Miller Library's video collection, once a scrawny and seldom-used adjunct to
printed texts, has reached blockbuster proportions. It contains more than 3,300
titles, ranging from esoteric documentaries to mainstream hits, and is
frequently employed in classes across many disciplines.
Most of the films were purchased individually because faculty requested them,
but several hundred were added when James M. Gillespie Professor of Art and
American Studies David Lubin arranged to buy the stock of videos from a
Waterville store that was going out of business. Lubin and his research
assistant, Lincoln Farr '97, who spent most of one summer previewing the
videos, nabbed "masterpieces and trash" alike, according toLubin. "Which titles
fall into which category is a matter open to debate," he said.
"My goal was not only to rescue as many old movies as possible but also to
provide our students with a good representative sampling of different periods,
styles and genres in American film history," Lubin said.
Use of the collection has doubled in the past six years. In 1995-96, the 8,173
videos loaned by the library accounted for roughly 8 percent of the library's
total circulation.
Based on figures since 1989 (when circulation records were automated), Stanley
Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange is the library's most frequently borrowed
video. Reference librarian Frances Parker notes that a recent fast-moving entry
on the "most popular" list--it's currently ranked 25th--is poised to overtake
Terminator II, Star Wars and some other Hollywood heavyweights. The
title? Ion Chromatography.
"It's hot," Parker said.
The Top Ten--Total Check Outs
1. A Clockwork Orange--366
2. Casablanca--261
3. Manhattan--248
4. Taxi Driver--196
5. Dead Poets' Society--171
6. Raiders of the Lost Ark--167
7. 2001: A Space Odyssey--154
8. School Daze--151
9. The Pink Panther--147
10. Au Revoir les enfants--141