News-Letter

At Hopkins, students generally use the library for one of four things. They go to MSE to study, to meet friends, to study or work on projects, to check out books to read and study, or to grab a coffee to keep them up at night. Thus although once at the library, many things other than studying do occur, including sleeping and socializing, numerous students fail to take advantage of all of the resources that the library has to offer.

One of these resources is MSE's Audiovisual Center where students can borrow DVD's and VHS tapes to watch either in one of the Audiovisual Center's viewing rooms or in their own places of residence, be they dorms or off-campus housing. Although some videos are on reserve, the majority of the center's offerings can be checked out.

"The movies that the library offers provide a good way to take a break from the monotony ... of studying," says freshman Patrick Cooney.

A large selection of movies is available to students. One can search the on-line catalog on the JHU Libraries' Web site for movie titles and availability or can go to the Audiovisual Center and ask. Many of the films they have are used for classes in the Film and Media Studies department. Those films are placed on reserve.

Freshman Bob Davis sees lack of selection as the key problem with the library.

"Blockbuster is a hike and a rip off. But the library is cheap and easy. It does have one major draw back, selection," he said.

The audiovisual center currently has about 80 of the top 100 films of the Internet Movie Database's Top 100 Films.

Among the so-called "educational titles" available in the library are Cruel Intentions 2, The Simpsons, (seasons one and two), The Silence of the Lambs, The Sopranos (second season), The Fifth Element, Rocky, and Eyes Wide Shut.

There are significant amount of holes in the library's video collection. That means no Monty Python, no Reservoir Dogs, no Die Hard, no Terminator, and of course the greatest film of all time, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, is nowhere to be found. Other popular films of the ?90s that are missing are Wonder Boys, Scent of a Woman and Ronin.

Even though the library is missing some great movies, they do have a good selection.

"The library actually has a good selection of movies. They have a lot of new releases as well as classics and obscure films such as Alan Berliner's The Sweetest Sound," said freshman John Michael Cross.

Students can choose from both American and foreign films. Titles available at the library cover a broad range of genres including Saving Private Ryan, Top Gun, Goldfinger, Clueless, Pretty Woman, Sabrina, Casablanca, Dr. Strangelove, Lethal Weapon, A.I., O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Jaws, The Last of the Mohicans, American Beauty, Magnolia, Memento, Ten Things I Hate About You and Blade Runner.

Some undergraduates do not even bother going to the library since movies are very easily found and downloaded over the Internet. Pirated titles are available even when they are still only in movie theaters.

So if you are looking for another movie source, MSE provides a cheap and convenient alternative to the local Blockbuster or Video Americain on St. Paul.

Although some students do have complaints, many more students are happy that they can check movies out from the library.

"It is true that they don't always have the specific movie that I want to see, but then I just take out another interesting one. At least this service is available, it's better than nothing," said junior Jessica Philip.

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