Goodbye to Cassette Tapes @ the Madison Public Library

Central Library says goodbye to cassettes, tapes. (Wisconsin State Journal, 9/15/2011)

Excerpt: The Central Library, 201 W. Mifflin St., is using the sale to eliminate its entire collections of audio books on cassette and movies and television shows on videocassette — more than 11,000 titles. (There is also an array of fiction and nonfiction books for sale.)

DVDs and books on CD have eclipsed the older formats. Still, the library gets an average of 30 requests daily for either an audiocassette or a VHS movie, said Carol Froistad, community services manager.

"That's not a high number for us, but we know some people will be unhappy," she said.
Molly Raphael, president of the American Library Association, wasn't surprised to hear of Madison's decision. Many libraries have eliminated their cassette and VHS collections or are planning to, she said.

"At a certain point, the use level isn't high enough to take up the valuable real estate in libraries," she said. "That change is sometimes painful to people in the community, but it's how libraries have stayed relevant."