Libraries scoring with free releases

There's a cheaper way to bring home new releases than paying a dollar a day. It's free and requires no subscription, just a library card.

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Wesley Ross browses through DVD's at the Augusta Library on Friday, Sept. 17, 2010 in Augusta, Ga. Libraries are renting more DVD's on average than Netflix and Redbox.

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Jackie Ricciardi/Staff

Andrea Stanton returns DVDs at the Augusta Library, which will be expanding its collection.

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DVD rentals have become one of the fastest-growing collections among libraries nationally, with lending outpacing the Redbox-style kiosks and Netflix subscriptions.

A survey from the Online Computer Library Center, a national library cooperative nonprofit organization, found that public branches lend 2.1 million DVDs a day, trumping 2 million DVDs rented by Netflix and 1.4 million by Redbox. The daily averages were provided by company representatives for the OCLC's How Libraries Stack Up report, which highlights libraries' roles in communities.

"It's part of (our) mission to educate as well as entertain," said Sherryl Jones, an East Central Georgia Library System community service librarian. "Once someone finds something they like, they're in here often. It's especially busy on Thursday and Friday."

Last month the system, which includes Richmond and Columbia counties, circulated 23,000 DVDs. The number is expected to increase as the Augusta Library settles into its new location.

"There's more floor space now, so even looking through the DVDs is much easier," Jones said.

The system has 14,000 DVDs in its collection.

Last year, the Aiken-Bamberg-Barnwell-Edgefield library system circulated 158,000 items. Its entire collection includes more than 200,000 DVDs.

System Director Mary Jo Dawson said that although the library offers new releases and popular TV on DVD series, including her own guilty pleasure Mad Men , the staff tries to be strategic about what goes on the shelf. Each Aiken County library receives about 20 new titles a month, according to staff.

"We're not in competition with these businesses; we offer so much more," she said. "We've had a tremendous amount of documentaries and try to make an effort to get those."

Libraries can't offer the depth of Netflix or the convenience of a late-night run, Dawson said. Local libraries also don't offer premium Blu-Ray titles for techies looking for the sharpest picture and best sound. The added cost of the discs isn't conducive to providing as many titles as possible, Aiken County staff say.

But Dawson said where it lacks in obvious convenience, the library does provide easy access to resources that might not be readily available elsewhere. Librarians are also able to offer supplemental books and periodicals if someone's looking for more information on a subject.

Recent coal-mining accidents have made David Novack's 2008 Burning the Future: Coal in America popular again at the library, and the ABBE system also has begun offering free downloads of items from its collection, which expire when the lending period is complete.

Al Campbell and Ebony Homes, of North Augusta, said impulse buys keep them going back to Redbox rather than browsing the library shelves.

"If you're shopping it's just there when you come out," Campbell said. "Usually the library's the last resort, especially for older items."

With DVD collections being among the fastest-growing in the system, Dawson said it's definitely evened the playing field for trying to bring patrons to the library rather than a movie rental store, and hopefully it will bring them back to exploring past the first floor.

"I always encourage people who haven't been to the library recently to come back," she said. "You'd be surprised what you can find. And I like to see people who check out the DVDs come back to find the book."

Reach Julia Sellers at (803) 648-1395, ext. 111, or julia.sellers@augustachronicle.com