All tastes catered for in library

Press, 9 November 1984, Page 24

All tastes catered for in library

With nearly 2000 library members to cater for, the Riccarton branch opens with about 250,000 V.H.S. film copies available for hire.

All subjects and tastes are catered for,as the manager, Mr Robin Moore, regards the home video entertainment as a total family pastime, which can be enjoyed both winter and summer.

During the colder months, people are naturally looking for more indoor activities; and during the summer, many televison programes are repeats, so families can control their film viewing time economically to suit their needs.

To join the library, customers must pay a $25 membership fee which is for life.

-Membership entitles the person to use either the Colombo Street or Riccarton branch, and since the branches are separate outlets, duplicate copies of all titles in stock are held in both libraries.

The average hire for a film is about four dollars and< customers can buy as well as hire copies.-

The.,range of movies in the is extensive and

up-to-date. When Robin started his first small business in Worcester Street a year ago, only about six film suppliers covered the market of films available for sale or hire in New Zealand.

Now, 30 major film suppliers bring cassettes into the country, including one of the largest and most wellknown, Paramount.

This makes copies of major recent releases such as “An Officer and A Gentleman,” “Flashdance” and “Jaws” possible. Highly jjopular films, such as “Educating Rita,” that were drawing crowds to cinemas only recently, are soon to be available for hire from libraries such as Quills.

The subjects covered are wide.

“We have absolutely everything — we don’t just please ourselves, we have to cater for other people’s tastes as well,” says Robin. Topics range from children’s and family entertainment, through drama and comedy, to war, westerns and thrillers. . Robin is keen to see the growth of the religious section, which is smalk but expanding steadily.

He says that a number of people are looking for good video material with straight plots and no sex or violence. More and more people are looking in the library for films based on books, such as those on thrillers by Alistair McLean; and a large section is devoted to sports and hobbies, including “How to Train” selections as well.

Since the tapes come into the country basically uncut, censorship is a problem, and one which Robin takes very seriously. “Every library owner has to act as a censor for his clients,” says Robin. “This is particularly so. where children are allowed to choose their own films. An owner must take responsibility for his product and has to know what to recommend them. “We are often asked to recommend films for family viewing but it is very difficult to be sure of the content,” he says. The minimum age limit for library membership is 18, and Robin is firm about that.

“We will often not allow children to borrow certain unsuitable titles on their parents’ cards, and even if

they are accompanied by their parents at the time we will try to do our best to point out that a film may not be suitable for the children,” he says.

Stickers on the slicks of cassettes give some indication of the age suitability of a film, or may indicate that some of the language may offend.

“But we do get plenty of feedback from customers if a film is either very good or very bad,” says Robin. As a precaution, the staff of seven at the Colombo Street branch, and soon the five staff at Riccarton will try to view the new release films between them before they are hired out so that they can give a personal recommendation.

If borrowers are still not sure about a film, or cannot recall if they have seen it before or not, a video viewing room, where tapes can be briefly run, is available at both branches.

There, at leisure, customers can not only view tapes, but they can see the latest in video, stereo, and hi-fi video equipment on display. Since Quills is a total video centre, and specialises in ® aspects of the busi-

ness, the full range is on display at both branches. All the recorders stocked constitute 87 per cent of all V.H.S. brands available in the country. Also on sale are television monitors, video cameras and blank tape. Only one brand of blank tape is sold — the 3M, which is the biggest-selling blank tape, taking up 20 per cent of the world market.

“We sell only what is tried and tested, and which is the best on the market,” says Robin.

Another part of the service to library members is the production of a regular newsletter which covers important facts like how to care for machines and tapes, when to get them cleaned and serviced, and important new film releases available.

A regular video film review is broadcast over 3ZM every morning and afternoon, six days a week, by courtesy of Robin Moore’s Video Drive-In, now Quills. Many of the library members comment on the re-t views and see it as part of the helpful service available video centre. '•*