Harold Washington Library is Chicago’s flagship library location. The nine-story behemoth almost exerts a gravitational pull, ushering you into its doors to peruse its miles (and miles) of offerings.
The location was especially enticing over one weekend in late April. That’s because the library announced over 9,000 of its catalog LPs would be up for sale for $1 apiece.
With folk, rock, spoken word, gospel, and everything in between, the vinyl-lovers of the Chicago area converged on the sale.
Walking up to the library, I saw intrepid collectors wheeling out suitcases and dollys filled with scores of record riches. For reference, I got there at 11:15 am on the first day of the sale (which started promptly at 10), and the line exceeded 80 eager shoppers.
I scored some good titles, but the high profile items (Simon and Garfunkel, Prince, etc.) were long gone. I can’t imagine there was much of anything remaining by day two, much less the final fourth day. Even still, it was awesome to see the library so full on a weekday morning and to enjoy the slightly frenzied camaraderie of music lovers of all stripes.
My article was a hit with our audience — on socials, many followers and new readers tagged their friends so they could schedule a time to get in on the fun! Read the full article here.