Your Public Library Is the Best Video Rental Store You're Not Using

Your public library is a free video rental store with 30,000+ titles on DVD and Blu-ray - more than Blockbuster ever had - at zero cost.

Here’s something nobody talks about enough: video rental stores never died. They just got better. And free. They’re called public libraries.

Libraries are one of the most underrated resources for film fans. Beyond their massive collections of books, most carry an impressive selection of movies on DVD, Blu-ray, and occasionally even 4K Blu-ray. Many libraries also take special requests, so if you want to watch the new 4K remaster of as classic like Ben-Hur, or something more niche like The Exorcist III on 4K Blu-ray, your library can often track down a copy through their network or order it directly, just for you.

What’s Actually on the Shelves

But do they really have a good selection? Well, I went and looked for myself, searching the local library in my small New England town of about 25,000 people. Here’s a sample of what’s available through them right now: One Battle After Another, F1, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, The Black Phone 2, Freakier Friday, Caught Stealing, The Long Walk, indie films like Bone Lake, Sovereign, and The Last Showgirl, and even Warner Archive titles like The Hudsucker Proxy.

A quick search of their online catalog shows 27,742 DVDs and Blu-rays available through my library or the local shared system. And that is for a few small towns in New Hampshire. At the much larger Boston Public Library, I see in their catalog that they have over 34,000 DVDs and Blu-rays.

Patrons of the Boston Public Library browse the DVD selection. Image credit: Boston Public Library

For context:

• The average Blockbuster carried around 8,000 titles

• Netflix currently has around 15,000 titles

• My small-town library system: ~30,000 titles

It won’t rival the legendary independent stores — Vidiots in LA has 60,000 titles, and Scarecrow Video in Seattle holds an astonishing 150,000. But most libraries absolutely blow away what the chain video stores ever stocked, and it isn’t close to what any streaming service can offer.

Free, Fast, and Better Than Streaming

It seems too good to be true, but all of this is free with a library card. Most libraries are part of shared networks, meaning your card also gives you access to the collections of multiple branches in your region. A new Blu-ray typically runs $25 at retail. It gets expensive fast - I would know as a passionate collector with credit card statements that are not always ideal. But your library can have it waiting for you on release day at no cost. If you love it, you can always buy it later.

Image Credit: Des Moines Public Library

Beyond physical media, libraries also provide free access to streaming services like Kanopy and Hoopla, which give cardholders a limited number of credits each month to watch films and TV shows at no cost. Similar services exist for eBooks, audiobooks, and even music.

The Value Is Almost Absurd

Take a second and think about what this is actually worth. Most libraries let you check out 5 to 10 movies at a time, with a one-week rental window. Renewals are often available if you need more time.

Remember what that would have cost you at Blockbuster? New release rentals ran around $5 each in the late ‘90s for a 3-5 day window with no renewals. If you wanted ten movies? That’s $50. In 1999 money. The library gives you the same new release titles, for a longer term, for no cost. They did back in the 90s too. I remember renting quite a few movies from different libraries. It is kind of amazing that Blockbuster ran a business model around a service that most towns offered for free.

Image Credit: Attleboro Public Library

And using it couldn’t be easier. Every library has an online catalog where you can search their entire collection and see exactly where a title is located and whether it’s available. If you can’t find something or need help navigating the selection, a librarian can help you in ways that many video store clerks (no offense to the great clerks out there who knew their stuff!) never could. These aren’t teenagers processing rental returns, they’re professionals who know their catalog inside and out and can often recommend titles or request options you wouldn’t have thought to ask about.

Why This Matters In The Streaming Age

So why are libraries an important archive for media now more than ever? Because streaming libraries have less archival depth than ever. Films and TV shows constantly move between services, disappear without warning, or never make the jump to digital at all. Physical media remains the most reliable way to watch films as they were intended, and it’s the format most likely to include all the goodies like director’s cuts, supplements, and restored transfers.

Libraries let you access all of that without the expense of buying everything at new release prices, and without the frustration of hunting down what’s available where.

I keep hearing from film fans who say libraries have re-ignited their love of physical media. People are using them to take risks with what they watch without the financial burden of buying a movie at retail price. If you haven’t checked what your local library has lately, it’s worth a look. You might be surprised.