In Mossey Library sits a hidden treasure. Past the reference desk, the cabinets of microfiche, and rows of computers lies a forgotten cinematic collection.
To this date, the Mossey Library has 3,195 DVD titles, a collection that is continuously growing.
Linda Moore, Mossey librarian for public services, explained that the video collection is most commonly used by three clientele: students and faculty, local residents, and MeLCat members.
“While at first our collection tended to attract more serious film viewers, it has attracted community members as well,” she said.
Maurine McCourry, librarian for technical services, is in charge of acquiring and cataloging new DVDs. She said that a DVD request must meet certain requirements before it is purchased.
“Our main requirement is that the video supports the curriculum,” McCourry said. “The majority of the DVD selection is requested or recommended by faculty.”
The collection represents a diverse selection of all cinematic genres, including comedy, documentary, thriller, horror, drama, romantic, family, and western.
“Second, we try to buy most award-winning and critically-acclaimed films. We also take suggestions from students,” McCourry said.
Senior Jill Buccola, a library reference worker, has noticed an increase in videos checked out by students as the collection increases.
“Students tend to get videos for the weekend,” Buccola said. “Recently I have noticed when a new show is on TV, the library almost immediately gets a copy of a season.”
The most recent acquired television shows have been “Downton Abbey” and The Big Bang Theory, and both have flown off the shelves, Buccola said.
Despite technological advances, the library is still able to keep up with old and new technological trends.
According to McCoury, the library has begun the transition to Blu-ray videos.
“We are moving our default selection from DVD to Blu-ray,” McCourry said. “It is a higher-quality format.”
The library still maintains its extensive VHS collection of over one thousand videos, which is directly behind the DVD section.
Other libraries have started to create online video databases. MeLCat has recently released a new online video streaming database, which allows certain videos to be watched online, including a BBC Shakespeare series. When asked about the prospect of future online streaming for the library’s videos, Moore explained that current costs are too high for the library to start building an online video database.
“It just isn’t cost-effective,” Moore said. “Also, since there is no immediate focus on film studies, that is another reason we would not go to that expense.”
All films are located on the main floor of the Mossey Library, where they are organized by date of acquisition.The most recent additions are at the end of the collection.
Surprised by the thousands of film choices, junior Gena Oster was impressed with the collection and encouraged students to check out the library’s collection.
“You can check out anything really, from the classical to modern films, even “The Hangover,” which I found surprising,” Oster said.
