Why are you doing this?
With all the exciting advances in technology and media access we don’t think an equivalent experience to the in-person video store has emerged. We also believe in creating a space and collection that is driven by principles of equity, justice and true representation. We are motivated by a love and belief in the power of cinema and are not a profit-driven tech company interested in data mining and creating wealth for shareholders. I’m sure many of the folks reading this remember their local video stores fondly and names like Pleasant St. Video, Video To Go and so many others that are connected to very deep and meaningful experiences in their past, helping expose them to new and exciting places, stories, directors and more. There is no reason we should wait any longer to bring a video store and all it offers back to our community.
The best video stores offer an immersive experience in every era, genre, and region of film culture and provide a welcoming and exciting space to venture into new territory. Like great bookstores and record stores, video stores are centers of entertainment, learning, and discovery; a record of our true cultural history, a record that expands beyond the conventionally prescribed canon; and an exciting social space where friendships, ideas, and collaborations are born. Fundamentally, we believe things can be better.
Is this really possible?
Yes! There are a number of these types of video stores opening up across the country! Some are for-profit, some are connected to larger institutions, some are long-running video stores converting their model, and some are very grassroots, all-volunteer efforts. Each of the different models speaks to the needs and abilities of their specific community, but they all speak to the value of having access to a broad library of physical media located in a community oriented space that highlights, celebrates, and engages with movies! We believe the history of video rental stores is a good reference point but believe in our ability to bring dreams to life, build new institutions and create new ways of being in relationship with our art.
What does it mean to be a member?
Becoming a member will allow you to borrow from our collection. The only cost is your membership: you won’t pay on a per-item basis, and there will be no late fees! Being a volunteer non-profit means we’ll rely on memberships- which is your donation to build the Visions collection and keep the space up and running. In addition to giving you access to the collection, your membership supports our acquisitions budget to bring in new titles, cover our costs, and help bring programming to our space.
I don’t have a DVD/VHS player!
That’s ok! If you have the money, they are readily available at brick and mortar and online retailers for less than $30 brand new! DVD players are by no means a dead or antiquated technology. Used players can also be found in abundance at thrift shops often with the remote or you can easily acquire a universal remote. In addition, we will have players available for loan DVD players are also available to check out at many Western Mass libraries. It’s an easy and small piece of equipment to integrate into your setup (be it television, computer, or projector). Considering that price point, it’s not much of an investment compared to the cost of other technology.
Are you accepting non-monetary donations?
YES! Especially DVDs in good, working condition. We also have other needs as we grow. If you have something you think we could use please be in touch: info@visionsvideo.org
Can we stream the collection?
There are no plans to make our collection available to stream, beyond the legal and technological challenges, we want Visions to be a space where people are able to come and browse the collection, learn about new films and be in community.
What does it mean to be a member?
Becoming a member will allow you to rent from our collection. The only cost is your membership, you won’t pay on a per item basis and there will be no late fees! Being a non-profit means we’ll rely on memberships and donations to build the Visions collection and keep the space up and running. When we find a suitable location we will be able to more fully understand the scope and capacity of the store and will include other member benefits as appropriate.
Where will the store be located?
Visions Video has signed a one year lease at 183 Main st. in downtown Northampton, next to the site of the former Haymarket Cafe.
How Can I Help?
Visions Video has many needs, the easiest is to become a member. If you’re not local or find membership isn’t for you, you can always make a tax deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor Fractured Atlas.
We also rely on donations of films to continue to grow our collection. If you’d like to donate one or one thousand discs we are always happy to accept donations. Until we have regular hours you can email us at info@visionsvideo.org to arrange a drop off/ pick up.
If you have other ideas, expertise, resources, grant opportunities or ways to help fulfill our mission don’t hesitate to be in touch!
Who runs Visions Video?
Visions video is run by a volunteer collective of founding members. If you’re interested in volunteering email us at info@visionsvideo.org
What is your collection like?
Our goal was to open with 10,000 titles and though we don’t have an exact number yet we’re somewhere between 10-11,000 DVDs, VHS and Blu-rays. We continue to add new titles to the collection almost daily via donation and acquisition. You can keep up with our new additions on our instagram page @visions.video
Are you a store? Do you sell movies?
Basically, no. We will occasionally sell items during sidewalk sale and have some limited merch-type items available in the shop but we are fundamentally not a commercial retail space.
How do movie loans work at Visions?
We operate on a membership-support basis. Supporters make small donations via our fiscal sponsor Fractured Atlas to help us sustain and grow our library; as a perk, supporters receive borrowing privileges from that library. In other words, once you’re a supporter of Visions Video, you can borrow movies from our library much as you would at an old-school video store, only with no rental fees or late fees! Read more (and even start the process of signing up) here.
Did you just say “no late fees”?!??!
Yes indeed: no late fees, ever. Because of our non-profit structure and collective ownership, we eschew the “penalization” mentality of the late-fees system at traditional video stores, with donors receiving borrowing privileges instead of paying “a la carte” rentals or any fees. We do ask that you return items as soon as you’re able as a courtesy to other members, and early returns are always appreciated.
Do you need a rental membership to borrow items from Visions Video?
Yes, and we always appreciate you establishing your membership remotely, in advance of your first visit. Feel free to browse our collection in person before signing up, but if you want to establish a membership we may be too busy to do so in-store (the data-entry ties up our computer for 5-10 minutes). So if you already know for sure you’d like to borrow titles from us, feel free to complete this membership form and then make your first donation online.
