RE: [Videolib] Just to depress you guys

Mike Tribby (mike.tribby@quality-books.com)
Mon, 20 Oct 2003 14:28:09 -0500

It may be sad, but sadly I don't find it hard to believe. There was a
posting on PUBLIB about libraries no longer collecting serials because of
the hassles with checking them in, claiming and theft (the original posting
concerned the annual Sporting News swimsuit issue). The original message
asked why libraries bothered collecting magazines for recreational reading
anyway--and it was from a public library. Take a few strands we've had on
this list and work them out to a worst case scenario-- A library stops
buying VHS because there is greater demand for DVDs which cost more. But
DVDs don't circulate as many times on average as VHS before they're damaged,
so over time circs go down and the acquisitions budget bottoms out. Then
the wizards of the bottomline decide there's no future in trying to stay
ahead of the game with videos, and why should the library be in competition
with the video stores (as if the stores would have the forthcoming DVD about
the Plaster Casters--but I digress). It's not a pretty picture, but it is
plausible. And we have had reports of customers slashing their video
acquisitions budget, or (worse yet, in my opinion) no longer collecting
special interest or non-fic video. Treasure your A/V budgets.

Mike Tribby
Senior Cataloger
Quality Books Inc.
The Best of America's Independent Presses

mailto:mike.tribby@quality-books.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Cartford, Peter, JCL [mailto:CartfordP@jocolibrary.org]
Sent: Monday, October 20, 2003 12:39 PM
To: videolib@library.berkeley.edu
Subject: RE: [Videolib] Just to depress you guys

I find this hard to believe--in fact, I find it impossible to believe. Any
public library that stopped buying AV at this point would be committing
public service suicide. If our usage patterns are any indication, AV
materials account for at least 25% of total circ in most public libraries.
Are you sure it wasn't a case of change in organizational structure whereby
collection development has been picked up by another department but the form
letter doesn't bother to mention that?

Just wondering (and shocked),

Peter

Peter Cartford
AV Librarian
Johnson County Library
Overland Park, KS
913-495-2496
cartfordp@jocolibrary.org

-----Original Message-----
From: videolib-bounces@library.berkeley.edu
[mailto:videolib-bounces@library.berkeley.edu] On Behalf Of Jessica Rosner
Sent: Monday, October 20, 2003 12:03 PM
To: videolib@library.berkeley.edu
Subject: Re: [Videolib] Just to depress you guys

Public. Don't tell me things have gotten that bad in the Academic libraries
too

-- 
Jessica Rosner
Kino International
333 W 39th St. 503
NY NY 10018
jrosner@kino.com


> From: "Cummings Cathleen" <ccummings@santarosa.edu>
> Reply-To: videolib@library.berkeley.edu
> Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2003 09:47:42 -0700
> To: <videolib@library.berkeley.edu>
> Subject: RE: [Videolib] Just to depress you guys
> 
> Jessica - just curious, was that from a public or academic library?
> 
> ~Cath
> Cathleen Cummings
> Santa Rosa Junior College
> Media Resources Specialist
> 1501 Mendocino Avenue
> Santa Rosa, Ca  95401
> 707 524-1614
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jessica Rosner [mailto:jrosner@kino.com]
> Sent: Sunday, October 19, 2003 1:07 PM
> To: videolib
> Subject: [Videolib] Just to depress you guys
> 
> 
> Received a form letter last week regarding what had been one of the
nation's
> best AV collections. It had been closed some months ago but still the
letter
> makes the current state of media in libraries about as depressing as 
> possible. It reads "Please remove (name redacted to protect the
guilty) from
> your mailing  list. We no longer have a Media Services Division nor an
Audio
> Visual Division and we no longer purchase audio-visual materials or
books
> for our member libraries"
> 
> Just thought you would all enjoy that
> 
> Jesica
> --
> Jessica Rosner
> Kino International
> 333 W 39th St. 503
> NY NY 10018
> jrosner@kino.com
> 
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> Videolib mailing list
> Videolib@library.berkeley.edu 
> http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/mailman/listinfo/videolib
> 
> 
> 
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