The Writing on the Library Wall: Blu-ray and Digital

We’re All Adults Here

Book Recommendations & Other Musings

by Carol Tuttle

The pandemic has resulted in numerous changes in our world, and one we are noticing in libraries is an acceleration of format change. The biggest shifts are away from CD and DVD formats toward Blu-ray and digital format for AV material.

Audiobooks on CD and music on CD is rapidly being dropped by users in favor of digital format. If you bought a new car in the last couple of years, you know that a CD player is not commonly installed due to this move toward digital format. The publishing industry is also responding to this shift which has been further impacted by supply chain slowdowns this year. Some musicians are only providing digital versions of their new releases. Libraries will still be purchasing music CDs and audiobooks on CD, but shelf collections of these physical formats will be shrinking as publishers cut the formats and we use our budget to support the change in how people listen to books and music. Willoughby-Eastlake library is responding by offering digital collections for music (hoopla) and audiobooks (hoopla and Libby). Within our digital collections, we see increasing audiobook usage as listeners move to the digital format. Library vendors are continually improving the ease of use for our patrons who are new to digital.  Hoopla is available on Roku and has just announced that their audiobooks and music will soon be accessible through Android Auto and Apple Car Play.

We know the film production industry has been deeply hit. Even before 2020, we could tell that DVDs were going the way of VHS tapes (remember those?) toward Blu-ray. Streaming services exploded during the pandemic. Now with supply chain disruption hitting, production is moving toward phasing out DVD. Predictions for 2022 suggest films will be released in theaters and then streaming, and in some cases not planned to even be produced in physical disc form. The DVD/Blu-ray combo packaging you may be used to will shift instead to combos of Blu-ray/digital download packaging. Libraries will still be purchasing film on Blu-ray and DVD (when available), but shelf collections of these physical formats will be shrinking as publishers cut the formats and libraries follow the change in how patrons access film content. Willoughby-Eastlake is responding by offering several digital film options for streaming: kanopy, kanopy kids, hoopla, Access Video on Demand and Just for Kids. Kanopy has greatly expanded the film collection, and just now has included MGM and Warner Bros. films. Kanopy Kids has children’s tv series like Sesame Street and Jim Henson company favorites like Sid the Science Kid and also Little Pim for language learning. Hoopla has TV shows and movies for kids and adults. Access Video on Demand includes The Best of BBC and The Best of HBO collections and video courses like Office 365 for Dummies. Just for Kids includes TV shows like Arthur, Franklin, Wild Kratts and Redwall as well as fun learning videos.

Libraries strive to maintain collections in formats our patrons like, which also means moving forward with new options as technology advances. We urge our patrons to be flexible and willing to try new technologies. If you only have a DVD player, consider getting a Blu-ray player (which have come down in price). If you are ready to use our digital collection, our Collection Services Librarian will be offering a class Let’s Get Digital 101 at the Willowick Library in November. This session will show you just how to watch, listen, and read using all the digital resources WEPL offers to our card holders. Register here: https://bit.ly/2ZAnDYn or call any of our libraries to register.

Carol Tuttle is the Collections & Digital Services Manager for the Willoughby-Eastlake Library System. She  is currently reading  Fresh Water for Flowers by Valerie Perrin.

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