I have always been amazed at the poor condition of cds and dvds at libraries. I mean, the extreme degree of scratching has always made me think that people have to go out of their way to get them this messed up (like most of us, I have thousands of cds with maybe a handful with a faint smudge or scratch - I have only had one which was damaged enough - by one scratch - to replace). These library discs appear to be used to buff cars.

Currently I am in a contract at a very nice library where I am rebuilding their entire network. My office is right besides the circulation office. Outside my door is the staging area for returning books, cds, dvds. In the morning, I review the cds going back up to the shelves and grab a handful of items to listen to throughout the day (and snake new-release dvds to borrow for the weekend).

Today I noticed two Rolling Stone titles (England's Newest Hit Makers, and 12x5). I open them up, and sure enough, they are SACDs! (and these are a few of the titles I did not get on SACD). But again, their condition is so physically bad - perhaps playable, I will see - that the momentary thought of juvenille larceny passed quickly.

I just never understood individuals' attitude, that if it is not mine, I don't care. I try my best to treat everything I am allowed to borrow - from friend, family, public facility, as it is mine. It is a trust that I have always found necessary (the irony of juvenille larceny thoughts noted).

We get lots of kid's DVDs for our three year old (and once in a while, a movie for us) from the local library, and I know exactly what you're talking about. We usually have to clean them to get them to play properly, but sometimes they're just so beat up it's a lost cause. Try explaining to a three year old that we can't watch his Little Bear DVD because it won't work and Dad can't fix it this time. And the kid's stuff is the worst. Some parents must just hand them over and let the kids do whatever they want with them.

I often check out CDs from the library. If I see something new that I have even the slightest interest in I'll check it out immediately, because chances are it will be in worse shape the next time I see it.

As for people's rough treatment of CDs and DVDs, I honestly think a lot of them treat their own things that way too. I visit friends and relatives and have to physically restrain myself from putting discs back in boxes and generally reorganizing their collections.

We're here because we collect and care about the things that we collect. Needless to say, to many, CDs and DVDs are just commodities, something that they don't care much about at all. How many times have you seen CDs sliding across the dashboard of someone's car or sitting in the back window baking in the sun? How many times have you visited people who as Glenn pointed out, have the things lying all over the house, to the point where you feel compelled to start cleaning them up?

We have a company called "Redbox" who puts DVD rental machines in local grocery stores. You can rent DVDs from these machines for $1.00/day and you can even rent them online before going to the store, to assure that they're there when you get to the store. Great idea and certainly great price. Sadly, too many people seem to equate this kind of price with a substandard level of care, that and the fact that they return the DVDs to a machine, not a person. In any event, the DVDs are regularly hacked up. Usually they till play, but sometimes they don't.

I feel like I take good care of anything that I own, borrow or rent. Many people don't feel the need to behave similarly.

Same here! My own kids have a Wii and DVD player in their room, and I'm always threatening their well-being if they don't a)not handle the discs by the part the data is stored on and b)put them back when they are done.

I used to lend out my books, cds, dvds, etc., all the time, but because of the poor care that others often gave to them, I don't lend out anything anymore except to just a couple of friends who have shown themselves to be conscientiously careful with others' possessions and their own. I got tired of getting back scratched cds that were thickly smudged with fingerprints or even cracked; or finding an empty cd/dvd case or finding one cd/dvd of a multi-disc set missing; or waiting months and even years for things to be returned, if at all. Years ago, a friend borrowed a multi-dvd set from me, promising to return it in a week. I didn't see it again until nearly two years later, at which point the glossy card-stock case and plastic dvd trays were so beat up that I just told him to keep it. Another time, I went to the house of a friend to whom I had lent a much-loved and valued book and found that she had stuffed it roughly under a swinging door to keep the door propped open! I just don't get it.

I, too, often check out CD's from the public library, and am amazed at how poor a condition many of the discs are. Sure, I would expect the jewel cases and booklets to sustain wear and tear, but the CD's themselves are often completely scratched up, covered with greasy fingerprints, sticky substances, or beat all to hell. One bozo who borrowed a certain disc before me even wrote on the disc surface! For the same reasons as Momo above, I no longer loan out anything that I care about keeping in good condition, because most people do not consider being careful with borrowed items at all.

The worst-looking discs I ever borrowed from the library, however, was the box set "In A Word: Yes". In this case, the packaging was at fault, for although it was quite pretty, it simply didn't stand up to any kind of handling, the disc holders were all broken, and it was held together by rubber bands when I checked it out (in fact, two of the discs slipped out of the package and bounced onto the counter as the clerk was scanning it, and she acted like that was not anything to worry about). Needless to say, four of the five discs would not play at all in any of my players, and the fifth skipped like crazy due to deep gouges.

