Given what Jordan is stating below, what specifically is the difference, e.g. 
overlap, between VAST and the ASP Dance in Video collection? I don't have a way 
to compare these easily. 


Randal Baier 



----- Original Message -----

From: "Jordan White" <jwh...@astreetpress.com> 
To: videolib@lists.berkeley.edu 
Sent: Thursday, February 7, 2013 2:27:34 PM 
Subject: Re: [Videolib] Films on Demand vs. VAST 



Hi all, 

Please let me introduce myself. I am Jordan White, the new product manager for 
VAST: Academic Video Online . We listen to our customers and video advisors a 
lot—so thank you all for your thoughts. 

A couple points in response to the discussion here regarding MARC records and 
what’s included in VAST: 

First, we create all of our own MARC records, which are then offered to OCLC 
for inclusion in their program. OCLC has reported issues recently with their 
ability to process these in a timely fashion and are working to resolve this as 
quickly as possible. If you’d like a manual download of MARC records, we can 
give you this in the interim—just email us. 

Second, Filmakers Library Online , our cross-disciplinary collection of 1,013 
award-winning documentaries available exclusively through Alexander Street, is 
included in its entirety in VAST—this is the complete “backfile” of Filmakers 
Library titles through 2012, all there today in VAST. (A small, optional “2013 
update” collection will be offered soon—around 100 films signed during the 
current calendar year that will not be included in VAST.) 

VAST should not be viewed as “all of Alexander Street’s videos in a package.” 
VAST is a collection crafted specifically to serve undergraduate programs 
across your departments, covering dozens of subject areas—more than 16,300 
titles today, reaching 20,000+ titles by June 1 of this year, and continuing to 
grow. 

In addition to VAST we offer thousands more videos through various discipline 
collections, for libraries who want lots more content in particular subject 
areas. We make these additional videos available in collections (e.g., 
Counseling and Therapy in Video: Volume II ) and sometimes also as single 
titles on DVD or streaming. 

In other words, VAST does not and cannot include all of our videos. The product 
would be too expensive; it would include content that’s specialized and 
irrelevant to many libraries; and occasionally, producers choose to exclude 
their content from VAST. (One example is that while we do have films from 
California Newsreel in VAST, the producer specified that some content remain 
exclusive to our specialized Black Studies in Video collection.) 

What VAST is—it’s a powerful tool for undergraduate research and scholarship. 
We grow it by selecting 400 or more complete videos each month. We’re pushing 
the frontier of what it will include—both in a steady stream of new partners 
(National Geographic, Frontline, Bill Moyers) and in formats (documentaries, 
interviews, demonstrations, complete feature films, interviews, and forthcoming 
political speeches, public television series). “Pushing the frontier” also 
means new tools coming in April that will let you upload local content, search 
beyond our content to the Web through our semantic indexing, and create and 
share custom learning tools and apps. 

Thanks again for your feedback. If I can answer questions or hear your ideas, 
please reach out to me by e-mail at jwh...@astreetpress.com or by phone at 
1-800-889-5937 x 307. I look forward to getting to know you! 

Jordan 




On Wed, Feb 6, 2013 at 12:55 PM, Badilla-Melendez, Cindy < 
cbadill...@stthomas.edu > wrote: 


Hi Deg, 

There are some important things to clarify: 
Yes, MARC records from ASP are better than FMG, however you get only half from 
ASP, whatever they find in OCLC and whatever is not there, you don't get it. So 
you end up with a lot of titles not in your catalog. FMG just re-did their 
records. As a matter of fact we are downloading them right now (all the FMG 
records again), so we will see how better they really are or not. 

Having VAST is different than having the individual collections. We have the 
counseling collection and the music collection and they are very good. With 
VAST, you don't get all the videos from Filmmakers Library, you just get only a 
few and not the ones you really use. Same thing with California Newsreel. 
So as you said we cannot compare VAST with the individual collections from ASP. 

