The Bentley Library is in the process of removing all VHS tapes from its Faculty Video Collection. This decision was made due to the fact that Bentley no longer has VHS players as part of its classroom technology infrastructure, and many of the VHS tapes have started to degrade and will eventually become unwatchable.
We will be replacing with DVDs or streaming video those films that have been checked out or placed on reserve recently or have lasting educational and artistic value. The remaining VHS titles will be discarded and the tapes recycled.
A significant number of the films formerly on VHS are now available through our Films on Demand collection.
This process will be completed by the end of this calendar year.
Is there a list anywhere of the VHS tapes that will be discarded? A few important (or, in some cases, just popular) films have never been made available on DVD or any other medium, usually due to copyright issues. It would be nice to be able to browse through this list. Just a thought…
I don’t have a complete list, but if there are specific titles you would like to check on please contact Nick Albaugh at nalbaugh@bentley.edu. Nick will be happy to talk to you about the VHS project. -Lisa