Presented at the 2015 Charleston Library Conference by Ibironke Lawal, Science & Engineering Collections Librarian at Virginia Commonwealth University.

1. VHS, DVD, Streaming Video: One Library’s
Dilemma
Charleston Library Conference
November 4-7, 2015
Ibironke Lawal
Emily Davis

2. Outline
Introduction – Fast Facts
The Problem
Plan
Execution
Dilemma
Q & A

3. Fast Facts
Virginia Commonwealth University is a research
urban university in the heart of Richmond Virginia,
Also a campus in Qatar
31,000 Students
We have one of the top School of the Arts in the
country, with a vibrant studio and performance art.

4. The Problem

5. VCU has over 3,000 VHS Tapes

6. VHS collection …
Static
Minimally supports the curriculum
University no longer keeps VCR in the
classrooms
Library keeps one VCR

7. Examples of our Holdings of U-Matic Tapes

8. U-Matic Tapes
The fate of U-Matic tapes is the same as that of VHS:
Minimally supports the curriculum
U-Matic reader only in the library
School of the Arts also has one
Occasional borrowing of U-Matic tapes

9. All these are Dying Technology

10. Search for DVD
Equivalent
DVD available -
Purchase
Withdraw VHS
No DVD
equivalent
Keep VHS in the
collection
Not worth
retaining
To Cataloging
for withdrawal
Worth
Retaining
Where (Local Problem)
Workflow of the Review Process

11. Review
In our review, we found the following:
Some are still valuable
Can we reformat, no copyright?
Can we duplicate with DVD’s?
Available, yes or not available, no
Are they available with any streaming
service?
Yes or No

12. DVD’s

13. Old Media

14. Can we use streaming service?

15. Our Dilemma

16. Our Dilemma
Art faculty prefers DVD’s
To them, streaming video is poor quality
Art Librarian continues to purchase DVD’s
Urban Planning faculty prefers DVD’s
Some videos are not available through any
streaming service

17. Our Dilemma?
How do we satisfy all faculty?
Some ask for streaming while still prefer DVD’s
How much should we invest in a dying
technology?
How long will we wait until the streaming
industry catches up?

18. Questions?
Do we continue to purchase DVD’s for just in
case?
For how long?
The future of the DVD format is still unknown
How feasible is it to subscribe to multiple
streaming video platforms?
What are the various models out there?
How can we maximize our funds.

19. Streaming Services
Swank Video
Server

20. The Big Question is What do we do?