You can’t stop local indie video store Have You Seen from closing, but an ad hoc collective of student and community groups is doing its best to keep the best of the collection available for public access.Jordann Pool, President of the Gzowski College Cabinet, has been contacting Academic departments and student and community groups in the hopes of purchasing the bulk of the harder-to-find titles.
The group is looking for financial contributions that will go directly toward purchasing films. Their goal is to raise at least $5,000 by Saturday, Nov. 5, when Have You Seen will begin selling its stock to the general public. At press time on Friday, they had secured approximately $2,900 from individuals and organizations.
“[T]he closing of this store will result in the loss of access to some very rare, obscure and useful films for academic, research, and advocacy purposes to the Trent University and Peterborough community,” Pool said via email. She elaborated that, in her role as an elected student representative, she kept hearing “lamentations” about the closing of the store from students and faculty, who wondered where they would find the more obscure titles not available from mainstream sources.
The collection will be added to the Sadleir House library collection, which is open to all students and to community members. Pool had briefly considered the possibility of housing the collection at Biko (Bata) library, but found that licensing and access for non-students was a barrier. “Sadleir House is great at making connections between the Peterborough and Trent communities,” she said, “and that’s what this initiative is all about.”
Store owner Howard Gibbs says he’s pleasantly surprised by the student interest in the collection. He says that over the years, his customer base has been comprised mainly of older customers because students seem to download most of the movies that they watch.
Gibbs told Arthur that there have been several individuals and groups, including Pool, who have contacted the store about the possibility of buying movies in bulk. He says that he and co-owner Paul Pfeiffer would be pleased to have a portion of the collection stay together.
So far, there’s been lots of interest but few people have come forward with definite proposals. Some community groups have been in touch about purchasing specific sections of the store, like the documentary section, but he’s doubtful that it would be possible for any one organization to purchase everything on its own.
Have You Seen currently has almost 12,000 titles in stock. Gibbs wouldn’t speculate about the retail value of the collection at this point, but says that the money raised from the sale will be an important support for the store’s employees and their families. He hinted to Arthur that a portion of the sales may go toward a new project that could include the store’s current staff members, but isn’t ready to provide more details.
Dwayne Collins is the Gzowski College Assistant, and also a librarian who is involved with coordinating the Sadleir House Library. He says he’s hopeful that other groups who have expressed an interest in purchasing portions of Have You Seen’s collection will put their resources toward this student-led initiative.
Having a substantial collection in one place, with a range of genres and topics represented, will increase the accessibility and awareness of the collection. Collins also noted that the Sadleir House Library catalogue is also searchable online, which means that people will be able to find out in advance whether the movie they are looking for is available or if it is checked out.
Anyone wanting to contribute to this initiative will have to move fast. Collins is hoping that the majority of donations will arrive prior to Wednesday, Nov. 2, but that people can continue to contribute after that date. “No donation is too small,” Collins said. “Even $10 or so represents another movie.” He’s hoping to have a bin set up in Have You Seen during the public sale so that people can purchase their favourite movies to be included in the collection.
Even after the store has closed, Pool is hoping to continue a conversation about the broader significance of this store closure. “This isn’t only about a store that we love closing its doors,” she says. “It’s about the digitization of media and how that can impact academia, media, and the local economy.” She’s planning an academic panel discussion on this topic for the new year, and has invited Have You Seen’s staff to participate.
If you’d like to make more information, or want to make a tax-deductible donation, go to sadleirhouse.ca/haveyouseen.
