DALLAS – Public libraries may be giving Redbox and Netflix a run for their money.
The Dallas Public Library says DVD checkouts made up nearly 30 percent of its circulation last year, and DVDs were borrowed four-and-a-half times more often than books.
The DVD movie shelves at the Central Library and the other 26 branches are amongst the most popular.
Leslie Burns checks out movies a couple times a week.
“The digital medium is the future of information,” she said. “I think every library should have a really good DVD section in it.”
As the economy soured, the demand for DVDs went up as people looked for cheap home entertainment because they can’t beat the price, which costs nothing.
But, then came budget cuts, leaving some shelves now looking bare. Burns said he has noticed.
“It could be better,” he said. “Their westerns they have here, they have a very small selection of westerns.”
When tax revenues dropped, the city council cut deeply into the library’s budget.
Five years ago, Dallas spent nearly $4 million a year buying new materials such as books and movie DVDs for libraries. The latest proposed amount is $1.7 million.
But, with the city council returning in August to start taking on the budget, library supporters say the cuts have gone too far.
Dallas currently spends less per capita on libraries than many other major cities, and the result shows up on shelves when they’re not replenished with new materials.
The non-profit support group Friends of the Dallas Public Library say the gaps never go away.
“Those materials aren’t being published,” said Pam Meyercord, of Friends of the Dallas Public Library. “Now they are not sitting in a warehouse because publishers can’t afford to maintain inventory anymore. So, those materials are gone and we won’t be able to get those back.”
The Friends group says it will be back before the council emphasizing that caring for “Big D” can also mean the “D” in DVD.
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