I sympathize with Beth, because it's the exact situation that we're going through right now. I'm very new to the library, and apparently there's a long history with the weeding of our VHS collection. The IT department made the decision not to service VHS players, and they were also under the mistaken impression that they could just make DVD copies of all of the VHS tapes we own. For the past couple of years, we've been slowly examining the VHS tapes we own (about 3,000) and finding suitable DVD or streaming media replacements. The process has been good in some ways, in the sense that we're updating our collection (some of the VHS tapes are 30 years old) with newer and more relevant content. Because some of the faculty members raised a lot of fuss about the library withdrawing these films, we've allowed them to come to the library and take any withdrawn VHS to add to their own personal collections. This way they can still show the VHS tapes if they want. The rest, we plan on selling at the book sale that's coming up.
Thanks, Hannah Lee Harper College Library On Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 3:00 PM, Shoaf,Judith P <jsh...@ufl.edu> wrote: > > Hmm--so it is going to be easier to convert 5000 VHS tapes to DVD than to > keep VHS players in working order? What will the resulting DVDs be like? I > suspect that digitizing and constructing a useful and reliable DVD will be > more expensive than buying a commercial one. > > I recall a thread (this list? A different one?) about the relative usefulness > in the classroom of a cued-up VHS tape vs. a DVD with its scenes menu. Behind > the whole clips-compilation exception is the fact that instructors do not > want to waste valuable class time finding the right place on a videorecording > of a movie. > > A DVD with no scenes menu, etc. will be less useful even than a tape. A DVD > with a scenes menu requires a lot of work by someone who knows something > about that movie. > > Setting aside the principle as Gary enunciates it and the flagrant > illegality, the practicality of the undertaking is pretty fuzzy. > > Judy Shoaf > > VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues > relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, > preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and > related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective > working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication > between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and > distributors. > VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.
