[Michlib-l] Compiled Responses about DVD Storage

Mon Apr 9 15:33:31 EDT 2018

Good afternoon,

I had several libraries ask to hear the responses I received about DVD
storage so I thought I would send it out to everyone. Thank you to all the
libraries who provided feedback!

Danielle Fox

We do not use locking cases here in Dearborn Heights. We have our empty
cases out on the floor and our DVDs are stored in plastic bins (shoe size)
in the paper sleeves, numbered and labeled to correspond with numbers and
labels inside the empty cases on the floor. I'm not sure how much room you
have but this takes up less room than storing them in cases. We get about
125 sleeves per plastic bin. I can send you a picture if you like.

This does not come without fault though. We do have the occasional oops
where the wrong DVD is given out but that is purely someone not paying
attention to what they are doing. It is a little daunting at times when you
have to fill TV series and there are 6 discs per case but we only allow 5
DVDs to go out at a time so it isn't too bad.

We use locking cases from Midwesttapes which also does our processing. They
are available elsewhere too. Here is the information from their website. We
use the single, double, 4 and 6 disc sizes. They are the same size as the
regular display cases. You will need a decoupler to lock and unlock them
also available from MWT.

 This is a huge project for us and we are still retrofitting our collection.

We use drawers with sleeves to store the discs (example:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hipce-One-Touch-CD-DVD-Storage-Box-Grey-Holds-80-Disks-Lock-with-Keys/322917351458?hash=item4b2f5fc022:g:KC8AAOSw8b1aSaT8),
so no extra cases. Each disc is numbered as it comes in and goes into a
corresponding numbered sleeve.

The exception is mult-disc television series; those we store in their cases
behind the counter and put a dummy case with artwork on the browsing shelf.

We used to use this system with all videos, but 1.5 years ago we stopped
charging for video lends and dropped the overdue fees to match those of our
books. Usage skyrocketed--so did the amount of time pulling discs--and one
of the primary incentives for theft (to avoid paying a rental fee) was
removed. So I started storing older, less popular discs in the cases; all
of the special features discs are left in the cases; any videos that are
donated (not purchased) are stored in the cases. I haven't noticed much
theft so far, but I don't have concrete inventory figures to confirm this.

We're working on a plan to relocate the collection so it is easily visible
from the circulation counter, and at that time (if inventory data supports
it) we will begin storing all but the newest videos in their cases--and
they won't be locking cases.

We have not had much theft and we keep our DVD’s on the shelf for patrons
to see.  We are a small library in a small community which may make a
difference.

We use to do that with our musical CDs -- having the actual CD behind circ.
I found that to be too time consuming and the CDs are out in the public
area in their case.. Our DVDs are out for the public also and NOT in
locking cases. Looking into the cost of locking cases, we found that the
cost for them, vs actual loss of DVDs, it was not a good financial decision
to buy the locking cases. (Plus staff time involved to lock/unlock them).
If any loss of DVDs it is more of people checking them out and not
returning them instead of theft.

My current library has locking cases, and they do an excellent job of
preventing theft.  There was a cost and time investment in switching over,
and some ongoing cost in purchasing the cases and locking mechanisms.  That
switch was made before I came, and my own experience with the cases was
that it was an adjustment for me to learn to unlock them as part of the
checkout process.  It seemed unwieldy at first, but within a quite short
time it became second nature.  I wouldn’t consider that to be a serious
roadblock in the way of getting locking cases, just be aware you’ll need to
prepare staff carefully and get them over the “hump” of a new process.

The only other issue with locking cases that perhaps you have already
considered is that they are not compatible with the self-checkout process.
We have a self-checkout station at our library and every once in a while a
patron “checks out” a DVD there, and gets home only to discover they can’t
watch the DVD because it’s still locked.

As far as other ways to store DVDs: a previous library used a system
similar to the one you’re using now, and had the same issue of space.  We
didn’t have the money to switch to locking cases, so we retained the same
basic system (keeping DVDs behind the desk), but devised a different way to
store the DVDs that used space more efficiently.  It worked well.  Here is
an article that refers to something similar to what we did:
http://ideas.demco.com/blog/space-saving-tip-media-collection-youll-want-try/
.
The browser packs we used had a sleeve designed to hold the paper cover
from the DVD case, and a place to insert a header with any title/filing
information we wanted to use.  It also had a pocket that would hold a
second, smaller plastic envelope with the actual DVD in it.  We kept the
DVDs behind the desk in the small plastic envelopes, and just inserted them
into the browser packs when a patron brought them to the desk.  Everything
was numbered, so it was easy to match them up.

I will say that we do keep our new release movies behind the counter still
because theft was a big issue for a few months as the locked cases can be
jimmied open with a screwdriver. Our new releases stopped going missing
after we moved the discs to behind the circ desk.

1. The only real issue I personally have with the cases is that the do take
up more room on our shelves. They're also not totally theft-proof but I'm
not sure anything really is.

2. See statement above regarding new releases. I do know other libraries
that keep the discs in the cases and the cases aren't in locked cases. They
don't seem to have a noticeable theft issue but I'm also hyper-aware of
theft here since we did previously have an issue.

3. I couldn't think of another alternative so if you get some suggestions,
I'd love to hear them!

We use the locked cases and don’t find them too cumbersome.  We do have the
occasional problem when staff forget to unlock the cases before the patron
leaves with the DVDs.

