Introducing Kanopy PLUS Packs and Kanopy Kids

Mercer County Library System now subscribes to Kanopy PLUS Packs and Kanopy Kids, two unlimited video services that allow you to stream movies and TV shows on almost any device. Patrons may access the service online, by using an app on their device, or using an app on a device linked to a TV.

What is Kanopy and what can patrons find on the service? Kanopy is an unlimited video streaming service that offers two subscription options to libraries, a pay per use and unlimited use model. If you enter the Kanopy website or app and see help guides mention limits and the use of Play Credits, that does not apply to our subscription – patrons have unlimited access to the titles in our collection, with no need to return titles or place holds. Simply watch what you want when you want to.

The unlimited PLUS Packs that MCLS subscribes to are curated lists of titles, which cover six topical areas and kids’ content. In our collection you will find British Cinema and TV (BBC and other British-produced films and television), Episodic titles (multi-part documentaries and TV series from PBS, A&E, History Channel, and others), Favorites (perennial staff and patron favorites that include movies, documentaries, and concert films), Easy Watching (comedies, documentaries, and family-friendly films), Diversity (films and documentaries featuring diverse stories and storytellers), and World Cinema (recent hits and classics from around the world). The kids’ collection contains over 2,000 titles featuring favorite characters such as Mo Willems’ Pigeon, Madeline, Franklin, and more. The kids’ collection also includes content from Highlights, animated picture books that allow kids to read along as they watch and listen, and language learning that includes films in Spanish and Hindi.

To get started online, patrons may visit our Kanopy site, where you may set-up an account by entering your library barcode number. Kanopy will also ask for an email address and a password so you may sign in more easily when online or on a device. If you want to watch Kanopy on other devices, you will need to log on to this account to enter the activation code.

To use the app on a phone or tablet, simply go to the Apple App Store, the Google Play Store, or Amazon Fire Appstore and look for Kanopy. You may go directly to the Kanopy app page for Apple, Google, or Amazon as well. Once you download the app, look for Mercer County Library System and enter your barcode. You can then proceed to create an account. If you previously signed up on the website above, you can just log on with your account information.

To use Kanopy on a TV, follow the instructions for your device on Kanopy’s help page for TV and mobile apps. Kanopy is available on Amazon Fire TV, Android and Google TV, Apple TV and AirPlay, Chromecast, Roku, and on select Samsung TVs. In some cases, the app is already built into the device and you simply need to launch the app, look for Mercer County Library System, and enter your barcode to get started. As with the mobile device apps, you will need to create an account. On some devices you will need to download the app from the device’s store or options menu.

Once you are logged in, you should see a set of highlighted titles. There is also a browse and search feature at the top. Browse will show you a set of genres while search allows to enter a specific title or a keyword such as a subject or actor’s name. If you are looking for the kids’ content, find the Kids icon in the upper right-hand corner of the website, by your name, and click it to get to the Kids menu. On the apps, look at the bottom for the More option, tap it, and then Go To Kanopy Kids.

Once you find a title you are interested in learning more about or to watch, you may hover over it and tap the see more to go to the title’s detail page. If this is a single video, you will see an orange Play button that you can tap or click to get started. For multi-part titles, you will see the same orange button but it will say Play Episode 1 or Play Part 1. Note for multi-part titles, the episode list is a set of thumbnails below the main information area.

Another option you will see on the title details page in the +Watchlist button. This allows you to add a title to your default watchlist to play later. If you click the My Lists at the top of the website or tap the My Lists at the bottom of the app, you will see both your Watchlist and your Continue Watching list. Items you had been watching but not finished will appear on the Continue Watching list. On the website you can create multiple Custom Playlists as well, although this feature is not available on Kanopy Kids. To create a custom list, go to My Lists, Custom Lists and Create Custom List. Then on any title details page, look in the dark details area and you will see a Playlists tab, click it and then the plus next to the custom list you wish to add the title to.

Lastly, there is the account area. Here you can manage settings such as you email address and password, library card number, and set parental controls. If you replace your library card and need to change the barcode number, you may do so here. For parental controls, you may set a PIN that will be required in order to exit Kanopy Kids and return to the PLUS Packs collection of titles. If you have a question or need troubleshooting, there is a support and contact option at the bottom of the page. Support features help articles and troubleshooting tips, while contact will let you get support help directly from Kanopy.

- by Laura N., Information Technology Department