Monday, April 19, 2010

Do your elected officials still believe that libraries compete with video stores?

Maybe they should ponder this evidence.

Julie & Julia.
The cases are shelved 5-6 deep.  I counted a total of 127 copies.  Rent one tonight.

You won't find a copy on the shelves of the Middleton Public Library.


Or any other LINKcat library, for that matter.  Place a hold tonight and expect to receive a pick-up notification in early August.

Based on Blockbuster's shelving pattern, Retiring Guy estimates that his local Blockbuster outlet stocks 240 titles.  Rent one tonight.


You won't find a copy on the shelves at the Middleton Public Library.

Or any other LINKcat library, for that matter.  Place a hold tonight and expect to receive a pick-up notification in early November.

Crazy Heart.  Estimated number of copies stocked by the Middleton Blockbuster outlet, based on its standard shelving pattern:  336.  Rent one tomorrow.

You won't find a copy on the shelves of any LINKcat library tomorrow.

Place a hold now and expect to receive pick-up notification about the same time as The Blind Side.

2 comments:

  1. It's not just public officials who think libraries compete with video stores. In the past year and a half two of our libraries and their municipalities received complaints from video store owners saying the library was driving them out of business. Clearly there are other issues challenging video stores (like Netflix), but if you are in a village or small city watching your businesses disappear in this poor economy, you might be sensitive to a business owner's complaint. Limited access to copies at the library might not be an adequate answer for some.

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  2. Streaming video over broadband is changing the entire video rental business making this an old arguement. Today I can stream just about any movie or TV series I want without ever leaving the couch. Blockbuster is closing storefronts and moving online. The DVD format itself has a questionable future, much like music on compact disc.

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