Sharing Moving Image Metadata and Streaming Video on Demand Content – The Project AVA as a Use Case for Cross Domain Cooperation between Film Festivals and Public Libraries

Abstract

This paper explores new models of sharing moving image content and metadata through cross-domain cooperation between film festivals and public libraries to give access to video on demand streaming services in libraries. Libraries and film festivals share in common that they collect and catalog moving image metadata and give access to moving images. The different communities have been connected for the first time on an international scale by the AVA project (Audiovisual Access). Through AVA, libraries and festivals from seven cities in six European countries cooperate with the company Reelport, which provides the video on demand streaming infrastructure. The public private partnership is co-funded by the European Union Creative Europe MEDIA program in 2016-2018. This paper focuses on the use case of the cooperation between interfilm, the International Short Film Festival of Berlin, and the Berlin Central and Regional Library (Zentral- und Landesbibliothek Berlin).

By taking the example of the AVA project as a starting point, the paper aims at discussing future perspectives of international and cross-domain cooperation between moving image content providers and libraries to give access to video on demand streaming services. Special attention is given to questions of the metadata standards applied, and the requirements for cross- domain data exchange. It also discusses questions of technical infrastructure and equipment needed, as well as information gathered about user requirements and user expectations concerning the streaming video on demand service.