Getting Started
UBC Library purchases or subscribes online resources, just like purchasing hard copies for our branches like books, journals, etc. for the UBC community. In order to gain access to online resources the systems need to know you're affiliated with UBC, it does this by using OpenAthens (web proxy server which acts as an authentication system, verify that users are current UBC authorized users).
Use these resources to help get connected to the knowledge you need!
On campus
Current UBC students, faculty, staff and Alumni can access licensed electronic resources - including ebooks, ejournals, streaming videos, Indexes & Databases and other online resources - using a valid Campus-Wide Login (CWL).
Off campus
Current students, faculty and staff can get authenticated access to licensed electronic resources, anywhere in the world via a valid Campus-Wide Login (CWL). All off-campus Users will be authenticated via OpenAthens. Do not use myVPN.
Starting from the UBC Library homepage, there are two ways to get started with OpenAthens:
1) On the Library Homepage, use the "LOGIN" drop-down menu on the right-hand side of the grey bar
2) From the Library Homepage, start searching. The first link-out to a licensed resource will automatically pause to request authentication via OpenAthens.
For more information on using OpenAthens, please see:
Note: Alumni with an Alumni Card (A-Card) can get remote access via an authorized CWL to select resources licensed for Alumni.
If you are having issues with accessing online resources through the UBC library, please fill out this form to receive help gaining access!
e-Books & Media
Xwi7xwa purchased many individual Indigenous-focused streaming media titles which are hosted on a platform called McIntyre Media. Here is a list of selected streaming media at X̱wi7x̱wa Library!
There are two ways you'll be prompted to connect before you can access your online item:
- Login to the library website using your CWL before you start browsing - https://openathens.library.ubc.ca/
- Browse the library website and enter your CWL when the system prompts you (usually when you want to view an online journal or e-book)
Here’s how to search the library catalogue for streaming content:
- To look for a particular title, at the basic search, enter a keyword (use AND, OR, NOT or “a phrase”) and include the following in your search string: video and online and xwi7xwa. Example: To find The Pass System, enter the following: “pass system” video and online and xwi7xwa
- To browse what’s available, at the basic search, enter the following: video and online and xwi7xwa. You can then filter your results by selecting “video recording” under the content type.
IMPORTANT: When searching for streaming media in UBC's Catalogue you may not find the title you're looking for but you still may have streaming privileges of that title!!!
Check National Film Board (needs Campus Wide Login)
Check Criterion on Demand
UBC Streaming Video
UBC Library provides access to online films covering a very broad range of topics. Film collections below are organized alphabetically.
- Bates’ Visual Guide to Physical Examination, 5th edition (Streaming Videos) This link opens in a new windowStreaming video version adapted from the popular video series. Includes 12 key subject areas.
- Birds of the World This link opens in a new windowBirds of North America Online provides comprehensive information about each bird species, including characteristics, distribution, systematics, migration, habitat, food habits, behaviour, breeding, conservation and sounds. In addition to text and maps, BNA Online offers images, audio and video for each species.
- Business Source Ultimate This link opens in a new windowWithin the Business Source Complete database is the Harvard Seminar Series of streaming videos. Enter the database, click on "More" from the top blue menu bar, click "Business Videos" and then search by topic.
- Concept Media Streaming Video Collection This link opens in a new windowA collection of streaming videos that may be useful to a wide variety of health professionals. Covers topics such as 3-lead EKG, acute respiratory disorders, assessing the elderly, cardiac disorders, dementia, diabetes, elder issues, infection control, infection in the elderly, respiratory disorders (allergy & anaphylaxis, asthma and lung cancer), respiratory suctioning, urine elimination.
- Criterion On Demand This link opens in a new windowOver 2900 streamed feature films including classics, new releases, foreign films, literary adaptations, documentaries, animated titles, and independent features.
- Ethnographic Video for Instruction and Analysis (EVIA) This link opens in a new windowDigital archive of ethnographic field video for use by scholars and instructors.
- Ethnographic Video Online This link opens in a new windowThis video collection covers every region of the world and features the work of many of the most influential documentary filmmakers of the 20th century, including interviews, previously unreleased raw footage, field notes, study guides, and more.
- KanopyKanopy offers an on-demand streaming service for educational institutions. Content includes "award-winning documentaries, training films and theatrical releases" on a wide array of topics, from a diverse set of disciplines.UBC access to Kanopy videos is currently being mediated by UBC Library staff. Only videos for course use requested by faculty/instructors will be activated at this time. Requests for access to videos can be sent to koerner.reserve@ubc.ca.
- NFB Explore (National Film Board) This link opens in a new windowNFB.ca provides access to online viewing of films produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).
The collection consists of two collections, one a colection of freely available titles and the other, the campus collection of 5200 titles. Access to the campus collection is restricted to UBC faculty, staff and students. - North American Indian Thought and Culture This link opens in a new windowNorth American Indian Thought and Culture Database from Alexander Street Press brings together more than 100,000 pages of personal stories, many of which are previously unpublished, rare, or hard to find. Fifty-four volumes, representing 15,000 pages, are from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries alone. Additional materials, including video, bring coverage through the present day.
- Opera in Video This link opens in a new windowThe Opera in Video collection currently contains 174 videos, equalling 488 hours. When completed, the database will include 250 of the most important opera performances, captured on video through staged productions, interviews, and documentaries. Selections represent the world's best performers, conductors, and opera houses and are based on a work's importance to the operatic canon.
- Psychotherapy.net (Streaming Videos)Produced by APA. UBC has a subscription to the complete Full Collection of 298 psychotherapy and counseling videos.
- Routledge Performance Archive This link opens in a new windowThe Routledge Performance Archive is a developing resource produced in partnership with Digital Theatre, providing unique access to an unprecedented range of audio-visual material from past and present practitioners of performance.
- Theatre in Video This link opens in a new windowTheatre in Video contains more than 250 definitive performances of the world's leading plays, together with more than 100 film documentaries, online in streaming video - more than 500 hours in all.
- Warc : World Advertising Research Center This link opens in a new windowWARC includes case studies from major companies and advertising agencies, as well as articles from leading advertising journals and unpublished papers. It also includes company profiles, advertising spending statistics, videos of commercials, and demographic and economic data.
Online Film
Below is a list of websites that contain free, education focused, online videos.
- HotDocs Doc LibraryCanadian documentaries including educational resources.
- Irving K. Barber Learning Centre Webcast PortalUBC Vancouver based series of recorded lectures and events.
- Khan AcademyLibrary of videos covers K-12 math, science topics such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and even reaches into the humanities with playlists on finance and history. Each video is a digestible chunk, approximately 10 minutes long, and especially purposed for viewing on the computer.
- MIT VideoIncludes feature and editorial videos, event recordings, academic content and more.
- OER CommonsOver 3000 videos at the post-secondary level. Limit by "Grade level: Post-Secondary" and then "Media Format: Video."
- Open Culture Movies OnlineThe best free cultural & educational media on the web.
675 Free Movies Online: Great Classics, Indies, Noir, Westerns, etc. - TED: Ideas Worth Spreading"Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world." -TED website.