This record shop wants to re-open as a music library

The oldest record shop in Dallas needs your help.

Seoul in South Korea may have dibs on the top spot when it comes to being the world’s most impressive vinyl library, but this shop in Dallas is also hoping to swap the cash register for the library stamp when it re-opens as a music archive.

A cornerstone of the city’s music industry for almost sixty years, Dallas’ oldest record shop Top Ten Records may have been open since 1958, but it has been unable to cash in on the renewed interest in records following a switch to CD, DVD and tapes sales in the last two decades.

Now it’s seeking $40,000 to re-open as a media archive, bringing vinyl records back into the fold. As Dallas Observer reports, a large part of that money will be used to purchase a greater selection of music to add to its specialities in hip-hop, heavy metal, gospel and Tejano.

The shop would be run as a non-profit community space where people could borrow CDs, tapes, and ultimately also vinyl. As owner Mike Polk says: “I’ve had several people talk to me about buying, but in the music industry, stores don’t exist unless you go all vinyl. In the last 20 years, all we’ve carried is CDs and movies, so I was interested in doing vinyl. I’m really happy because there’s no doubt in my mind that they’re gonna [succeed].

Music aside, the shop entered regional folklore in 1963 as the last place that Dallas police officer J.R. Tippit was seen making a phone call before he was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald, who had shot and killed President John F. Kennedy earlier that day.

Watch the shop’s Indie GoGo video pitch below and pledge your support here.