The Sound and Moving Image Collection includes more than 20,000 DVDs and VHS video recordings and subscribes to an equivalent number of video streaming files. These have been selected to support classroom presentations, student assignments, research, and personal education. The titles have been acquired from a broad range of publishers and reflect the University’s diverse course offerings. Descriptive information for media titles is in the YUL online catalogue. Search options include a basic keyword search followed by format selection, or an advanced keyword search with pre-set format choices. The DVD and VHS titles can be reserved in advance for classroom presentations, or signed out for individual viewing; video streaming files are accessible from on campus and off campus locations.
The collection also includes a large media archive which is especially strong in Canadian film, artist’s films and videos, Canadian dance history, and the history of A.I.D.S. Descriptive information for this material is in the YUL online catalogue; these items can be viewed in-house. The media archive has evolved through special purchases and donations. The artist’s film and video collection was initiated in 1973 when the Faculty of Fine Arts provided funds to acquire films by painters Michael Snow, Joyce Wieland, and Jack Chambers. External donation sources have included the National Film Board of Canada, National Science Library, Labatt Breweries of Canada, Toronto Public Library, Dance in Canada, Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund, and the A.I.D.S Committee of Toronto. The University’s Archives and Special Collections facilitates research on ASC holdings by providing viewing copies of works associated with composers Louis Applebaum and James Tenney, and filmmakers James Beveridge, Norman Campbell, John Kastner, Terrence Macartney-Filgate, Bruce Pittman, Harry Rasky, Rhombus Media, Gail Singer, John N. Smith, and Joyce Wieland.