The FSC supports Cinema and Media Studies courses by providing access to media collections, media-equipped classrooms, and screening rooms for film viewing. While our primary responsibility is to support cinema courses, all UChicago faculty and instructors are welcome to use FSC collections and facilities, as available, in support of their courses and students. Please read more about our services:
- Faculty or department coordinators wishing to book a course at the FSC should contact the Cinema and Media Studies Department Administrator to request a cross-listing. Cross-listed courses are eligible for classroom and screening space at the Center and full screening support from the FSC staff. Prior support does not guarantee space and requests must be submitted annually. Courses are scheduled during the winter term preceding the academic year in which the course takes place.
- Occasional course screenings can also be requested by UChicago faculty and instructors. The FSC has several teaching/screening rooms available for self-use. Requests for over 25 people require a screening room and may include staffing and/or facility fees. Learn more about our spaces here.
- Course screening materials can be drawn from the FSC's extensive collections. Any additional rentals must be covered by the course's originating department.
- Study collection: The Center holds an extensive collection of DVDs, Blu-ray discs, and VHS video formats. A number of legacy formats (laserdisc and tape formats) are stored by the Center and can be accessed on request.
- Film prints: 35mm and 16mm film prints do not circulate and are used for cinema studies courses.
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Locate the materials in the FSC collection and either check them out or view them onsite.
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Choose clips or stills, and locate timestamps.
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Fill out an order request with the VRC. Up to 10 stills/clips per week.
- Center for East Asian Studies' circulating film library.
- Streaming platforms for academic use (among them Docuseek, Kanopy, Electronic Arts Intermix, and Alexander Street) are available through the UChicago library system.
- UChicago library guide for Cinema and Media Studies.
- Visual Resources Center's LUNA database.
The FSC provides support for cinema-driven courses on a variety of levels:
Please reach out to us for more information on how the FSC supports academic teaching.
UChicago faculty and instructors can have materials from the FSC collection placed on “non-circulating” status for the duration of an academic quarter, meaning that the items will be kept on-site and available for instructors and students. Instructors can also have their own materials placed on reserve in the Center for on-site viewing. Please note: popular titles may be reserved by more than one course and may become temporarily unavailable due to scheduled use in CMS classes and screenings.
Reserves requests can be made in-person at the Cobb Hall C306 circulation desk or via email.
The FSC collections are representative of historical and contemporary forms of moving image both as an art form and as a cultural practice worldwide. Our aim in collecting is to enhance curricular resources available for Cinema and Media Studies and related scholarship at the University.
More information on our collections can be found here. The catalog contains individual listings for the entire collection of media materials held by the Film Studies Center.
While the collection is primarily non-circulating so that it is always available for on-site use by our patrons, faculty and instructors can check out most items in the collection for classroom use. Please see our Access and Loan Policy for specific borrowing permissions.
The FSC's facilities house spaces designed for teaching and presentation of cinematic works and other visual media.
Two flexible teaching/screening rooms (C310 and C311) can be used by small groups (up to 25) for occasional course screenings, workshops, discussion groups, and meetings. The Center’s 100-seat screening room in Cobb Hall (C307) features large-screen projection of a wide variety of digital and film formats and is staffed by a team of professional and student projectionists.
For details on each room and booking instructions, please see here
In cases where these FSC spaces are not available, similar Cobb Hall multimedia classrooms can be booked through the Registrar's office.
The FSC houses two small viewing rooms adjacent to our circulation desk (C306) for individual and tiny group viewing. Rooms are equipped with widescreen monitors and international standard Blu-ray and VHS decks with legacy formats available by arrangement. Faculty, students, staff, and approved researchers can watch materials from the FSC's collection or bring in their own. Faculty are encouraged to send students to catch up on course viewing or conduct independent study. No reservations required.
Please note: the viewing rooms are meant for an individual person or two max. For group viewing, please request a screening space.
The FSC constantly acquires new titles that relate to the fields of cinema studies, theory, history, and media engagement. Not finding a title you need in our catalog? Request it! We can help locate materials in other campus collections, or, if the request fits our collection criteria, acquire it for the FSC collection. Please allow sufficient lead time as requests for new titles require at least 1-month turnaround to research, acquire, and catalog. To request materials, please fill out this form.
The FSC holds a collection of pre-cinematic apparatuses – magic lanterns, zoetropes, flipbooks and more – for use in classroom teaching. Instructors can book and check out kits from the FSC's Main Office, Cobb Hall 306. See here for a detailed list of the available kits.
The FSC partners with the Visual Resources Center to provide digital images and clips for research and teaching through the LUNA database.
To request clips or stills:
Visit the VRC website for more information.
CAN MY COURSE ASSISTANT PICK UP THE FILMS?
CMS Course Assistants can check out and return materials used in courses. Course assistants from other departments must abide by typical lending permissions. We recommend faculty in other departments pick up the materials themselves, and Course Assistants may return it.
WHY IS THE FSC'S CIRCULATION POLICY SO RESTRICTIVE?
The study collection was first envisioned as an entirely non-circulating collection for use in cinema courses. In recent years, that standard has been relaxed so that more patrons can benefit from the holdings. While the short loan period may cause inconvenience for some, it helps us maintain the quality of the collection, resulting in fewer lost and broken discs and tapes. On the whole, on-site viewing and prompt return of off-site loans helps keep materials available to all.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CLASSROOM SCREENING AND A PUBLIC SCREENING?
Most audiovisual work is under copyright, meaning that someone, somewhere, owns the work and reserves the right of use. Under the provisions of the US Copyright Act, educational institutions are granted special privileges to screen work in an academic setting. This provision, known as fair use, allows faculty and students to view copyrighted material in face-to-face instructional teaching situations without fee or penalty. However, any screening taking place outside the classroom is considered a public performance and as such requires a license from the distributor or owner of the work.
Instructors looking for more media resources may find these links helpful: