Movies land star role at Longboat Library

Free DVDs were a job perk for Ray Rajewski in his former career as executive vice president of CBS and Paramount. He also buys lots of DVDs because he prefers watching movies at home instead of going to the movie theater.

Rajewski’s collection grew to more than 500 DVDs — but he realized recently that he seldom watched most of them.

So, he donated most of his collection to the Longboat Library, which allowed the private nonprofit organization to launch its new DVD collection Tuesday, Jan. 14. The collection includes more than 500 DVDs, 477 of which Rajewski donated.

The collection ranges from classics such as “Gone With the Wind” and “The Manchurian Candidate” to more contemporary selections, such as “South Park Uncut.” The library also has a shelf filled with movies that are appropriate for children.

Rajewski has trouble picking a favorite from the DVDs he donated, although he enjoyed “Star Wars” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

“You’ll probably find more action and adventure than feel-good movies,” Rajewski said. “You’ll find more comedies than anything.”

The collection is available to library members, who can check out up to two titles at a time for up to a week for $1 each.

Rajewski hopes the donation will continue to benefit the library.

“It’s kind of like the saying, ‘You give a guy a fish and you feed him for a day but teach him to fish and he’ll fish for life,’” he said. “Rather than make any one donation, I like to think of them as an ongoing sale.”
Rajewski plans to make additional movie donations to the library in the future.

Library hours
The Longboat Library, 555 Bay Isles Road, is open for its winter hours 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturdays through April. For information, call 383-2011.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected]