DVDs at the Library

The DVD collection here at Masterton Library has been growing at a steady pace and we recently moved it as it was becoming too big for its old location. It is now sited between the Reference Collection and the Information Desk, to the left as you come in from the Queen Street entrance. This growth is a reflection of the increasing popularity of our DVDs, particularly for the seemingly large number of people who find little of appeal on television. In this article I would like to explain what we have in the collection and how they are issued.

The library does not aim to be a source for popular new releases or big blockbusters as these are already well catered for by the local video stores. Instead we try to fill a niche by providing access to classic movies and television programmes, and those that may not be easy to find elsewhere. We also focus on movies and television series that have some artistic or cultural merit, and titles that have been adapted from books.

We have a good range of movies in our collection including comedies like The Castle and The Life of Brian, dramas like The Queen and The Colour Purple, and action/adventures such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and The Bourne Identity. We have award winners such as Slumdog Millionaire, American Beauty, and The English Patient, and classic older movies like Casablanca, The Sound of Music, and Fiddler on the Roof. We have also made an effort to collect New Zealand films, from older titles like Sleeping Dogs and Utu, to more recent releases such as Second Hand Wedding.

Our collection of television series on DVD has been a real success and again encompasses a huge variety of titles and genres. A number of these have been bought in response to customer requests, particularly for quality British programmes, and these have been very popular. Season one of Foyles War for example has been issued 35 times in just over a year, and had 11 reserves placed on it. Foyles War is a detective series set in England during the Second World War and was created by Anthony Horowitz who also worked on Midsomer Murders (which we also have) and the popular Alex Rider series of books. Other murder mysteries in the collection are Inspector Morse and Silent Witness, and TV adaptations of the exploits of Agatha Christie’s perennially popular Miss Marple.

We have a number of classic comedy series including Open All Hours, Steptoe and Son, and The Last of the Summer Wine. We also have copies of documentary series such as Intrepid Journeys and Country Calendar, and one-off documentaries like The Wahine Disaster. Other highlights include historical adventures such as Sharpe and Hornblower, and adaptations of the dramas of Catherine Cookson. We also have a large number of music DVDs featuring artists as diverse as Andre Rieu, Hayley Westenra, Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones. There is sure to be something for everyone, be it Doctor Finlay, Doc Martin, or Dr Who.

There are also hundreds of DVD titles available in the children’s section, again incorporating movies and television programmes. The movies include older favourites like Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and The Parent Trap, and more recent titles such as High School Musical, Nanny McPhee and Inkheart. Our TV series range from older titles like Little House on the Prairie, to the more recent Ben 10 and Hannah Montanna. We also have the New Zealand made series Jane and the Dragon and The Adventures of Massey Ferguson.

Our adult DVD movies are issued for one week for a rental charge of three dollars, while the children’s DVDs (movies and TV series) are also issued for one week, but for a rental charge of two dollars. As with the books it is possible for you to renew DVDs (so long as no other borrower has reserved it) but this will incur another rental charge. Most of the TV series we have on DVD are issued for one week for a three dollar rental, but there are a few titles that are issued for two weeks for a four dollar rental charge. We do this when the number of discs in the set mean it would be quite an achievement to get through in a week. We give you more time to get through these as we realise you will all have other things you need to get done in your day other than watching DVDs - like reading library books!