Hello Everyone, I'm a bit perplexed by the complex licensing and pricing structures of streaming rights, and some of the recent talk on this listserv has helped clarify a question that's been floating around my mind for a while, so I figure I'll pose it to the collective wisdom.
If I can buy a DVD for, say, $295.00 and I can keep it forever, and I'm allowed to do certain things with it to meet the educational goals of my institution, then why is it different for a streaming version of the same title? Some streaming rights have to be renewed every few years. Or, if there are perpetual rights they are often priced exorbitantly high. Doesn't it make sense to pay the same price as for a DVD (maybe even less since manufacturing costs wouldn't be an issue) and keep it forever, just like a DVD? Or even an e-book. And, as with an e-book, I would be bound to restrict access to it only to members of my institution. Perhaps this is a gross oversimplification of something that's actually quite complex, so consider these the innocent (demented?) musings of a newbie, but I'd be interested in hearing others' thoughts on the matter. Yours in hopefully not opening a Pandora's box, Matt ________________________________________ Matt Ball Media and Collections Librarian University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA 22904 mattb...@virginia.edu<https://mail.eservices.virginia.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=62fe60f092584617be4c37bdfc2dcf42&URL=mailto%3amattball%40virginia.edu> | 434-924-3812
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.
