
The Thompson-Nicola Regional Library is introducing a new electronic resource – Kanopy, which it says is like Netflix for library users.
Jenny Abramzik who is the TNRL’s Manager of Discovery & Support Services, says it is the premier video streaming service for libraries in North America and provides access to a vast collection of films, documentaries, online lectures, TV series, and children’s content, which are all free to watch with your library card.
“It’s kind of like Netflix for library patrons, so it’s all streaming video that anyone who’s got a library card with Thompson nickel Regional Library can sign up for a free account, and they have 16 credits or tickets that they can use every month to watch all kinds of film and television shows.
“There’s a mix of things. So there’s a lot of BBC content, PBS content, Criterion Collection, a lot of like cult films, some foreign films, and some sort of classic cinema as well.”
“We’ve just noticed, looking at our statistics over the years, that more and more folks are using our online resources,” says Abramzik. “So, the circulation of our print resources are increasing slightly. This year, we saw a 2% increase in our circulation of our physical materials, but for our e-books and our audio and for hoopla, or other digital streaming service, we saw upwards of 25% increase in usage over the last year. So obviously, folks are wanting to use their library digitally, which we totally support. So we are looking at different ways that we can those services.”
Abramzik says access to Kanopy should be quite simple with links posted all over the TNRL website. “Just need to click there. And they will have to enter their library card number and then create an account, which is basically just their email, and create a password, and then they’re good to go.”