Rick Prelinger Evaluates Modern Media Storage

Crates of vinyl, an overbrimming welter of books, and a rat’s nest of cables and cords emanating from receivers, TVs, iPod docks, and perhaps the odd Victrola are the hallmarks of the media-obsessed collector. Perhaps it’s the World Book Encyclopedias from 1973 or the complete Magnum, P.I. DVD box set—either way our desire to amass and display far more media than we’ll likely consume is as rampant as ever. And though the oldsters are more likely to play their Gordon Lightfoot on the one-twos than the digital one-zeros, every generation faces the age-old question: How do I store my library?