Library vs. Netflix

Not only does the Library have all the obscure films that Netflix has, but some Netflix doesn’t have. And the 6 or 8 CD sets I get all at once –and one can order online 10 at a time – okay, I have to walk farther than my mailbox, but it’s FREEE

Let me say that I am incredibly jealous of your national library.

where are you?

I actually found this Chinese copy of The African Queen in the library the other day AND Berlin Alexanderplatz. Who needs Netflix?

dp.

Search for the little black star.

Yeah I just ordered Red Desert – VHS, but after waiting 3 years – who cares !

Brunei? long walk from there

Nah, this black star is right at the bottom of Malaysia and smaller than Brunei.

It depends, sometimes my library can be a pain. But netflix is way too slow.

Netflix is so fast they keep sending me questioning e-mails.
If I get it at 1PM, watch in the afternoon, and get it to the PO before 5PM, Netflix gets it next day
On 3 at-a-time I can get an easy 6+ per week.

Singapore ?

I want to take this opportunity to profess my love for my public library. I don’t know what I would do without it, and I totally owe this past year’s film knowledge to it (and what a great year it was/is). I’ve become rather intimate with their DVD catalogue and it will truly pain me to have to leave it in the future. I think it even trumps my university library in terms of rarity. Who knows how they acquired some of those films…

… Although I wish I had something like Netflix too for when I’m lazy. Then again, I’m a poor grad student right now, so maybe not…

Anyway, the library is my haven.

My mum thanks you Myra – she was a librarian

Delightful! I’m glad this topic is in discussion (however I do both netflix and library so I guess I blew it) but there’s also some libraries or some online thing that I can’t remember right now where you can request ANY dvd to come to your library and that’s amazing.

Robert. You’ve got that netflix thing figured out. I do the same thing. And the library where I live has films netflix doesn’t have and vice versa. I am amazed at the library’s selection of excellent films including many Criterions.

Also, Robert. I saw the Red Desert on vhs not too long ago and was very disappointed. The copy (library) I viewed was terrible. It was so bad, it was probably damaged or just worn out. I’ve read on this site that the Red Desert is one of the best films to see for its color. May one day have to pony up for a dvd or a blu-ray.

I agree with the original post. I’m current a student at a medium-sized, though fairly well-respected and obnoxiously well endowed (in terms of money – no jokes, please) university and our music and media library has almost every film I have ever looked for. I have friends that pay for netflix, and I have no idea why. The library is free!

Yeah I got it figured; maybe too well……
When I go over 6 per week I get an e-mail saying that they want to improve the service and if I would please tell them when I received the DVD
The following week I get a split disk the sleeve is in shreds but the envelope is fine.
This happened three months in a row, so it is a repeatable pattern
The math is like this: 7 discs per week x 4 weeks divide into 18$ = $0.64per disc.
I think they are losing money when I go over 6 per week so I am keeping it at 6

The library is a great resource. I can reserve films on dvd and vhs and they will send them to my local branch. I get notified via email when they arrive. When I had a bad ankle, I would drive a little further to the downtown main library and pick up my films and books from the drive-up window. Never had to leave the car, like a drive-up window at a suburban bank. Also, some films, the older ones, can be renewed up to five times as long as no one else puts them on reserve.

Sometimes, not often, the library dvds are damaged or dirty, but with some car window cleaner, the discs usually clean up and become playable. Most of the dvds from the library are in good condition. Vhs quality is hit or miss.

The Netflix thing is another story. I don’t need to do this except during weeks with mail holidays, but I will drive to the main post office downtown and go inside to give the return dvds to the mail clerks so they get mailed out within that hour. That usually gets my returns back a day earlier and I get my new ones as usual. Otherwise, I just mail out returns from and receive new ones to my own mailbox.

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The library is undoubtedly a great resource. With the online reserve feature, I can find a lot of the movies I want at neighboring libraries and them pick them up at my branch. And an advantage of library over Netflix is that you actually get the packaging along with booklets, essays, etc.

But Netflix is also very convenient, I use both resources and I can basically find almost anything that’s been released on home video. OK, that’s a bit of a stretch, but you get the idea.

Both. I have the one-at-a-time unlimited netflix subscription for 8.99 a month. That get’s me about two movies a week. I use netflix to get movies that are not at my Chicago library system. I can get six movies a week from that system for free.

LA library sucks. I miss NYPL.

My library has more VHS tapes than DVDs, and I no longer have a VHS player, so I can’t really utilize my library like some of you can.

Also, I prefer Netflix because it has less homeless people hanging around in it.

My University Library has a lot of Criterion and Obscure films, but some films that you would expect any place to have are strangely missing. + my library has every educational film ever made but I don’t think anyone but me is hyped about that…

Somehow my local library received a copy of Johnny To’s film, Sparrow, which I’m pretty sure never even came out in the U.S. Fantastic film, though

just found two more that library has that netfilx doesn’t
Roman Polanski’s Cul-de-Sac & Frantic

The library in the city next to me has a great selection of foreign films as well as regular American films. They have quite a bit of Criterion ones and others such as the Kino ones. I allready have a big library of my own at home, but it’s great to have that library too. My hometown library has a fairly good selection too, but the neighbouring city has a lot more. Some people have been mentioning Red Desert. I saw it on VHS too, from a friend’s copy, and when I watched it the second time, the image got filled with a lot of static, so I had to watch it off another VCR in my house. I do think they should come out with a Criterion edition of that movie. I have thought of using Netflix, but I like buying a lot of my DVDs and I like to go back and look at them from time to time. My friend though uses it and recommended it to me. However, for the time being anyway, I prefer the library. I don’t make a lot of money, but still, I like to buy them eventhough I know I would probably be saving myself some money.

Libraries really vary on what DVDs they have. I’m fortunate to live near a library with a really great selection of foreign films (on DVD and VHS). I’ve recently found a lot of hard to find movies there on VHS that Netflix doesn’t have (VHS is better than nothing). I also use Netflix since the library doesn’t have everything. Between the two sources I’m able to find a lot although not everything..

The first couple of weeks that I visited my library I was disappointed to find a two small shelves of mostly English films that were mostly modern and scratched from repeated use. Then I found the international section on the third floor with a plethora of Criterion DVDs in pristine condition to choose from.

Both, plus the rental store I work at (though not much longer), plus the Ye Locale Independente Rentalle Store. Hey, if I want it, someone oughtta have it, right? Who cares where I get it as long as I don’t have to blind buy it?

—DiB