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Video & Libraries: Part Deux

Well, we’re seeing some real growth predictions in the video space.

Online Video Will Push Internet Traffic to Quadruple by 2014

Here’s the chart that shows how different forms of traffic will grow over the next five years.

Will libraries be able to play a role in the streaming media space or will it go completely commercial? What are the hurdles to supporting streaming video to the home or personal device in libraries? Is it different in public library versus school and academic settings? Are there clear options in licensing, rights, copyright, formats, ownership, collections, etc.?

Can libraries start to develop their own streaming media beyond the present great experiments?

Stephen

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Posted on: June 22, 2010, 1:20 pm Category: Uncategorized

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  1. Where to begin? So much mainstream material is available inexpensively/freely through Netflix streaming/Hulu etc. But the educational market and access to rare and older films is in flux right now with no clear path.

    What a lot of people don’t seem to realize is that access to the number of visual materials is being lost with each new rush to adopt a new technology. Only a portion of then existing films made it to VHS, only a portion of what made it to VHS made it to DVD, and only a portion of that is making it to some kind of streaming service.

    The much ballyhooed long tail is not evident with film because there’s not enough profit to be made from securing the rights, restoring, and then making a digital version available.

    People are going to come to expect that films will be available cheaply online and that is going to drive the market to an ever narrowing collection of popular films, I fear. In an ideal world, libraries should step in to do this archival work, but the cost and legal complexities are quite a hurdle.