At San Francisco State we years ago went to VHS/DVD combo players. Which would your VP for Finance rather do; spend $100 - $200 per room installing new machines, or skazillions researching copyrights, paying for rights, if they are available at all - and incurring the wrath of faculty members who can't play their own videos any more?
Just a thought. Brigid Duffy Academic Technology San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA 94132-4200 E-mail: bdu...@sfsu.edu On May 12, 2011, at 6:31 PM, Ball, James (jmb4aw) wrote: > I agree with Gary, there's no easy/cheap/legal solution to this > problem. We have over 15,000 titles on VHS, many of which are still > in high demand by our faculty and are not available on DVD. When a > new classroom building opened last year without VCRs the faculty > were very unhappy to discover that we couldn't simply reformat > anything they wanted on VHS. So, now the classroom support folks > are looking into installing VCRs in those classrooms, which will be > kind of a pain now because they'll have to run an analog signal > through a digital system. The moral of the story is, it might take > complaints from faculty to redress the issue. > > On the other hand, I'm intrigued by the notion of declaring VHS > functionally obsolete because of inadequately equipped classrooms. > Hmmm... > > Matt > > ______________________________ > Matt Ball > Media Services and Collections Librarian > University of Virginia > mattb...@virginia.edu > 434-924-3812 > > On May 12, 2011, at 7:25 PM, "ghand...@library.berkeley.edu" > <ghand...@library.berkeley.edu > > wrote: > >> I feel your pain, Vicky! >> >> Unfortunately, even big bushels of money won't help, I'm afraid... >> >> Some of that money could be spent on re-purchasing titles that are >> available in DVD. That's definitely a fairly easy thing to do. >> >> Beyond that... >> >> There are few, if any, blanket anythings in this business. >> >> Secondly: It may be that some of the older things in your >> collection are >> grist for conversion under the provisions of Section 108 of the >> copyright >> law. It will take some work and effort to determine these, but the >> work >> might be worth it. >> >> For everything else, you'd have to hunt down the copyright holder and >> negotiate. My experience has made it abundantly clear that this is >> a real >> existential nightmare...in other words, it seldom results in happy or >> productive results, simply because of the complexities and vagaries >> of >> video production and distribution. >> >> If it were me (and it may well be eventually), I would not let go >> of this >> battle (re yanking vhs players) until the last bloody stand... >> >> Gary Handman >> >> >> >> >>> Oh help! Help, help, help! >>> >>> I have just attended a meeting at which it was mentioned in an off- >>> handed >>> remark that every VHS player in our campus classrooms will be >>> removed over >>> the summer. >>> >>> When I objected, and asked if there was any money being set aside >>> to pay >>> for the copyright permissions to convert our library's holdings, >>> the VP of >>> Finance said, "Why don't you give me a number." >>> >>> SO. >>> >>> Is there such a thing as a blanket license to convert commercially >>> made >>> VHS tapes to DVD for a non-profit institutional use? (Don't >>> laugh at me, >>> I just have to ask.) >>> >>> Does anyone have experience they can share with me - off list, if >>> you >>> prefer - in stopping/surviving this madness, or shall I just >>> scavenge all >>> the players I can find and store them in the library for the >>> foreseeable >>> future? >>> >>> >>> I've searched the list archives, but the "digitizing - procedural >>> question" thread, while helpful, doesn't say where to start securing >>> permission or with whom, for a conversion. >>> >>> >>> Thanks for your time and knowledge, >>> Vicky >>> >>> >>> 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. >>> >> >> >> Gary Handman >> Director >> Media Resources Center >> Moffitt Library >> UC Berkeley >> >> 510-643-8566 >> ghand...@library.berkeley.edu >> http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC >> >> "I have always preferred the reflection of life to life itself." >> --Francois Truffaut >> >> >> 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. > 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.
