About Our Audio-Visual Collection 

The Sights & Sounds Department of the Central Library/State Library Resource Center houses a collection of audio-visual materials reflecting the general scope of all Pratt subject areas. This page describes our audio-visual formats, circulation policies and where to find print materials related to our collection. 

Audio-Visual Formats 

DVDs and Videos 

The Sights and Sounds Department has over 18,000 DVDs and videos, which are divided into two separate collections: the Rental DVD/Video Collection and the Reserve DVD/Video Collection. What's the difference?

The Rental DVD/Video Collection:
The Rental Video Collection works like a video rental store. It consists of about 4,500 popular home entertainment titles, which are organized into the following categories:

• Action-Adventure
• Children's
• Comedy
• Drama
• Foreign Films
• Horror
• Mystery
• Science Fiction

• DVDs/videos can be rented for seven days.
• It costs $1.50 to rent each title.
• Rental DVDs/videos cannot be renewed.
• Rental DVDs/videos can only be picked up at or sent to Pratt Library branches.

The Reserve DVD/Video Collection: 
The Reserve DVD/Video Collection is an added feature of the Central Library/State Library Resource Center, and it works differently from a video rental store. This collection consists of over 13,500 titles, which reflect and complement the book subject departments in the Central Library/SLRC.

When using this collection, it is important to remember:

• The collection is open to all residents, organizations, and institutions within the State of Maryland.
• DVDs/videos can be picked-up at and returned to designated libraries all over Maryland.
• Titles can be reserved for a specific pick-up date weeks or months in advance.
• Customers can check out titles without advance reservations, though customers with reservations will have priority.
• DVDs/videos can be checked out for free.
• DVDs/videos can be checked out for seven days.
• DVDs/videos may be renewed one time if no other patron has placed a hold on the item.
• Many of these titles are purchased with "public performance rights," which means that they can be shown at free public programs.
• Many titles can be adapted for school use, though few are purchased to support specific curricula.

If you have any questions about these collections, please call the Sights and Sounds Department at (410) 396-4616 or e-mail us at sas@prattlibrary.org.

16mm Films

We maintain a collection of approximately 2,100 16mm film titles, including many hard-to-find titles not available in other media formats. While this collection reflects the general scope of the SLRC collections and most film genres, there is a concentration in the areas of independently produced films (including many Baltimore Film Festival entries), student films, film history, children's films, animation, experimental and avant-garde shorts, and documentary films. The collection also boasts an impressive number of feature films, including  films from the silent era, Hollywood classics and a broad representation of world cinema. All 16mm films have "public performance rights," meaning they can be shown at free public screenings. All 16mm films are stored in our third floor A/V Inspection Room; although this room is not open to the public, staff will bring films down to the Sights & Sounds Department upon patron request. The Sights & Sounds Department is not actively adding to this collection.

Phonorecords

Sights &  Sounds maintains a collection of both musical and spoken 33 1/3rpm phonograph records. This collection is not actively added to. Like our 16mm film collection, records are stored in our third floor A/V Inspection Room; although this room is not open to the public, staff will bring records down to the Sights & Sounds Department upon patron request.

Music Compact Discs

Sights &  Sounds purchases a broad range of musical compact discs (CDs) to meet the recreational and educational needs of the public. Collection genre strengths include jazz, popular and world music.

Note: Classical and opera CDs are located in the Fine Arts and Music Department on the second floor of the Central Library.

Music Audiocassettes

We maintains a small collection of musical audiocassettes in a broad range of musical genres. We are not actively adding to this collection.

Fiction Audiobooks

We maintain a large collection of fiction audiobooks books on audiocassette and compact disc, in both unabridged and abridged versions. Fiction audiobooks are filed in alphabetical order according to the author's last name (e.g., Margaret Atwood is followed by Jane Austen, David Balducci is followed by Dan Brown, etc.). When available, an attempt is made to purchase in the unabridged format. While we have a number of Young Adult audiobooks (e.g., the Harry Potter series), all other juvenile and children's audiobooks are located in the Central Library's Children's Department.

Note: All Non-Fiction audiobooks are located in the respective Central Library department reflecting the audiobook's subject area and call number. Call numbers starting with A, C, D, E, F, G-GT, H, J, K, L and TX907-TX910 are located in the Social Science and History Department. Call numbers starting starting with AC, B-BD, BJ-BX, P-PT, Z1-39 and Z300-Z3001 are located in the Humanities Department. Call numbers starting with AM, GV, M and N are located in the Fine Arts and Music Department. Call numbers starting with BF, HA-HJ, Q, R, S, T, U, V and Z40-Z289 are located in the Business, Science, Technology and Sports Department.

Print Materials Related to our Subject Area 

The Sights & Sounds Department maintains a small collection of music, film and audiobook reference books. The majority of books related to music, film and the other subject areas represented by our audio-visual collection can be found elsewhere in the library.

• Magazines and periodicals covering the department’s subject areas are located in the Library’s Periodicals Department. These include film and music magazines and journals.
• Books on music, musicians, sports and crafts are located in the Fine Arts & Music Department.
• Fiction books are located in the Fiction Department.
• Children's books are located in the Children's Department.
• Books on photography, cameras, home filmmaking,  the fashion industry, and exercise for health are located in the Business, Science, Technology and Sports Department.
• Books on movies, the movie industry, television, film, and radio personalities, and professional filmmaking are located in the Humanities Department.

Circulation Policies