Hello, We were notified by Midwest Tape that libraries are considered part of the "rental" base by studios and therefore subject to Warner Bros. new policy to limit the first releases of DVD to "retail" sources. Rental versions of these DVDs are supposed to come out 28 days later (either bundled with BlueRay or by itself ) and likely without any special features. This notice went on to say that Warner is looking into how they could restrict retailers such as Amazon, Target, etc. on the number of copies an individual could get of these movies. I'm sure this last piece is to try to stop "rental" sources from buying copies from these retailers and then loaning them.
My question to the group is: Do you plan to get any copies (or all your copies) of these films from Amazon, etc. to meet patron demands? Will you get just one copy to meet the earliest release date, and buy the rest at the "rental" release date? Or do you plan on avoiding the "retail" release date entirely, to keep things within the spirit of the studio's intent with this release strategy? I have another issue with the whole force-me-to-buy BlueRay combos strategy, which we end up getting in order to get at the DVD copy, which is really all we want in our collection. I'm sure this is artificially boosting the number of "BlueRay" sales -- when there's really a component that just wanted the DVD. Is anyone following the stats on BlueRay vs. DVD sales? I think it'd be interesting to this group to know something about it! Thanks for your input, Patti -- *Patricia Ruocco* Adult Services Lisle Library District 630-971-1675 x1503 [email protected] http://murderamongfriends.grouply.com http://justbetweenframes.grouply.com
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.
