Red boxes, red envelopes and the blue and yellow Blockbuster stores may dominate the movie rental landscape, but according to a recent survey, when Americans want to watch a DVD, they are most likely to turn to their local library.
The survey, released this year by OCLC, a nonprofit library co-operative and research organization, found that public libraries in the United States lend an average 2.1 million videos every day, slightly more than the 2 million that Netflix ships. The other top two competitors, Redbox and Blockbuster, come in at 1.4 million and 1.2 million respectively, according to daily averages provided by company representatives.
The findings were part of a report called “How Libraries Stack Up,” which highlights the many roles that libraries play in communities, according to OCLC market analysis manager Peggy Gallagher. It also includes statistics on career assistance and Wi-Fi use — the extent of which might be surprising to the general public or even to businesses offering similar services.
“I think of libraries as places for books,” said Steve Swasey, Netflix’s vice president of corporate communications, adding that Netflix doesn’t view public libraries as a competitor.
Note: We wonder when the last time Mr. Swasy visited the public library in his town or even took a look at their web site? Perhaps we should let him know that libraries are about books and so much more.
One more point, the concept of having to go somewhere to pick up or having someone send you video content on a DVD is coming to an end. Within the next 4-6 years it will be a primarily on-demand world. Want a movie or a repeat of a classic tv show? Go to your TV or computer, press the buttons and either view the show on a traditional television screen or take it with you on a Smartphone or other portable device. For many movies and tv programs it’s already this way and it’s only going to expand. All of the content will be in the “cloud” and users will pull down what they want when they want it. Netflix is placing more and more content online to stream for no extra charge each day. A great way to get users use to the concept.
The Denver Public Library is an example of a library offering video content to download.
See Also: How Libraries Stack Up (from OCLC; PDF)
Source: Hartford Courant
Hat Tip: DigiLibraryBlog
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