcasing twelve short films on important topics of the day. Seven years of films available on the site, organized alphabetically by title, by year.

• Movieclips

  Provides more than 12,000 short clips from feature films licensed from Fox, MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal and Warner Bros. 

• National Film Board of Canada

  The National Film Board of Canada is a Canadian government agency that produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions. The NFB website provides information on over 13,000 National Film Board of Canada films, and includes free access to over 2,000 films, excerpts, trailers, and interactive works for online screening. There are some fantastic animated films!

• National Geographic Video

  Video programs from Nat Geo TV and web only audiovisual material.

• National Parks Service B-Roll Video

  This webpage provides links to public domain video of some of those sites, including national parks, monuments, battlefields, historic sites and related areas. This content is great for remixing, reuse in projects and publication.

• NOVA

  Provides access to selected programs from the acclaimed PBS science series. Programs are divided into chapters and have closed captioning. Available videos are organized by broad subject categories: Anthropology, Disasters, Earth, Exploration, Flight, Health, History, Investigations, Nature, Physics & Math, Space, and Technology.

• Open Video Project

  A University of North Carolina project to create free repository of archival, documentary and educational video.

• PBS Learning Media

  Developed by PBS, WNET, and KET, and 31 other PBS stations. Content contributed from publicly funded organizations, including the National Archives, the Library of Congress and NPR, NASA, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the US Department of Education, delivers thousands of resources for use in the classroom and with home-schoolers.

• PBS Great Performances

  Classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries.

• PBS Video

  Provides access to selected programs from selected PBS series (such as Nature, American Experience, Nova, and Frontline, among others.) Users can browse by Programs, Topics, or Collections. Individual programs are subdivided into smaller segments.

• Penn Museum Film Archives

  The Penn Museum Archives has an extensive collection of films that, thanks to the generosity of the Internet Archive, are nearly all available online. The online film collection consists of over 700 archival films.

• P.O.V. Video

  Provides a selection of full length films, short films, and lesson plan based clips from the acclaimed PBS documentary film series POV.

S-Y

• Smithsonian Institution - Collection Search Center

  Search over 6.4 million records with 536,000 images, video and sound files, electronic journals and other resources from the Smithsonian's museums, archives & libraries.

• Thanhouser Films Online

  More than 50 films provide a representative cross section of the output produced by the Thanhouser film enterprise based in New Rochelle, New York between 1910 and 1917. The films were assembled over the past 25 years with the cooperation of archives around the world, including The Library of Congress in Washington, DC, The British Film Institute in London, England, George Eastman House in Rochester, New York, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, New York, the Academy Film Archive in Los Angeles, California, the EYE Film Institute Netherlands in Amsterdam, Holland, and from the Thanhouser collection. Each film includes a summary and analysis written by film historian Victor Graf. Andrew Crow, Raymond A. Brubacher and Ben Model composed and performed original musical accompaniment commissioned exclusively for this collection.

• University of Albany Guide to Freely Available Latin American and Spanish Videos

  This guide brings together a selection of web resources that provide access to freely available videos, representing the great variety and diversity of Latin American and Spanish video production on the Internet. It offers the ability to search by country.

• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) Moving Images Collections

  The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) collections includes over 4,500 moving image historical records (e.g., propaganda films, Newsreel footage) and over 7,600 hours of streaming video oral history testimonials.

• University of Minnesota Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies (CHGS) Video Library

  Watch digitized videos of Holocaust survivors, American concentration camp liberators, lectures on the Armenian Genocide, testimonies by second generation Armenians living in Minnesota, and other lectures of note at the University of Minnesota or other campuses in the region.

• USDA Food Safety Videos (YouTube)

  View the various food safety and inspection streaming videos and audio files available from the Food Safety and Inspection Service.

• Wellcome Film: Digitizing Medical History

  Online collection of moving images on 20th-century healthcare and medicine. Over 450 titles - 100 hours of historical film and video - have been transferred and are freely available under Creative Commons licenses.

• WGBH Open Vault

  Provides online access to unique and historically important content produced by the public television and radio station WGBH. The ever-expanding site contains video, audio, images, searchable transcripts, and resource management tools, all of which are available for individual and classroom learning.

• Wikimedia Commons

  Wikimedia Commons is a media file repository making available public domain and freely-licensed educational media content including images, sound and video clips.

• Art Images for College Teaching Royalty-free image exchange resource for th educational community. 
• Flickr: Creative Commons A collection of images published on Flickr using a Creative  Commons license.
• NY Public Library Digital Gallery
  Open access to over 700,000 digital images from the new York Public Library's collections. 
• Moving Image Archive A large collection of movies, films and videos that are all free to use.
• The Open Video Project
  A repository of open access digitized videos for education and learning purposes.