Black Studies in Video, a subscription database made available by Alexander Street Press, features a rich collection of full-length, online videos that explore the African American experience from the diverse perspectives of prominent activists, artists, musicians, scholars, writers and politicians. At the time of this review, the collection contained 489 videos that provide 311 hours of video content. According to the vendor, this collection will grow to contain 500 hours of video content at the time of its completion. The time frame for available material ranges from 1960 to 2013. As a feature, this database allows the embedding of films into course management systems, and users may also receive this content either via e-mail or through sharing by using social networking outlets, such as Facebook, Twitter and StumbleUpon.
The collection has an array of publishers, with the majority of the content coming from California Newsreel, Tony Brown Productions Inc. and Filmakers Library. Subscribers to this database have access to both primary and secondary source materials that include biographies, conference materials, documentaries, interviews, lectures, panel discussions, performances, speeches and more. The content of the Black Studies in Video collection varies, but it has applicability to many academic disciplines, such as arts and humanities, literature (American and African American), history, law, religion and political science. Moreover, this film’s database covers a plethora of topics that examine the African American experience by exploring important subjects such as African history, African American history, activism, art and culture, social and economic matters, racism, politics, religion, slavery, entertainment, family, leadership, etc.
The interface for Black Studies in Video provides users with multiple access points to search for video content on its homepage. Users have the option to conduct a basic search by entering their search terms into the search bar located at the top of the homepage. In addition, researchers may conduct a search based on the video’s publisher, title and people or use the browse feature also available on the homepage. The browse feature provides subscribers with additional search categories that include the following: titles, disciplines, people, subjects, historical events, publishers and content type. In addition, an advance search feature exists that enables users to conduct searches through multiple categorized search fields that allows for cross-referencing of video content, transcripts and other available materials. Some of the categorized search fields have a drop-down list of search terms that users may easily incorporate into a search. Furthermore, the advance search feature gives users the ability to search by a specialized area of interest, content type, date published or date released, place published and language. Moreover, users may sort their results by relevance, title, newest first or oldest first. The specialized area of interest includes the following: Family and Culture, Imperialism and Colonialism, Law and Legal Issues, Literature and Intellectual History, Music and Arts, Political and Social Movements, Religion and Belief Systems, Slavery and War and Violence. As can be seen, the multiple access points and search options allow for easy navigation of the available content, thus making the video content in this database eminently discoverable.
This film database provides multiple key features that users of the Black Studies in Video collection may find invaluable. The abstracts and descriptions, access to citation information, the option to create playlists and film clips, and the availability of full transcripts represent some of the most valuable features. Once users have narrowed their search using one or several of the available search features, they have the option to narrow their search even further through evaluation of the abstracts and descriptions provided. This feature gives a concise overview of the content discussed in the selected video because it informs users of the video’s content type (interview, documentary, lecture etc.), author, publisher and date created or released, and it provides the major topics and themes covered in the selected title. The citation feature within this database provides citation information in several writing styles, including American Psychological Association, Chicago, Modern Language Association 6 and 7. In addition, the option to create a playlist lends a quick way to manage materials of interest. The film clips’ feature offers users the ability to create short film clips from longer video segments. Lastly, the availability of a full transcript provides users with a helpful tool for referring back to materials for the purpose of quoting without having to replay the segment. Additionally, this feature gives individuals with hearing impairments the ability to grasp the key concepts of videos by reading about the film in its entirety.
In summary, the Black Studies in Video database would make a solid addition to any curriculum looking to incorporate in-depth video footage focused on exploring the African American experience. After evaluating and comparing this product to other steaming video platforms, I found the subject specific content and available navigation features to be vastly superior. The database contains high-quality video content, and its user-friendliness allows for a spectrum of users, from the novice to the experienced researcher, the ability to easily search for and find helpful video content. The purchasing price for the database covers permission for in-class, on campus and remote access.