Our DVDs would disappear if we had them out for the public.  The cases are
displayed and our dvds are behind the desk in holding machines. Each
machine holds 150 dvds. I know some libraries have used these machines and
hated them. We use them everyday and we think they are the best solution
for the problem. We have them stacked on top of one another. Each machine
has a rotating spinner that holds the disk. Each disk has a number so we
can easily retrieve and return the disk. If you want to know the name of
the machines, etc. I can get that for you. The company that made them is
out of business and we have been able to buy some used machines from other
libraries to continue to grow.

I would love to hear the responses. We have always just put out the DVDs in
their cases and had some theft, but not much. This year we have lost a lot.
Entire series have been stolen. Almost all of the missing DVDs were last
checked out last summer, so this is a recent phenomenon. We don't have room
behind the desk to store the actual DVDs so I may have to consider locking
cases, or another way I haven't considered either.

Last year, we replaced all our old Kwik cases with locking cases and I
would highly recommend them. They take up a lot less space and the DVDs are
secure. They are much easier to unlock and less cumbersome than the old
cases. I would highly recommend them.

We get ours from BayScan Technologies. If you are buying in bulk, I would
ask for a discount.

We, too, have been keeping the discs in cabinets behind the checkout desk.
We are currently in the process of switching over to stingray RFID tags
that go over the disc. So far, so good :)

We have a totally different system for our DVDs.  I am guessing that you
would not want to change, but you did ask for any other ways of storage.

We have flip books that have the information about our DVDs out for our
patrons to look through.  Each page has a pocket with a circulation card.
(Old school, I know, but they are the only circulation cards that we still
use.)  If the card is missing, the DVD is checked out.

Our DVDs are stored in notebooks in the office.  We have a stash of generic
DVD boxes in the office.  We have over 1,000 DVDs stored in notebooks on
two shelves.

The patron brings the circulation card to the desk; the staff person goes
into the office, gets the notebook with that number, pulls the DVD and puts
it into a box; puts the circulation card into the DVD notebook pocket and
returns to the desk to check out the DVD.

We used to keep all of our DVDs boxed and in the office, but we ran out of
space.  We considered a lot of options, but this one worked for us.

We have locked cases for our dvds and they are the size of a regular dvd
cases. You need a special tool to unlock them and we have had times where
we couldn't get the lock out and we have had to break the lock to get
access to the dvds but it hasn't been very many. We have always had a theft
problem for our dvds (and our library in general) but we don't have any
type of security system preventing it either; they just take the dvd in the
locking case.  We have discovered that they can use a carpet knife or
something similar to slice open the case at the spine and then they can
remove the dvd. We are switching to a different kind of case which also can
be jimmied open if they do enough playing around with it.  If you have a
security system, it will be harder for them to steal. If you have a
security system and a locked case, fewer dvds would be stolen.  I don't
think there is an easy theft proof solution; its whatever works best for
your library.

I would not put the dvds out without putting them in a locking case though;
much easier for discs to come up missing. At another library that I worked
at, we had the cds in paper sleeves behind the desk and put it in the dvd
case when the patron checked it out.  The discs were numbered and it was
easier than trying to find a title. Also, if the dvd case came up missing,
it wasn't a big deal, we still had the dvd itself and could recreate the
dvd case.

we too started by displaying the empty cases and storing the DVD’s behind
the desk but as the collection grew that became too difficult so we then
just placed them on the shelves.  Theft was huge, we began discovering
empty cases on the shelves so we went with the locking cases.  They aren’t
too cumbersome, biggest problem is staff remembering to remove the lock.
This has greatly reduced theft of the DVD’s but we do occasionally have one
or two returned broken because a patron has tried to remove the lock
themselves.  We now place a label inside stating that we will extend the
check-out time if the patron returns and has the lock removed.

we started off the same way your library has with our DVD collection. We
too were running out of room. We did invest in locking Cades and it had
worked out great for us. We have been using them for 3 years and have only
had a couple of cases become defective. They unlock and lock easily and the
process is less cumbersome than before. Theft for us is now almost
nonexistence where before we saw more.

It cost us around $1,000 3 years ago to convert all our Adult and
Children's DVDS and Teen video games to the new cases and to get a key to
unlock the cases.  I estimate that was about 2,000 separate items.

With my large Children's DVD collection, I am landlocked as far as growth
goes, so just recently I have started weeding out a lot of my oldest DVDs
to make room for new items.  That is one thought.

Also, we LOVE our locking DVD cases in both the Children's Section and the
Adult Collection!  They are worth the price!  You have to have a stationary
gizmo at the Circulation Desk to slide the cases through to unlock them at
checkout time and relock them at checkin time, but that is no big deal.
You just get in the rhythm of it.  And think of the storage space you would
gain in the Circulation Area!

My prediction is that if you left the DVDs out accessible to patrons in
unlocked cases, yes, they would indeed be stolen.  The cases might remain,
but the DVDs themselves would be stolen.  Too much temptation!!

We had the same issue, so we had a local carpenter build us some drawers to
organize and best use the space we had behind the desk..  We're looking at
expanding to another set now.  We have about 6,000-6,500 DVDs in our adult
room collection.

We use a couple different types of locking cases, both are easy to use and
not too cumbersome.  We have locking cases we put the entire DVD case into,
and we've been slowly transitioning to using DVD cases that themselves
lock.  Those are One-Time security cases, which you can get with single or
multiple DVD capacity.  They were a bit more expensive to set up (you need
the key to lock/unlock the cases, which runs over $150), but they're quick
and straightforward to use, and don't take up any additional space.  Hope
that helps!

-- 
Adult Services Manager
Holly Township Library
1116 N. Saginaw St.
Holly, MI 48442
(248) 634-1754
hollytownshiplibrary.org
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