Does Visions Video carry new releases?
Yes, the Visions Video collection aims to serve all general-interest and new-release needs as well as maintain a strong core of art-house offerings (including but not limited to classic, foreign, independent, documentary, cult, and LGBTQ films). Our new-release section aims to stay diverse, fresh, and robust.
Can I donate DVDs and blu-rays to Visions?
Absolutely! We use our limited monthly budget to order recent releases, but the core of our collection was crowdsourced, and we rely entirely on kind donations to keep building our back catalog. We are working on a wish list of individual DVDs we’ve noticed we don’t own yet, so if you’d like to make a gift of something we’re looking for, please be in touch! We will gladly accept *almost any* donations of commercially issued DVDs or blu-rays as long as they are still in working condition, and still have their cases and artwork.
How do I donate DVDs and blu-rays to Visions Video?
If you live in Western Mass and have less than 5 discs to donate, please feel free to slip them through the mail slot in our front door any time we’re closed, or bring them into our library during our public hours. However, due to our limited hours and downtown location please do not ship donations to the library, email us and we can provide you with a separate shipping address.
Can I donate laserdiscs, books, records, CDs, DVD-Rs, or other formats?
Short answer: no. Long answer: storage at Visions is VERY limited, so we’ve chosen to limit donations to the formats that circulate the most, DVDs and blu-rays. However, if you think you have rare VHS titles (read: titles you believe were never issued on DVD or are out of print on DVD), please feel free to email us at info@visionsvideo.org to let us know what you have.
Do you buy used movies?
No, unfortunately we have no budget for doing so. Visions Video is an all-volunteer passion project and we rely on donations to build our video library’s back catalog.
How is Visions Video’s inventory organized?
Our space is relatively small- we’re doing our best to figure out how to make the collection inviting to every type of visitor.
The largest section right now is our director section which has about 200 directors from Chantal Ackerman to Terry Zwigoff.
Our other sections include but aren’t limited to Classics (films released prior to 1970, including silents), Horror, Dramas, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Martial Arts, Comedy, Action, Documentary, Nature, TV, Western, Romance and more.
Bring forward the cases for the items you’d like to borrow and we’ll get you a case to take it home.
Can I browse your collection online?
No, our collection is too large and we add titles too frequently to make this feasible, but we’re always happy to answer questions about what we do and don’t have (email preferred). If there’s a reason you cannot visit the store to browse, please be in touch and we’ll find a solution.
How long are the rental periods for movies in your collection?
Our new releases have a suggested return date of a week after renting; all other titles have a suggested return date of two weeks after renting. Again, we have no late fees, so if your suggested return date passes, you’ll get an email reminder, and if it’s far past you’ll get a call or text. We do, of course, expect items to be returned, and reserve the right to consider movies stolen and to be replaced at your expense if they remain overdue far past their suggested due dates.
Can I return discs borrowed from Visions Video when you’re closed?
Yes please! Discs can be returned 24/7 and returns while we’re closed are always appreciated! When we’re open, please bring them to the front counter. When we’re closed, please feel free to drop them through the mail slot in our front door.
Can I renew items borrowed from Vision Video?
Yes, titles can generally be renewed one time after their initial rental, as long as no one else has placed a reserve on that item. Inquiring about a renewal can be done in person or over email.
Can I request holds on items borrowed from Visions Video?
Yes, any existing member can request to be notified when a checked-out title is returned. Please do so in-person.
Does Visions Video have an adult section?
This question has come up a few times and the answer so far is: no. First, we have built the vast majority of the collection through donations and none have really come in, second our priority right now is building the general collection for our world-cinema library. The closest we have are some of the “Exploitation” and exploitation adjacent titles and directors (Jess Franco, Jean Rollin, etc) and they do have a section of their own.
Do DVDs play on blu-ray players. Do blu-rays play on DVD players?
Most DVDs will play on most blu-ray players; zero blu-rays will play on almost any DVD player. So if you’re thinking about acquiring a new device to access Visions Video’s home-video library, a blu-ray player will give you access to the overwhelming majority of our inventory. Note: many people already have DVD players they’ve forgotten about in the house (think: old laptops) and blu-ray players they never knew they owned (think: certain gaming devices that also play other kinds of discs).
Do you carry 3D blu-rays? What about 4K Ultra HD blus?
We have a very small selection of 4K Ultra discs at the moment, but we’re not making them a priority when ordering new releases as we’ve yet to see a tipping point of interest for either format in our customer base. We happily accept donations of these formats, and the titles we do have came through those channels.
I’d like to volunteer at Visions Video; how do I get started?
Thanks you for thinking of us, we really appreciate it! Visions Video has been built by volunteer love and labor and that’s how we’ll continue to grow and serve our community. We’ll eventually have volunteer application forms we can provide upon request at the front desk, but until then email us at info@visionsvideo.org and we can add you to our list.
How else can I help?
Spread the word about our project! Take photos of the store, or your rentals, of you in the store with your rentals and tag us. Word of mouth is our best tool! If you’re in town and well-versed in movies and video-store culture, inquire about volunteering!
You didn’t answer my question!
We tried! We’re happy to answer your questions via email: info@visionsvideo.org, via DM on our social media sites or in person when we’re open!
Are you on social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter?
But of course! Click below to check us out on the social(s) of your choice.