Hennepin County Library hopes to revive magic of LPs

Deep in the secure stacks of the Minneapolis Central Library are more than 20,000 vinyl records. For some, they may be a testament to a bygone era of music, before CDs and then streaming giants like Spotify rose to dominance.

But for the Vinyl Revival team at Hennepin County Library, there’s a life to these records they hope to share with anyone willing to listen.

The diverse and vast collection includes rock, disco and reggae, among others. A substantial number of the records came from a generous donation by the estate of Matthew Marvel, who was a prominent producer and DJ born in Minneapolis.

While the vinyl collection is not accessible to the public, individuals can request specific records to listen to in the Vinyl Revival Listening Room — a small room tucked away on the third floor of the library.

Hennepin County librarian James Leonardo, who is involved with the Vinyl Revival project, said that in an age of streaming, there’s a magic to listening to music on vinyl.

“All of a sudden, these two objects make contact — the needle and the record — and it brings out the spirit of the music,” he said. “It starts playing for you right then and there. It's like you're crossing over into the dream world.”

In an effort to bring that magic to more people, Leonardo and his colleagues are recruiting local DJs to curate selections from the larger collection. Currently on display are some 40 records curated by DJ TaliaKnight of The Current and community radio station KRSM.

For a tour of the collection with Leonardo and a preview of DJ TaliaKnight’s picks, click play on the audio player above. Find out more information about the Vinyl Revival Listening Room here.

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