[PADG:903] Mechanical Damage to DVDs

[Tom Teper <tteper@xxxxxxxx>]

I have a question from one of our residence hall libraries about a 
circulating DVD collection (appended below). Apparently, they are receiving 
many returned with very deep circular scratches that frequently render the 
discs unreadable. They are speculating that students are using their gaming 
systems to play the discs, rather than a conventional DVD player. Has 
anyone heard of similar problems with their collections?

Tom

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I'm wondering if you encounter DVDs with deep, circular scratches.  It's
become quite a problem for us, sometimes a DVD is rendered totally unuseable
after only one check-out.  Clearly the scratches are not the result of being
dropped or tossed into a backpack because of the totally symmetrical
patterns.  The scratches are too deep to be cleaned.

I've asked [others] who have their own DVD collections, but no one seems to 
have this problem but
me.  I'm wondering if it is the result of people using their gamestations to
play DVDs, as I know they can be harsher on  DVDs than CD-ROMS.  Apparently
CD-ROMS have a thicker chemical coating than makes them not as fragile as
DVDs, according to some websites I've read.




Head of Preservation and Assistant Professor,
        John "Bud" Velde Endowed Professorship
University Library
246F Main Library
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
1408 West Gregory Drive
Urbana, IL      61801

Telephone:      217-244-8755
Fax:            217-244-4358