Meet Byrun Reed: A reference librarian who enjoys spinning vinyl records

Patricia Faulhaber
·4 min read
Byrun C. Reed, a reference librarian at the Rodman Public Library in Alliance, manages the Alliance Vinyl Club. Members enjoy listening and/or collecting vinyl records, and meet and talk about the music, records and artists.
Byrun C. Reed, a reference librarian at the Rodman Public Library in Alliance, manages the Alliance Vinyl Club. Members enjoy listening and/or collecting vinyl records, and meet and talk about the music, records and artists.

Vinyl records are making a comeback as many retailers have seen an uptick in sales. Opinions vary as to why vinyl is coming back. Some say vinyl provides a better sound and others say it’s the feeling of nostalgia that is driving recent sales.

Byrun C. Reed, a reference librarian at the Rodman Public Library in Alliance, manages the Alliance Vinyl Club where those who enjoy listening and/or collecting vinyl can meet and talk about the music, records and the artists.

He graduated GlenOak High School in 1991 and Kent State University in 2016. He and his wife Georgia have six children: Graye, 26, Jade, 19, Arianna, 18, Sophia, 14, Jackson, 14 and Everett, 9. The family enjoys raising three dogs, Rosie, Norman and Kaya.

Reed has been a reference librarian at Rodman Public Library for seven years. There are a number of reasons he became a librarian.

“My parents had a World Encyclopedia that I was always thumbing through as a kid,” he said. “When I got older, I began hanging out at the main branch library in downtown Canton. A librarian gave me a piece of paper that had the Dewey Decimal System on it, and how to use it. It was like my golden ticket because navigating the card catalog was always difficult for me. This eventually led me to apply for a job as a circulation assistant at North Branch Library. I spent a year there before moving to Columbus to Ohio State, where I worked at the Fine Arts Library on campus.

“One summer I found a job working for a company that delivered musical equipment to national touring acts. I’ve worked for James Brown, Ray Charles, Little Richard, and Los Lobos to name a few. Eventually, I moved back to Canton and got back into the library system. This influenced me to get my master’s in library science and become a librarian. Libraries always felt like a home for me. It still thrills me to this day to help patrons find books and the information they need.”

Reed also enjoys working with the Alliance Vinyl Club, which meets once a month. Patrons bring their favorite records with them to the meetings. Each member has a chance to talk about their records or they sit around and just listen to the music. The club also invites special guests such as local musicians from the area who have performed and recorded locally or nationally.

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Byrun C. Reed, a reference librarian at the Rodman Public Library in Alliance, manages the Alliance Vinyl Club. Members enjoy listening and/or collecting vinyl records, and meet and talk about the music, records and artists.
Byrun C. Reed, a reference librarian at the Rodman Public Library in Alliance, manages the Alliance Vinyl Club. Members enjoy listening and/or collecting vinyl records, and meet and talk about the music, records and artists.

Share some of the daily tasks and duties you have at Rodman Library.

Our Reference Department assists patrons with questions ranging from information literacy, social service (phone numbers and addresses), internet navigation, faxing and scanning documents to general reference questions of all types.

What is your favorite thing about Rodman Library?

Our staff! I work with some of the most passionate people. We work very hard to assist the Alliance community.

How did you get interested in collecting records?

I’ve been collecting records for over 40 years. I really got into it in high school because of a local record store Checkered Records in Canton, Ohio.

The owner George was knowledgeable about music and very helpful and kind with getting you into new musicians or records you were into. It’s unfortunate that it’s not around anymore. I miss George daily.

My collection varies. I’m into collecting classical music (especially if it’s George Szell of the Cleveland Orchestra), jazz, country and bluegrass. You may as well throw in rock 'n' roll, too. I have roughly 1,200 records.

Share some details about the Alliance Vinyl Club.

Our vinyl club members are a very eclectic bunch. They all come in with a wide variety of records to play.

We average seven to 10 members each month. If we have a special guest/speaker, this can double. Our special guests are usually musicians in the area. We’ve had Chris Butler from the band Waitresses, Bob Ethington of Unit 5 in Akron/Kent, and John Petkovic of Cobra Verde and Death of Samantha in Cleveland.

We also had local authors who wrote a book about the musician Mick Ronson, who worked with David Bowie and Ian Hunter.

What are your favorite musical groups or musicians?

This varies depending on my moods. Lately, it’s been George Szell of the Cleveland Orchestra, Norman Blake (bluegrass guitarist), Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan and The Fall.

Editor's note: Five questions with ... is a Sunday feature that showcases a member of the Stark County community. If you'd like to recommend someone to participate, send an email to newsroom@cantonrep.com.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: 5 questions with Byrun Reed, a librarian, Alliance Vinyl Club member