Anyone Else Frustrated by Library CDs?

Yeah its a big problem in Australia too, the CDs & DVDs are usually unplayable from scratches and dirt etc.

 

I don't know, my public library is great. It's the 2nd biggest in France after Paris and they have a very good selection and choice. You can only lend 5 CDs at a time, but usually only 1 out of 5 has a problem. The others are fine.

And I found some Forum Favorite masterings in there. They also have rare boxsets, DVD-As and SACDs, though I doubt anybody knows about that.

 

At my library, nine times out of ten the CD's are in playable condition. On the other hand, DVD's are always a gamble. Even recent releases tend to marred with fingerprints and scratches. People seem to have no clue how to hold or handle DVD's.

I envision a lot of people being like my sister, who used to leave out big piles of CD's out of their jewel cases.

 

Do you think you are taking this a little seriously. Its only chitter chatter. (And In my case I did remedy the situation)

 

Wow, this thread gave me the wonderful idea of borrowing CDs from the local library

Truthfully, the selections here are bare minimum so everything is an import from another branch.
Seeing that the # of times borrowed is low for a few of these titles, I'm hoping the thing will at least play ...

 

I get it when kids' DVDs are in bad shape--teaching my own kids how to handle Elmo discs properly used to give me a nervous tic.

But I have often wondered--why do otherwise normal adults treat library CDs and DVDs so badly????

 

I have had pretty good luck with CDs from my local library. Some are definitely scratched, but it seems my CD player will play anything. I do find that a lot of children's CDs and DVDs are scratched beyond belief - especially the DVDs, which become unwatchable.

 

No, I think I was taking a bunch of foolish stuff humorously.

(Regarding your library CD switcheroo gambit, I was ofline writing my post when you posted about not actually going through with your heinous crime. Remedy duly noted.)

 

I actually did the reverse of what is being discussed here. After ripping all my old CDs, most of which I bought in the late 80s and early 90s, I gave a big box of them to the local library. This was before I had a decent stereo or a house, and before I discovered this forum. I later realized that some of the ones I gave away were actually quite valuable. I think the library sold them as they aren't in the catalog.

 

This is either the dumbest thing I've ever read or I am simply not getting the joke.

 

I worked in the music department (or whatever it is called) of the library in my hometown. And was seeing first hand when a new, pristine cd came back from the first borrower scratched to death. I just can not understand what people do with cd's. Well, I have seen when some friends take their cd's from the player and leave them on the floor or table or something (but not in the case...). Is that the only explanation?

 

A few hours of daylight during the winter maybe?

 

I don't understand why so may library patrons damage CDs. It massively pisses me off!!! I agree with the OP that most of the CDs I borrow are damaged in some way.
I believe it is just a symptom of our overwhelmingly selfish and rude society.

 

Well, that IS one explanation...

 

Some of the scratches on the CDs I've borrowed recently defy belief! I am a pretty careless and clumsy person, but in my 20+ years of owning CDs, I don't believe I've damaged a single one. Cracked and split the cases on numerous occasions yes, but never scratched the CDs inside; occasionally the disc has slipped out onto the floor but they're pretty robust objects. I'd have thought it would be much harder to damage a CD than to take good care of it, but obviously not for some people - just what do they do to them?

That's probably why my local county libraries only allow people a week to borrow five CDs as opposed to three weeks for 14 CDs in my hometown (north London) - the less/shorter time a CD is in rotation, the lesser likelihood it has in getting damaged.

 

I doubt the library near me would even have music cds or any good ones at least, their website just says books on audio cd. I bought a cd off amazon that was a library copy and even though the cds had stickers on the top they were removable and their were stickers on the back insert it was in good condition with little scratches and doesn't have a ring on it whatever that means.

 

Man it's been years since I've even visited the library. The internet is my library.

 

FYI
I just got 2 boxes of former library records donated from the Newark Delaware library yesterday.
All classical and show tunes. Let's put it this way besides all the labels having large unpealable white rainbow library stickers info. And stickers, writing, and tape on the covers. Half of them were opera sets which the records had no inner-sleeves, all those nice London/Decca/DG sets had no sleeves, some were mildly trashed. The classical LP's were iffy conditionwise, some of the show tune albums were trashed.

 

If you want your local library to maintain a great circulating music collection, the best thing you can do is to work to ensure funding. Budgets are being slashed all over the country, and all lines in the acquisitions budget have to share that burden, including multimedia. Contact your local elected officials and express your desire to have strong libraries in your community. Better yet, organize a fund raiser of some kind to donate money to the mulitmedia budget.

Keeping on top of damaged media takes time and money, which are in short supply in the library world these days, especially in public libraries.

Public library patrons are what they are. People who don't respect property to begin with will never respect a library book/movie/cd.

(I'm a librarian btw)

 

They should weed out the ones who don't respect library property, if the people who borrow the book/DVD/CD/VHS and return it trashed, that person should pay to have it replaced. Me and my wife were regulars at the local library but quit going when all the discs were taking out looked like they were used as teething devices (one was) or sliding around on the floor. We got tired of only finding one or two that would play in a pile of 10 so we stopped going.

 

My sister was playing a library CD in her computer (no she was not ripping) and it exploded.
Shards of CD pieces everywhere not to mention a busted CD-Rom.

 

What did the library say?

 

I was recently unemployed for over a year, so after a month or so of sending out resumes that didn't get answered I volunteered at our local library. They needed someone to help repair and clean their damaged DVDs and CDs. I was stunned at the condition that some of these items came back in. There were many DVDs that were virtually unplayable through the scratches, the worst ones being any of the Star Wars/Trek movies and the teen-related movie. What surprised me was the shape that audio books used to come back in. Some of them looked like they were played and then just tossed on the car floor until it was time to bring the set back.

We had a great machine that could clean most of them up to make them playable, but there were too many that couldn't be salvaged. Fortunately most of our patrons take care of what they borrow from the CD/DVD collection, and we get boxes full of used DVDs and CDs from folks to add to the collection or replace ones that have been damaged.