Can I buy copies of the programs from this on-line collection?

Most programs are no longer available for distribution. Please refer to http://shop.wgbh.org and http://www.shoppbs.org for the latest catalog of programs available for distribution.

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Can I buy copies of source materials such as interviews produced by WGBH?

A limited amount of material is available to buy on DVD for educational use. Where DVDs are available, the search results page will display an icon. Supply of this material is for educational purposes only. You may not copy, reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit, or distribute any material from these DVDs. Please refer to the terms and conditions specific to the purchase of DVDs. For requests to license materials commercially, contact WGBH Stock Sales at http://www.wgbhstocksales.org.

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How can I arrange to visit the WGBH Media Library and Archives?

Individuals wishing to visit the Archives should be engaged in educational research. Please see our access policies for further information.

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Can you provide me with contact information for any of the people in the clips?

WGBH Educational Foundation cannot provide the names, addresses, telephone numbers, or e-mail addresses of individuals, next of kin, estates, or related organizations for people who appeared in WGBH programs. To do so would violate WGBH's Privacy Policy.

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Where can I get the QuickTime Player?

QuickTime from Apple is one of the most popular Web plug-ins for interactive media. Downloading and installing QuickTime are easy and the plug-in is free from Apple. It will work on nearly any browser, whether you're using Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer, or Safari. To download the current version of QuickTime, visit Apple at http://www.apple.com/quicktime. Choose "download" from the menu bar and enter your e-mail address in the box provided. Follow the directions for your system.

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I can't get one of the video clips to work. What should I do?

Please make sure you are running either Internet Explorer 5.5 or newer, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari, and make sure you have installed QuickTime properly. You can download installation instructions from Apple's site at http://www.apple.com/quicktime. Depending on your Internet connection, a few minutes may be required for the QuickTime movie to load before you can play it.

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I have found a factual error in one of the records. Whom should I contact?

Please contact the Media Library and Archives at: archive_requests@wghb.org. We will fix any factual errors in our content as soon as possible. However, requests for enhancing content, such as including political positions or personal commentary, cannot be honored.

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How do I use the search function?

To search for records in Open Vault, enter a simple keyword, then press "return" on your keyboard.

The advanced search allows you to limit your search to specific fields and to use Boolean operators. To select a specific field, enter your search term and select a field from the drop down box on the right. To limit or expand your search using the Boolean operators, AND, OR, and AND NOT select the relevant option from the Add new line drop down box. You can add as many additional lines as you wish. Using the checkboxes you can also limit your results by series and subject area. Uncheck all of the boxes except the series and/or subject you wish to limit your search by. If all boxes are checked then your search will be across all series and subjects.

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What can I do once I have a list of search results?

The search results allow you to scroll through a maximum of 25 records per page.

You can sort the results of your search by clicking the Date, Series, or Duration column headers.

You can refine your search by Date. To narrow your search by Date, fill in the "after" and "before" fields with a year. Use the check boxes to limit your search results to type of media or specific collections. If all boxes are left unchecked, the page will display all items found.

"Turn view on/off" allows you to choose which information to display on the page. Results will automatically show the Date, Series, Duration, and Program fields. By clicking a category on the "Turn view on/off" line, you can choose not to have that information displayed.

Click a record title or thumbnail to view the item's page, which includes details about the record. indicates you can view the video excerpt online. indicates that a full transcript of the record is available.

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How and what can I browse?

Select People or Series to browse the Open Vault records that fall into each category.

On the navigation bar at the top of each page, you can select a Subject area, which will take you to the list of all Open Vault records pertaining to that subject. The results page also contains Subject-level drop-down menus, which allow you to select more specific topics. Subjects are derived from MERLOT categories (a hierarchical system based on higher education curricula).

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What can I do on the record page?

The Description tab is a synopsis of the page you are viewing. Clicking on the underlined text for Series or Program will jump to that portion of the synopsis.

The Transcript tab displays the transcript or visual description for the featured video clip. For interviews, you may also have the option of selecting the button Full Transcript to view the full-text interview. allows you to print either the video clip transcript or the full transcript.

Clicking the Notes tab will automatically add the record to Your List and allow you to add personal notes. You can also add a record to Your List without adding notes by clicking the Add to List button below the video clip.

The Your List function lets you create a list of records and add your own notes to a selected record. You must register with Open Vault to use this function. Registration is free. The access for Your List appears at the top of all Open Vault pages. However to add notes you must do so through the Notes tab on the item record page or from Your List.

Send to a Friend will send the item record URL to a specified e-mail address.

If the entire interview is available, you may request to purchase a DVD by using the Order DVD button and following the instructions.

People who watched this clip also watched will list the top three most watched clips by users who watched the record.