Record stores can be an intimidating place for the uninitiated. There are so many genres and sub-genres; where do you even start? So, you’ve found a record that you want to buy. Now, you have to deal with a cashier condescendingly passing judgement on your taste while they simultaneously take your money for an overpriced, “collector’s edition.” Sophie Austin and Elly Rendall feel your pain. That’s why they’re opening London’s only vinyl-only library. More from FACT:
“We want to get more people into vinyl and would like to create the bridge for people just starting out to come and experience it,” explains Elly. “Then, when they’re more confident about what they like, they can build their own personal collection up by buying from the record shops.”
But will a not-for-profit record library actually work? Some are doubtful…
Another record store owner in South London points out that vinyl libraries never worked in the first place. “It’s a nice idea but it didn’t work in the 1980s and 1990s and I can’t see how things have changed now,” he says. “With all the best will in the world, the records eventually get trashed, as it only takes a minority of people who don’t take care of records to ruin the collection.”
Only time will tell what will become of the Vinyl Library, but it’s still an idea that we can get behind.
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