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Film & Video

Librarian for Film, Video & Digital Media

Profile Photo
Danette Pachtner
she/her/hers
Contact:
My location: danettep@duke.edu
Call me: 919.660.5886
Lilly Library
Room 108
East Campus
Email me
My areas:
Film, Video & Digital Media; Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies; Theater Studies
919.660-.5886

Need Help?

Streaming Video

Duke-affiliated patrons can access video titles in the Libraries' streaming video platforms anywhere. A full list of these databases can be found here

Search tips: finding films in the online catalog

Search for films here. You can also start your search from the Libraries' homepage and choose the Catalog tab or opt for an Advanced search. Limit to Format: Videos and DVDs then hit the Search button. If you would like to browse the collection, Lilly's homepage displays recently acquired DVDs. So many options!

Here are specific searches strategies:

Keyword search

  1. Choose Keywords from the main drop-down menu and enter words from the title or names or subject terms
  2. Once your results display, Refine Your Search by the Filter "Videos and DVDs"
  3. You can further Refine Your Search to "Video DVD" and/or "online" for streaming video

Title search

  1. Choose Title from the main drop-down menu and enter title
  2. Once your results display, Refine Your Search by the Filter "Videos and DVDs"
  3. You can further Refine Your Search to "Video DVD" and/or "online"

Subject search

  1. Choose Subject Heading from the main drop-down menu and enter subject keywords, for example: “Feature films – France”; “Documentary Films – Brazil”; Comedy Films
  2. Once your results display, Refine Your Search by the Filter "Videos and DVDs"
  3. You can further Refine Your Search to "Video DVD" and/or "online"

Director/Actor search (hint: anyone associated with a film production is considered to be an Author)

  1. Choose Author from the main drop-down menu and enter name of director/actor/writer/cinematographer, etc.
  2. Once your results display, Refine Your Search by the Filter "Videos and DVDs"
  3. You can further Refine Your Search to "Video DVD" and/or "Video cassette"
  4. Make sure to check the Location of your results, e.g. Lilly or Library Service Center or Ford*

General search tips

  • The date listed in the online catalog is when the dvd/videocassette was produced, not when the film was originally released
  • If you don't find a film by title, try an author search by director; often titles in non-Western languages will be creatively transliterated
  • You're searching the catalog record and any summary/description or table of contents that might be included--but nothing beyond our library-produced metadata