Library Decisions: The Slow Death of the VHS Tape

I was just reading some discussion on LISNews about how many public libraries are now weeding out their VHS tapes completely, even though there are still VHS titles that circulate. I have actually personally tossed VHS tapes out the door (well, I didn't physically toss them out the door, although that does sound like fun...) at one of the city branch libraries I work at. This was not my decision-- I only sub there so I take care of whatever tasks need to be done for that day. I then spent some time trying to see whether those VHS titles were available on DVD-- many of them were not, but on the other hand, those titles were very often completely out-dated and had not circulated in a really long time-- like, since 2000 or before.

I think that some libraries donate their old VHS tapes to places like Goodwill or put them out for sale at their book sales-- our branch decided to just throw them in the dumpster-- the reasoning behind that being that, if someone got  an old VHS tape stuck in their VCR and it got ruined, they could hold us responsible for the damage. Again, none of this was based on my decision-making.

VHS tapes are no longer being made. Therefore, if a VHS title is not available on DVD that means the library will lose that title. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, if it never circulated that much to begin with. I personally haven't used a VCR since I was living at home as a teen. The thought of waiting a painful 1-2 minutes waiting for a VHS tape to rewind makes me cringe to think about. (Side note: remember the good ol' days when you wanted to watch something only to find out the last person didn't rewind it?? soooo annoying!) I have seen VHS tapes circulate in some of the library branches that I work at, but it isn't all that often and I can't help but think that they are just taking up much-needed space. DVDs on the other hand are hard to keep on the shelves.

What do you think: is it a good idea for libraries to pitch their VHS tapes? Is this an effective way to move forward in the digital age and project the message that we are staying current by only offering patrons the most up-to-date media formats? Or is it a waste to throw away VHS tapes that still work perfectly well and might even be circulated a few more times?

Guerrilla Weeding and Organic Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today has been pretty stressful but there were some good things that happened (having my exhaust pipe fall out of the bottom of my car while on a main city road was not one of them). I subbed at one of the city public libraries today from 9:30-2pm. It was a quiet day starting out so one of the librarians, Jean, gave me a weeding project. Even better, she gave me a little weeding lesson. Pushing over a cart of rather decrepit-looking juvenile fictions, she taught me all about "Guerrilla Weeding," a term that she coined herself and a method that she uses to get rid of a bunch of books in one swipe-- it's for some of the more serious-case books in the library's collection. I mean, you could tell that the titles on this cart had not circulated in YEARS. Basically, Guerrilla Weeding is when you take a birds-eye view of your books and based on how they look, you stealthily wipe out a whole group of titles in one attack. Sounds brutal, huh? But very effective, and it's a real time-saver-- after all, who wants to spend lots of time with books that haven't circulated since 1995? Guerrilla Weeding gets the job done, making way for new editions of titles that are still in demand and getting rid of titles that never circulated. A new librarian trick of the trade! 

Take an overhead look at these old J-Fiction titles: Water-damage, warped pages, dirty stains, yellowed pages, dried and yellowing tape... time to strike! They never even saw it coming...

And on a different and completely unrelated note, I came home after a very stressful ride home in which my car sounded like a motor boat, to make Organic Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies. I figure most of us librarians like to bake, and I'm pretty into eating Organic, so here is an awesome recipe that is healthy (AKA: REAL food- no chemicals, preservatives, hormone-additives, or other junk). Delicious!

Yields: approx. 48 cookies

2 sticks organic, unsalted butter

3/4 cup organic brown sugar (I use Woodstock Farms)

3/4 cup organic sugar (again, Woodstock Farms pure cane sugar)

2 organic eggs 

1 tsp organic vanilla extract (I use Simply Organic Madagascar pure vanilla)

2-1/4 cups organic white all-purpose flour (I LOVE Bob's Red Mill)

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 9 oz. package organic semi-sweet chocolate chips (I thank SunSpire Fair Trade organic 42% Cocoa Chips for this recipe)

1 cup organic chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Cream together sugars and butter until smooth, beat in eggs one at a time, add the vanilla. Blend in flour mixture slowly, fold in chocolate chips and nuts. 

Drop rounded spoonfuls of batter onto prepared baking sheets. Bake 9-12 minutes or until edges are nicely browned. Cool on baking sheets  for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Mmmmmm.... organic goodness...

Voila! Very easy, and soooo good. My husband got home from work and promptly ate 8 of them, at which point I reminded him that Organic doesn't mean low-fat... but hey, whatev haha.