Library Support For Faculty Teaching : Video, Music, and Images

Copyright

Course reading: If musicals, operas, music videos, and music recordings are assigned, the library can purchase the DVD or CD-ROM of the recording. The library recommend that the assigned music recording can be easily and legally streamed or rented digitally because students do not have physical players, and purchasing a disc is more expensive than streaming or renting. Unless you created the audio file yourself (and did not violate any copyright in the audio file), have explicit permission from the copyright holder, or the recording is in the public domain, do not upload any recordings to Populi. Either post a citation that allows a student to find the recording through a legal streaming service or post a link to a legal streaming website (such as Youtube or Vimeo).

Showing in a physical classroom: Musicals, operas, music videos, and music recordings can be played in the physical classroom as long as they are part of the course curriculum, mediated by the instructor, only students enrolled in the class are eligible to view it, and the copy you are using has been legally acquired. 

Streaming in a digital classroom: The TEACH Act allows for audio recordings to be streamed in an online classroom as long as the recording is part of the course curriculum, mediated by the instructor, only students enrolled in the class are eligible to view it, and the copy you are using has been legally acquired. However, dramatic music (such as musicals and operas) cannot be streamed or performed in their entirety, and only excerpts can be transmitted online. Much like for films and videos, we suggest to treating dramatic musical recordings as assigned course readings that students watch on their own time. Unless you created the audio file yourself (and did not violate any copyright in the audio file), have explicit permission from the copyright holder, or the recording is in the public domain, do not upload any recordings to Populi. Either post a citation that allows a student to find the recording through a legal streaming service or post a link to a legal stream (such as Youtube or Vimeo).

Online Image Resources: While you are free to use any image according to the policies stated above, the library provides a curated list of resources here. 

Accessibility 

Transcript or Libretto

• As possible, provide a transcript or libretto for resources like podcasts or music recordings that are audio only. Like offering closed captions for film, having a transcript available makes an audio resource more accessible to a diverse student body:
  • Students who are Deaf or hard of hearing must have the text in order to access the auditory media
  • Students with audio-processing issues, learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or other cognitive impairments also benefit from a transcript supplementing the audio.
  • Students for whom English is a second or third language can better follow along with recording.
  • Students without disabilities can benefit from a transcript for better recall and the ability to refer back to a section of a recording.
  • Anyone in the class when variations of sound quality or surrounding noise distractions.
• Many popular podcasts provide a transcript of their episodes that can be downloaded online. Visit the podcast's website and episode list to see if that content is provided - typically found somewhere near the "download" option for the podcast:

Accessible Media Players

• An accessible media player is one that can be controlled without a mouse, using just the keyboard. Most popular media players are already accessible in this way, but it is good to keep this in mind if selecting a recording that requires the use of less common media player interface. If you do assign a recording that needs to be played in a non-standard player, include a link to download the software along with the assignment. Most audio resources can be played through a variety of means, so students can use their preferred media player or app. 

Copyright

While copyright is similar to printed materials, printed lyrics and musical notation often have separate copyright holders. In addition, there are sometimes rights differences between the lyrics, the music, the right to perform the work, and the right to record and distribute the performance. The information below refers to the use of lyrics and musical notations in the context of a course. 

Course reading: If a hymnal or book of music is assigned, the library will purchase a copy and add it to the course reserve as a normal book. If lyrics or musical notation are uploaded to Populi, you are responsible and must follow fair use principles, including limiting yourself to only excerpts of the work. If the work is legally and freely available online, you should post the link to it and not upload it to Populi. 

Using in a physical classroom: Lyrics and musical notation can be displayed on a screen during a course and/or printed copies can be distributed in the classroom in the physical classroom as long it is part of the course curriculum, mediated by the instructor, only students enrolled in the class are eligible to view it, and the copy you are using has been legally acquired. Printed material must be discarded after the in-classroom use. 

Using in a digital classroom: The TEACH Act allows for lyrics and/or music to be displayed to the students in an online classroom if they are part of the course curriculum, mediated by the instructor, only students enrolled in the class are eligible to view them, and the copy you are using has been legally acquired. 

