Bloomsbury's Film Studies Reference 

CONTENT Part of Bloomsbury’s Screen Studies suite, the Film Studies Reference collection features a variety of texts and resources highlighting the history of cinema and film, criticism, and culture. Materials include encyclopedias, historical dictionaries, and a library of ebooks. Titles in the ebook collection include practical guides and critical analyses of film, genres, eras, and other research areas. The current collection of 80 ebooks ranges from works such as 10 Essential Indian Films to J.J. Abrams vs. Joss Wheaton: Duel for Media Master of the Universe to Year of Movies: 365 Films To Watch on the Date They Happened. Available reference titles include The Encyclopedia of Best Films and The Francis Ford Coppola Encyclopedia, among others. Many of the titles were originally published by Rowman & Littlefield. The collection also features open-access titles.

USABILITY Film Studies Reference is accessed via the Screen Studies platform. The top navigation bar allows users to explore the collection by selecting from a set of predetermined categories: people, films, genres, movements and styles, and themes. Users can also browse additional content, such as learning resources and books, and access available collections (depending on the institution’s subscriptions). Quick links to books, screenplays, articles, and a time line of the history of cinema are also featured on the home page, along with a link to the “Learning Resources” page, which highlights available guides (bibliographic and subject-based) and lesson plans.

An alphabetical listing of available titles makes it easy for users to browse the ebook collection, while the advanced-search tool provides greater control over the research process. The advanced-search tool is simple and easy to use, featuring a select range of filters and limiters. Users can limit searches by content type (article, bibliographic guide, gook, encyclopedia, focused study, lesson plan, reference, screenplay) and can specify searches by title, location, author/editor/creator, summary/abstract, category/keywords, and identifier. Users can also search across multiple fields and within titles.

Ebook content is presented in a text-based format when it is accessed in-browser; however, downloaded content appears in its original format. Not all works are able to be downloaded. For each ebook title, there is bibliographic information, content set details, and a browsable table of contents. Tools for saving, printing, sharing, and citing are featured for all titles, even where downloads are not available.

PRICING Film Studies Reference on Screen Studies is available by subscription ($2,496) or for purchase by perpetual access ($14,971), with a mandatory hosting fee of $200 to $600, which begins one year after the initial purchase. The hosting fee covers any purchases of content on Screen Studies. Pricing is based on the size and type of institution, and discounts may be available from consortia.

VERDICT A curated collection of film-related titles to satisfy researchers in areas such as cinema and literary studies, as well as practitioners of filmmaking and screenwriting. This database is a solid start for institutions interested in expanding their selection of film-related resources, as it’s easy to use, with little to no learning curve for novices to the subject.