And while we're at it, vendors are not your enemies, either, at least not this incredibly benevolent vendor. But Curtis, I think one thing that triggers an adverse reaction in film and video librarians about the difference in institutional pricing vs. home-use pricing is the vastness of the difference in some cases. In this case the difference was $300.00 for a video for universities and colleges vs $25.00 at home-use price. I won't deny that artists have a right to be remunerated at a higher rate for a work that will be used repeatedly and either generate admission fees or, indirectly, tuition fees, but the $275 difference at a time when most institutions are facing tight or shrinking budgets doesn't generate a lot of sympathy. Perhaps that's wrong, but the tough economic times bring budgeting decisions to a more brittle state.
It's an imperfect example, but consider for a moment the fortunes of the Chicago Black Hawks of the NHL. The Hawks are family-owned, and under the previous owner, they were never shown on "free" TV in Chicago and management fought to hold down the number of times per season that they appeared on national TV (during times when the NHL actually had a national TV contract, that is). Even back in the 1960s when some Hawks games were shown on TV, ownership didn't allow the broadcast to pick up the game until the second period-- they were "protecting" their season ticket holders. Over the years as fans had more choices in entertainment and sports venues, the ranks of Black Hawks fans shrank to the point the team wasn't really in the public eye very much and attendance at their games started to fall off. Sales of ancillary Black Hawks stuff also fell of precipitously. Then the old owner died and his son put the Hawks back on TV, re-established contact with former players who had been banished for having the temerity to go elsewhere for more money, and started actively marketing the team (as Jessica no doubt remembers, they hired a particularly talented front office marketing guy away from the Cubs). The result? Interest in the Black Hawks is on the rise and they sell out most of their games again, probably because their prominence in the public eye has been raised. And the fact that they're very good this year helps, too. Maybe if a smaller differential between institutional prices and home-use prices than $300 vs. $25 could be attained, the greater exposure of the filmmakers' works would result in more sales across the board. Or I've become so hockey-crazed I've lost any sense of proportion I once had. Mike Tribby Senior Cataloger Quality Books Inc. The Best of America's Independent Presses mailto:[email protected] 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.