I am very disappointed with VAST, reason why we got instead of the individual 
collection was price, they put it in a way that getting individual collections 
was way more money than VAST and why not VAST was supposed to have 
everything... 
Believe with VAST you get a lot of stuff you never want to have 

My 2 cents 

Cindy 
__________________________________________________ 
Cindy Badilla-Melendez, M.L.I.S 
Media Resources Librarian 
O'Shaughnessy-Frey Library, 
University of St. Thomas 
Mail #5004, 2115 Summit Ave, 
St Paul, MN 55105 
phone (651) 962-5464 
fax (651) 962-5406 


-----Original Message----- 
From: videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu [mailto: 
videolib-boun...@lists.berkeley.edu ] On Behalf Of Deg Farrelly 
Sent: Friday, February 01, 2013 1:22 PM 
To: videolib@lists.berkeley.edu 
Subject: [Videolib] Films on Demand vs. VAST 



Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, and the University of 
Arizona all have Films on Demand and we together own the Filmakers Library 
collection from Alexander Street. (We each also have additional video 
collections from ASP, but to the best of my knowledge none of us has 
VAST) 

Full disclosure: I personally have vested interests in both products: I 
developed the subscription model with FMG after a PDA model proved too 
successful, and I advise ASP on video products. But I can separate my interests 
from observation and statement on the two products. 

There is some overlap between the two, largely in newsreel collections, and 
some PBS content. But overall both over a wide array of unique content. 

Both offer similar features and functionalities, that vary by degree. FoD 
titles are already segmented into discrete sections with individual persistent 
URLs; ASP provides tools for users to develop their own segments. FoD also 
offers the ability to combine segments into playlists. 
Both offer scrolling transcripts and closed captioning. 

I think in that in general ASP offers more long-form content and a greater 
degree of the quality documentary content media librarians have traditionally 
acquired from independent distributors such as Filmakers, California Newsreel, 
and the like. Tho FoD provides some of this too. I think ASP provides a 
superior search interface, and their catalog records are far superior to those 
provided by FMG. 

ASP is fully indexed by all the major discovery tools (Summon, EBSCO Discovery, 
etc). Our FoD is discoverable in Summon from our catalog records. 

For the record, our use of FoD is subscription and our ASP products have been 
purchased in perpetuity, so use data does not exactly compare. 
Suffice to say that FoD use for Arizona Libraries is less than $.20 per use. I 
cannot provide comparable data for ASP as the pricing and data reporting do not 
correlate. 


I have personally observed that some library administrations assume that having 
one means you do not need the other. But both products are quite complementary, 
and in my opinion both are necessary in a comprehensive university. 

This is not significantly different than how libraries approach indexes and 
journal packages. Aggregators such as EBSCO's Academic Search products and 
Lexis-Nexis overlap yet libraries carry both, and also independently subscribe 
to some of journals that are included in these resources. Similarly there is 
overlap between EBSCO index/databases both general and subject, and ProQuest 
products. But all provide significantly unique content that makes this overlap 
a non-issue. 

Happy to discuss either product in greater detail offline. 

-deg 

deg farrelly, Media Librarian 
Arizona State University Libraries 
Hayden Library C1H1 
P.O. Box 871006 
Tempe, Arizona 85287-1006 
Phone: 602.332.3103 



> 
>We currently subscribe to Films on Demand from Films Media Group, and 
>are considering a subscription to Alexander Street Press' VAST. Both 
>resources contain films from some of the same producers/distributors; 
>we're unable to run an overlap analysis of the products using 
>SerialsSolutions' overlap analysis tool, and are wondering if there is 
>much overlap in coverage between the two products. Have any libraries 
>that subscribe to both done any kind of overlap analysis - or just 
>anecdotally, have you noticed much duplication of films between the two 
>resources? 
> 
>Thanks in advance for any information you can provide. 
> 
>Best, 
>Michelle 


VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues 
relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, 
preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and 
related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective 
working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication 
between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and 
distributors. 

VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues 
relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, 
preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and 
related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective 
working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication 
between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and 
distributors. 






-- 

Jordan D. White 
Senior Product Manager 
Alexander Street Press 
703-212-8520 x307 
VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues 
relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, 
preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and 
related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective 
working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication 
between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and 
distributors. 

VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues 
relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, 
preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and 
related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective 
working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication 
between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and 
distributors.

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