The library does not normally purchase "public performance rights" to films and documentaries, but instead purchases materials that are licensed for "home use" or educational use. The TEACH Act allows faculty to use these materials in the classroom and in mediated instruction, in person or on-line where only students registered for the class can view the material.
If you have a film showing that is open to the public, you can't just own a copy of the film; you need to have a right to make a public performance, either by licensing for the occasion, by having purchased public performance rights for that work, or by relying on statutory exemptions from copyright law.
But you can do some kinds of public or semi-public performances without those rights or exemptions. For one, if it's a small group of friends and social acquaintances, it doesn't count as a public performance at all. And for another, even more important in our context, educational screenings are specifically permitted by statute, without a license. The statute for this educational exemption is called Section 110(a) of the Copyright Act (https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/110), and it requires
(1) face-to-face
(2) teaching activities by instructors or pupils
(3) in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction
(4) with a copy that was lawfully made.
So, "teaching activities" can include, for example, screenings in class, or a screening by a department accompanying a lecture or discussion or panel. We have a broad view of "place devoted to instruction", since in fact the University does instructional work in all sorts of venues on campus, even outside in tents, these days. But some sort of "teaching activity" is the key part.
Here's a bit more info on the topic -- https://blogs.umass.edu/copyright/teaching/section-110-1-play-it-in-class/
Regarding use of Netflix, Amazon Prime, and similar commercial sources, their user agreements generally specify that their content is for individual use, so most likely, a screening would be against their terms. DVDs in general are probably a more stable, reliable format than relying on wired or wireless networks. You may want to connect with Classroom Technology Services’ multimedia equipment loan and support to arrange for equipment. We always highly recommend testing the equipment and media ahead of time to make sure everything works.
