My campus is having the exact same problem! I used to be in charge of both the campus AV support (meaning I installed and maintained all the equipment that we used to play our collection) and our VHS tapes, audio cassettes, CDs, and DVDs. A few years ago our IT department demanded control of the classroom support and they got it. Now they are refusing to support VHS in classrooms even though 80 percent of our collection still in use is on VHS. Our IT people seem to think it's perfectly fine to illegally copy (and they know it's illegal because I and the print Librarians here have told them so repeatedly) any VHS title for "convenience." They also want to convert everything so that it can be on a server.
The main problem with this is the profound lack of communication between our IT department, the campus, and us here at the Library! I constantly hear from professors that IT never asks them when huge decisions are made as to what will be installed in classes and what would make it easier and better for them to teach. We tell our IT people again and again that they need to support as many mediums as possible but it's like we're screaming down a bottomless pit since VCRs and even DVD players get pulled from classrooms in favor of IP phones and PCs that are also able to play DVDs and CDs. Every professor I talked to (and it was a lot at the time) said they would rather that money used for IP phones had gone toward actual classroom AV support. While I am in favor of improved and improving technology I also believe in supporting what our professors and contract teachers need and want! Since a DVD/VCR combo unit can be purchased for $60-$80 and will last for several years of continued use I think it really isn't that "expensive" to maintain VHS technology in classrooms and even build up a supply of extra units that can be switched out if there is a problem with an in class unit. But I'm still yelling down the bottomless pit and our professors are stuck having to borrow VCRs from their friends or bringing them from home to try and hook up to the in class projectors themselves just to show the videos they want to show for their classes. Where possible they buy the old VHS titles on DVD but most of them are either not available or are far too expensive to purchase in the DVD format--especially when I make certain our VHS cassettes are well cared for and working before they're checked out! So you aren't alone, Beth! It seems to be happening to rather a lot of us. Unfortunately I don't have any great wisdom to impart on how to fix the problem except to have a gaggle of professors complain to the higher ups that they aren't being supported by the people who are supposed to be supporting them! Best of luck! Chris > Hello All, > > We just found out through an article published in our campus paper that > our campus equipment unit will no longer be supporting VHS in the > classrooms because it is too hard to fix the VHS decks and because "DVD > equipment is easier to use than tape decks; DVDs are more portable; they > are more reliable etc.". > > They also advertised in that same article that they will convert all VHS > tapes that faculty use to DVD. > They never mentioned anything about copyright - just that "because its > for educational use then its ok to do the conversion (for a price)." As > far as I can tell they never talked to campus legal either. > > Needless to say we were surprised (we have over 5000 VHS tapes in our > Media collection). > > Has any other Media unit dealt with this? I seem to remember this > thread but could not find it in the archives. > > Any help would be appreciated. Please feel free to contact me off the > list too if you would like. > > > Beth Traylor > Media Librarian > UW-Milwaukee > > > > 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.
