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Media Collection

This is a quick guide to the media collection available at the Purdue Libraries.

Media Search on Libraries Catalog

Initial Search

To locate a media item,

  • Go to the Purdue Libraries website.
  • Next, click on the dropdown menu next to search box.  Instead of Search All, select Books and Media. 
  • In the search box, type in the title or subject you are researching.  This will bring up a list of book and media titles that are available. 

arrows showing to first select Books & Media from drop-down, then type into search box, then click search

Narrowing Your Search Results

Material Type

To narrow this down to just media items, go to the left side of the screen.  There you will see an option to narrow your search by Material Type.  You may select the videos option if you are looking for streaming video, DVD, or VHS.  If you are looking for an audio file, please select the audio option.

media search results with red box outline the material type filter on the left side of the screen

Show Only

If you would like to narrow your results even further, there are a couple of ways to do this. 

  • One, you can limit the search by Physical Items.  This will narrow the results to the DVD or VHS titles. 
  • If you want to view a title that is available through one of our streaming services, you can select the Available Online option.

media search results with red box outline the show only filter options on the left side of the screen

Streaming Video Content

While you can find streaming videos using the Libraries catalog, you can also browse our streaming platforms to find items that might be of interest.  You can find more information about our streaming platforms here: