Play it again: vinyl library perfect antidote to ‘soulless’ digital world

Opening up the vinyl experience. Photograph: Eleonore de Bonneval

July marked the opening of Hackney’s – and probably the world’s – first vinyl lending library. Occupying a recently vacated shop space on Foulden Road, just off Stoke Newington Road, the Vinyl Library aims to reclaim the format from the reputation for inaccessibility often associated with record collectors.

Set up by two friends, Elly Rendall and Sophie Austin, the not-for-profit community initiative is designed to open up the vinyl experience to those dissatisfied with the soullessness of digital music but who lack the funds to establish a record collection of their own.

Instead of spending £15 on a new album, for a £10 monthly membership fee, music lovers can borrow up to five items for a week at a time from the library’s collection of over 1,500 records (and counting).

Alternatively, those who donate records gain free access to the collection, with the total number of titles they can borrow equivalent to the number they gave in the first place.

The majority of the Vinyl Library’s collection is sourced from these donations, often from some unlikely origins. In its opening weeks the library received a 500-strong batch of records from the organisation behind Secret Cinema as well as contributions from record labels and individuals in places as varied as Hamburg and New Orleans.

“It’s a really diverse collection that includes everything from promos from jazz and funk labels to old records from the 1930s and 40s,” says Rendall.

Just as vinyl aficionados prize the warmth the medium offers over CDs and MP3s, Rendall and Austin intend the Vinyl Library to provide a physical meeting point for a community of music fans. They talk of creating a “sharing space where people can learn more about music and vinyl and share their own knowledge.”

To support this aim, the library will also be used as a venue for music-related events. In the first week it was open to the public, it played host to drum ‘n’ bass and jungle mixing classes for wannabe DJs, and the founders’ plans for the space include screenings of music documentaries. Commenting on how the Vinyl Library has fared in its first few weeks, Austin says: “The response so far has been amazing!”

Indeed, such is the level of interest that the pair are hoping to extend the concept to other cities in the UK. Could Hackney be the starting point for a nationwide vinyl revival?

Fancy giving the Vinyl Library a spin?
Visit Unit 1 Foulden Road,
Stoke Newington, N16 7UR