The VHS player is an obsolete method of playing videos. The major film studios in the United States have stopped producing VHS tapes and therefore VHS machine manufacturers have stopped producing VHS players. To ease the transition to digital media (online, DVD) at Bates, we continued to support VHS tapes until July 2012.

At that time, we stopped installing VHS players in classrooms and can no longer replace or repair no functioning VHS players. Please remember this is not a choice we have made, it is a change of technology that we need to deal with. We hope this FAQ will help answer your questions about how to transition from VHS to DVD.

What can I do with my personal collection of VHS tapes?

• Check to see if it is available for purchase on DVD. Chris Schiff in the library can help you find sources to purchase rare copies of films.
• If you use it as part of a course, request that the library purchase a DVD copy.
• If it is not available on DVD, you have the right to make a DVD copy of it. The library and the Digital Media Center have equipment that can do this. However, in order to protect your rights to using the converted format, YOU have to do the work yourself.
• Bates staff can make the conversion but the copy MUST STAY ON THE PREMISES OF THE LIBRARY. SUCH COPIES MAY NOT BE CIRCULATED OUTSIDE THE LIBRARY BUILDING, EVEN FOR USE IN CLASS.
• If you only need certain clips from the VHS, the Digital Media Center can assist you with taking the clips and putting them onto a DVD.

What can I do with departmental collections of VHS tapes?

• Talk to Chris Schiff in the library about joining this collection to that of the library. He can advise you whether the library can purchase the copy on DVD, or if it needs to be put on reserve and watched in the library.
• If you only need certain clips from the VHS, the Digital Media Center can assist you with taking the clips and putting them onto a DVD.