I recently found this article on the CBC website.
The decline of video chains like Blockbuster has led to discussion about how independent neighbourhood video stores are faring.
CBC commenter solus909 has started renting movies from a local store again because of dissatisfaction with the online experience.
"I got tired of paying fines to Rogers for exceeding my monthly GB [gigabyte] allowance," the commenter wrote.
"I find downloading HD movies time-consuming and sort of a pain...and, as a movie buff, I was missing all the extras that are on DVDs."
Some film aficionados, like CBC Community member Matt Bingley, prefer renting from independent video stores because of the wider movie selection and knowledgeable employees (my emphasis)."They point you in the right direction and very often lead you to the section you never thought about," he wrote.
"Also, in respect to the stores that aren't part of chains like Queen Video in Toronto, they have the best selection of off-beat movies that a big corporate franchise would never think about renting."
This discussion confirms what I have been thinking about with regards to my library's DVD collection. Although we do have a local independent video store in town, our DVD circulation is not declining. With my library's niche collection of British television comedies and dramas, my patrons are finding a different selection than the video store. Although I am still training some of my staff to be more knowledgeable about movies, patrons have the confidence in my library staff's knowledge that they come to them with requests for suggestions as well as requests to purchase. Viewers' Advisory continues to be a vital service in public libraries and a great opportunity to enhance usage and visibility. With the high cost of Internet downloads in Canada, it won't go away any time soon.
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