DVDs, books cross-promoted

LIBRARY DVD GUIDE: Libraries create displays for related subject matter

By Chris Gennusa -- Video Business, 5/12/2008

TV DVD titles such as The Waltons are increasing in demand at libraries.

MAY 12 | LIBRARY DVD GUIDE: The pen just may be mightier than the sword, but DVDs—not books—are killing at library checkout counters.

“DVDs are a small percentage of the entire collection, but they circulate more than anything else,” says Ellen Druda, media and Internet services coordinator for Half Hollow Hills Community Library in Dix Hills, N.Y., home to 17,000 DVD and VHS titles. “We put our new DVDs up front, and many times people just come in and scan the shelf, pull out a few, and then check out. I don’t know if we would be reaching these people without DVDs.”

On the other side of the country in Southern California, it’s the same story. “DVDs represent a small percentage of our collection [4%], but they increasingly account for a substantial percentage of our circulation [about 26%]; 50% of our holds on materials are placed on DVDs,” says Diane Bednarski, principal librarian for information management at the Santa Monica Public Library in Santa Monica, Calif., which has a yearly circulation of 1.3 million.

DVDs do well no matter how they’re displayed, but some librarians are finding that special placement helps, such as shelving DVDs with related books.

This article is part of a series published in a joint Video Business/Library Journal special section. Click for the other articles:
• Digital downloads on the rise
• RFID tags increase efficiency
• Upcoming titles of interest to libraries

Non-fiction books and documentary films make natural allies. “Some branches do interfile the non-fiction DVDs with the books,” says Giovanna Mannino, assistant director of information technologies and collections for the 72-branch Los Angeles Public Library. “When space is available, libraries may elect to shelve the DVDs face-out,” Mannino adds.

“We have an extensive collection of travel videos, and these are now shelved with travel books,” says Beth Dominianni, assistant director for public services at the Westport Public Library in Connecticut. “We can offer more face-out displays of our new travel DVDs this way. This has proved quite popular.”

Which DVDs are patrons most interested in? From The Waltons to Desperate Housewives, TV DVDs are increasingly in demand. “We have an extensive collection of TV series on DVD and have recently begun shelving these separately from the other DVDs and designating the collection with special stickers,” Dominianni says. “Our library users are very pleased with this new arrangement.”

But sometimes the small screen is no match for Old World charm. “Just recently we started doing a multimedia display in the center aisle on the Tudor reign in England that features books, audiobooks and DVDs,” says Druda. “Historical fiction is a popular genre and just lends itself to display because of its richness.”

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