Hordes of hipsters of all ages made their way to Norfolk, Virginia Saturday morning for a giveaway of albums, mostly vinyl, by a local public radio station that was making room for an expanding newsroom. As the Washington Post reports, WHRO switched to an all-digital format, making the collection of tens of thousands of records and CDs superfluous. The station tried selling it and donating it but found no takers for the classical music catalog stretching back fifty years.
Instead of trashing the collection, the station opened its doors. They first planned for 500 people, but demand became so great, they had to cap attendance at 1,000, split into smaller groups with specific timeslots that allow them to browse the collection for 30 minutes. A group of 100 premium ticketholders, sold for a $75 minimum donation to the public radio station, were able to search the collection for two hours before the rabble were allowed in.