On Tue, 22 Aug 2000, Darryl Wiggers wrote:
> Kristine,
>
> Thank you for the perspective. I was also intrigued by San Francisco State
> University's practice, as outlined by Brigid Duffy. In that circumstance it
> makes a great deal of sense to have both a DVD & laser disc library (a
> format which never broke away from the deep-pockets class).
>
> Obviously I was questioning from the perspective of a circulation library.
> DVDs are much more likely to be damaged through regular wear-and-tear than
> VHS. And I also question an earlier claim that DVDs are "cheaper" than VHS.
> I'd like to know the name of that store.
>
> As for Frank's comment:
>
> > A simple example: If we have patrons who are blind and do not use the
> > library because they cannot read or see our videos, do make braille and
> > recorded books available and market to them, or do we say, they don't use
> > the library so don't order anything for them.
>
> Is this suppose to compare with the DVD question? Are you suggesting that
> someone with access to a DVD player DOESN'T have VHS? Do you serve the
> person who plucks out their own eyes? Or is too stubborn to see any other
> way?
>
> Indeed, not an easy question...
>
> By the way, I think the main reason people notice a picture quality
> improvement is not so much because of the superiority of the DVD format, but
> the inferior quality of their old VHS players. For the last 10 years I've
> been using a high-definition monitor in conjunction with a Panasonic AG1960
> S-VHS/Hi-Fi editing VCR (though any middle-range VCR is almost as good). I
> find a nominal difference between a good-quality VHS tape and DVD. Hence, I
> won't be replacing any titles I already have in my library in VHS with DVD.
>
> What worries me about the seduction of this new format is that the day may
> come when DVD is the only format available -- and users will be stuck
> watching only those titles that have been released on DVD. Granted, I'm
> quite pleased to see something like Nashville finally available in
> letter-box, and will happily view it on DVD, but there's still a vast number
> of titles -- especially non-Hollywood -- that I haven't seen re-released.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kristine R. Brancolini [mailto:brancoli@indiana.edu]
> Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2000 3:02 PM
> To: Multiple recipients of list
> Subject: RE: DVD Info
>
>
> I think one of the issues here is whether or not you circulate videos.
> Most academic libraries do not. And even the libraries that do circulate
> videos widely (meaning to students as well as to faculty for classroom
> use) do so as an auxiliary service, not a primary service. I have never
> worried about what people have at home, as I supply the equipment in the
> Media Center and in the viewing rooms. As noted previously, we have 1500
> laserdiscs and no one ever asked me for one -- until we had several
> hundred and people were familiar with them. No one ever borrowed one to
> preview at home, but they are very heavily used and preferred by many
> users. I agree with Gary that promotion is one of the keys. Chris Lewis
> mentioned that many of the DVDs in his collection are duplicate titles.
> That's a typical pattern for a new format. Our percentage of DVD
> duplicates is about the same. We did the same thing when we introduced
> laserdiscs. I think you try to serve everyone. -- Kris
>
> On Tue, 22 Aug 2000, Darryl Wiggers wrote:
>
> > > ..one could, of course, make the case that availability, easy access,
> (and
> > > fervent publicity) fire demand...not the other way around. I've always
> > > been a big fan of building the field of dreams, and then standing by
> with
> > > bountiful popcorn and peanuts...
> >
> > A few weeks ago it was a announced that sales of DVD players had reached
> the
> > 3 million mark.
> > That's about the population size of my home city of Toronto -- a
> relatively
> > small fraction of the rest of the continent (let alone the world). So what
> > is the rest of the population suppose to do when libraries choose to serve
> > the minority instead of the majority?
> >
> >
>
> Kristine R. Brancolini, Media/Film Studies/Digital Library Program
> Main Library E170, 1320 E. Tenth Street
> Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405
> Phone: 812.855.3710 | Fax: 812.856.2062 | Email: brancoli@indiana.edu
> www.dlib.indiana.edu
>