Settling on a title for Megan Shaw Prelinger was tough. āRenegade librarian,ā ācultural historian,ā ācollector of the uncommon,ā and āarrangement schema superstarā were but a few of the ideas that hopped in and out of my brain while we spoke inside her namesake library, San FranciscoāsĀ Prelinger Library. Specializing in bygone artifacts and ephemera and organized by a system Megan devised herself, the library is an extraordinary place.
But, when I asked Megan what sheād consider the most appropriate title for herself, ālibrary builder,ā was her humble and simple suggestion. āIt can kind of encompass all of that,ā she says. āCollection building, community building, and transforming the process of research into something thatās like an institution but isnāt.ā
