Ask the Library

May I show library films to a group, or use them for a public event?

When you borrow our films, you can legally only watch them in private, or if you are a professor, you can show them in your physical classroom as part of a course (17 U.S.C. § 110(1), as explained by the American Library Association). If you want to show a film in a public situation, even if you don’t charge admission, you need to pay for what’s called “public performance rights” (PPR).

WHICH FILMS HAVE PUBLIC PERFORMANCE RIGHTS INCLUDED?

• Click here to see a list of documentary and educational films for which the library has paid for PPR, when we purchased the films for the library collection. These are the only films you can show for free, without infringing on the film maker’s copyright. 
• Our streaming film databases, Kanopy and Films on Demand, sometimes also include PPR. All films in Films on Demand have PPR. In Kanopy, a film for which we have PPR will include a square box with the letters (PPR) to the right of the running time. Here's an example of a Kanopy film with PPR.

Please follow all database guidelines when arranging showings of their films:

Films on Demand: "The videos in your subscription include public performance rights and can be shown in class, in the library, or remotely to students, faculty, patrons, and community members."

Kanopy films with PPR: "Kanopy videos can be watched by any and all authorized viewers, whether in a group or individual viewing context. Viewing films in a group forum is permitted as long as the viewing is by authorized viewers and it is not for commercial benefit (i.e. no admission costs are charged and no profit is made from the screening)." Note from the library: authorized viewers are current Hollins students, faculty and staff.

For all of the other films the library owns: we do not have public performance rights. 

GETTING RIGHTS TO SHOW A FILM

If you're interested in obtaining public performance rights for a film not on our list, you should contact the filmmaker, the production company, or the film's distributor. A list of distributors is posted on this page from the Enoch Pratt Library in Maryland (scroll down to "Vendors that grant public performance rights")

The Hollins office that screens feature films for students at the Visual Arts Center is the Student Activities Office. They work with a film distribution company to show feature films, and they pay for the public performance rights as part of the screening contract. If you have questions about how much film screening rights cost or who to go through to order them, ask or call the Student Activities Office (540) 362-6986.

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