I would be interested to read our resident librarian's thoughts on this subject. Linda, are you there?

Hello. First of all, thanks to everyone here for handling what you borrow from libraries so carefully. But you guys are collectors and know how to properly handle media ... the vast majority of patrons do not. In most cases it's not even a matter of people being irresponsible or careless, they really believe that the old compact disc advertising claims of "perfect sound forever" and indestructability are true. I've gotten incredulous reactions over the years when pointing out such damage. "Huh? Scratches don't matter, it's a CD."

It is about one of the three elements of successful life Communication, responsibility and respect. People do not respect other peoples belongings as their own. It is sad and ashame . If I would have done this in my younger days I would have been cutting grass with a pair of scissors as punishment.

I love the library. When I was a kid, I used to walk to the library 2 or 3 times a week. Even now, I try to go at least once a week. I find libraries to be a very comforting places, and I appreciate the quiet and order. If I could do it again, I think I would like to be a librarian.
I suppose I'm fortunate because the CDs I take out are usually in good condition. I rarely rent DVDs, but I've had good luck with those as well.
We opened a new library here last year, and it's great. They've got plenty of room for expansion.

I see trashed cd's, dvd's & frequently expensive box sets all the time in pawn shops. It amazes me to this day that people spend that kind of money & then use the discs for coasters.

If you let other people handle your CD's, you should let them take the collector's test first and see if they pass. The collector's test is very simple: They must remove the CD from the tray, put it in the player, eject it and put it back on the tray again without the playing surface getting smudged or scratched. Then, they must remove the booklet from the jewel case and reinsert it without crimping it in eight different places. If they can do that, you can trust them with your CD's. And only then.

Another thing that some people do that shocks me (and perhaps me alone): They push the "open" button for a CD (or DVD) tray to slide out electronically, place the disc in the tray...and then just SHOVE the tray back into the player. I always pushed the button to close the tray and never knew it would close if you just pushed it until I saw an ex-girlfriend do it to one of my players--I about freaked. I still always push the "close" button, and I have a 5-disc player with multiple trays and I have no idea if you can simply shove any of the trays in for no better reason than I refuse to attempt it.

I believe that's a computer thing. PC cd drives are built to have the drawer pushed shut by hand, while most "real" cd players aren't. Computers drives are all that many folks use.....

Linda:
Hopefully you'll like this. We own a coffeehouse and used to own a video store for 11 years. We brought all our DVDs to the coffeehouse and combined the two. We have a very expensive and excellent cleaning machine and handle DVDs, games and CDs.
For the library accross the street-we do it for free! Aren't we nice? The condition of the library's stuff is horrific. The only thing worse is when people bring in their kids' games.
We don't rent games for that very reason. We have a Wii which we play on our big screen TV at the coffeehouse-but we will never rent games. That's like throwing $50 out the window. We used to in the old days, but never again.

Speaking of cleaning machines, I've found a machine called "Simo" on ebay that's just short of amazing for $120. It's not perfect by any means, but it's the first sub $1,000 machine I've seen that actually works. As long as you're willing to be patient & learn the machine's several quirks I highly recommend it. With enough patience it can make almost any cd without actual "silver damage" look perfect. It doesn't do nearly as well on dvd visually (something about their finish; a friend's multi thousand dollar machine had the same problem), but even trashed dvd's will usually play fine after going through it. Dvd's tend to show circular buffing marks.

My family borrows lots of CDs and DVDs from our local library. I always clean the DVDs before we play them and still about 50% of them have severe problems and won't play properly. I think the worst case was a DVD (don't remember the title) where the data side was covered what looked like motor oil.

I rented a couple movies the other day and the woman at the counter cleaned each one before giving them to me. I've never seen that before!

I don't mean to doubt you, but I'd have to see this to believe it. I've never seen a cleaned or resurfaced CD look perfect. I'm willing to bet if you showed me a disc cleaned or resurfaced by the most expensive machine out there (short of somehow actually removing the plastic layer and replacing it, which I don't think is possible), I'd be able to tell. I'm sure they're very good at making battered discs playable, though.

I have a very simple rule about my CDs: no one touches them but me. And I always treat other people's stuff the way I'd treat my own.

I hold to my original statement, & I'm REALLY picky.

Hmmm, I'm intrigued now. One of these days I'd like to see one in action. If there's something out there that can make a disc look truly flawless (as if never touched), I'd sure consider dropping some serious bucks for it!