Best & Next Department

Looking for the latest releases on Blu-ray, DVD, or compact disc? Want to listen to your favorite band or a good fiction audiobook on your next long drive? The Best & Next Department has these materials and more in a wide varity of formats including video, 16mm film, vinyl, and audio cassette. 

Photo by Joseph Romero

The Collection

The Best & Next Department maintains a collection of audio-visual materials spanning a wide range of subject areas. Collection highlights include over 18,000 popular and educational Blu-rays, DVDs, and videos (including titles with "descriptive video" narration for the visually impaired), almost 2,000 phonograph records, with a concentration in classical, world/folk, jazz and spoken word, and over 5,500 music CDs of popular, jazz, world/folk, gospel, country, and heavy metal music. You can also find nearly 4,500 fiction audiobooks-on-CD and more than 3,000 fiction audiobooks-on-tape

The Pratt Library is renowned for its 16mm film collection. Here you can find more than 2,100 16mm films, including Baltimore Film Festival entries, experimental and avant-garde shorts, classic movie serials, and classic feature films with public performance rights.

Resources

The Best and Next Department's resources provide access to information not located in standard book sources. Stop by the department to browse the collection, which includes:

• Educational Teaching Aids on DVD/video reflecting every department's subject area
• Maryland Archive Footage (PDF) indexed by time period and subject
• Royalty free music and sound effects, which you can use in your not-for-profit educational, audio, video or film productions
• Local Music CD collection, which highlights regional indie rock and hip-hop artists