DrWebThe Last Video Rental Store Is Your Public Library – 404 Media
Photo by Guzel Maksutova / UnsplashThe Last Video Rental Store Is Your Public Library – 404 Media
By Claire Woodcock, Dec 3, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Audio-visual librarians are quietly amassing large physical media collections amid the IP disputes threatening select availability.
Photo by Guzel Maksutova / UnsplashThis story was reported with support from the MuckRock foundation.
As prices for streaming subscriptions continue to soar and finding movies to watch, new and old, is becoming harder as the number of streaming services continues to grow, people are turning to the unexpected last stronghold of physical media: the public library.
Some libraries are now intentionally using iconic Blockbuster branding to recall the hours visitors once spent looking for something to rent on Friday and Saturday nights.
John Scalzo, audiovisual collection librarian with a public library in western New York, says that despite an observed drop-off in DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra disc circulation in 2019, interest in physical media is coming back around.
“People really seem to want physical media,” Scalzo told 404 Media.
Part of it has to do with consumer awareness: People know they’re paying more for monthly subscriptions to streaming services and getting less. The same has been true for gaming.
As the audiovisual selector with the Free Library of Philadelphia since 2024, Kris Langlais has been focused on building the library’s video game collections to meet comparable interest in demand. Now that every branch library has a prominent video game collection, Langlais says that patrons who come for the games are reportedly expressing interest in more of what the library has to offer.
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