Online Lyrics and Music Resources: While you are free to use any material according to the policies stated above, the library provides a curated list of resources here. 

Accessibility

File Types

If assigning printed lyrics or music, use Microsoft Word or plain text files. This can be in addition to a PDF. A PDF can be made accessible through some editing features. If you are interested in creating accessible PDFs, contact library@meadville.edu for guidance.

Readable Text

For a PDF to be accessible, it must contain "readable text," meaning that a screen reader is capable of reading the text of the document (as opposed to being treated like a picture without discernable characters). Frequently non-readable text is present when the PDF is from a scanned print item, like a musical score from a book. Scanned PDFs are rendered as images rather than readable text - this is evident when you can't highlight and copy the text in a PDF document. But, if the document is scanned at high resolution, Adobe Acrobat can use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to convert the document from images of text into a document with readable text.

To solve the issue of non-readable text, you need to use Adobe Acrobat Pro or DC or other PDF file remediating software. To convert a document with non-readable text into a document with readable text,:

• Scan your document with at least 600 dpi on a scanner or copy machine
• Open the newly created document in Adobe Acrobat
• Navigate to the Tools tab and select Accessibility
• Run a full scan and use the report to correct accessibility errors. The check will assess readable text, tagging, and other accessibility issues

See this video by North Carolina State University on Adobe's Accessibility Checker: Creating an Accessible Scanned PDF

Copyright

Course reading: If an art, gallery, or exhibition book is assigned, the library will purchase a copy and add it to the course reserves. Given the cost of these books for students, we do suggest using online exhibits and digital humanities projects in place of printed material. Unless you created the image yourself (and did not violate any copyright in doing so), have explicit permission from the copyright holder, or the recording is in the public domain, do not upload any images to Populi. 

Displaying in a physical classroom: Images can be shown in the physical classroom as long as they are part of the course curriculum, mediated by the instructor, only students enrolled in the class are eligible to view them, and the copy you are using has been legally acquired. Faculty can also request the library to purchase an art, gallery, or exhibition book that can be shared in the class during the lesson. 

Displaying in a digital classroom: The TEACH Act allows for images to be displayed to the students in an online classroom if they are part of the course curriculum, mediated by the instructor, only students enrolled in the class are eligible to view them, and the copy you are using has been legally acquired. Unless you created the image yourself (and did not violate any copyright in doing so), have explicit permission from the copyright holder, or the recording is in the public domain, do not upload any images to Populi. When using images from the internet, always post a citation that allows a student to find image online legally. 

Online Image Resources: While you are free to use any image according to the policies stated above, the library provides a curated list of resources here. 

Accessibility

Alternative Text for Images

All images should have a text alternative, or "alt text." This can take the form of captions or using an "alt attribute" applied to the image itself that is hidden, like in an HTML webpage. Alternative text describes in words the non-text elements of a webpage or presentation, like images and icons. The alt text should accurately describe the image in order to convey the meaning that vision-abled students would glean from looking at it, making the image accessible for the visually impaired. Screen readers will identify and read aloud the alt text when it parses an image, so the alt text is important to impart the correct information.

Good alt text should be:

• Brief: Provide enough information for users to make sense of the image and act on the information it provides, the same way a vision-abled user would. Try to make alt text a sentence or less and avoid extraneous words like “photo of" or "image of." 
• Appropriate to the context: Context matters when drafting alt text. The description should be appropriate to how the image is being used. For example, the text may emphasize different attributes of the image or include more/less specificity when it appears in a lecture presentation vs. a how-to tutorial. 
• Distinctive: If the content of an image or photo is already described in a caption, don’t repeat that description verbatim in the alt attribute. Instead, include abbreviated alternative text in the alt attribute so the users of screen readers know to what the image refers.

Helpful webpages:

• How to add alt text to images and objects in the Microsoft suite of software (PowerPoint, Word, etc.)
• How to make PowerPoint presentations accessible
• Alternative text tips and techniques from WebAIM