Son[i]a #208
Megan Prelinger
Megan Prelinger is a cultural historian and an outsider librarian. In 2004 she co-founded the Prelinger Library in San Francisco with her partner Rick Prelinger. A community workshop, this independent, experimental research library is primarily a collection of 19th and 20th century historical ephemera, periodicals, maps and books.
Inspired by the physical process of exploring landscapes, the library has its own geospatial classification system and is arranged in a way that fosters browsing-based discoveries and serendipity. Prelinger also conducts research on technology and graphic design and is the author of the books “Another Science Fiction” and “Inside the machine”.
SON[I]A talks with Megan Prelinger about ephemeral literature, the inner workings of the Prelinger Library and the possibility of looking at the world through the lens of everyday evidence.
Radio
Originally published as a hidden track or 'easter egg', this text was excerpted and adapted by Megan Prelinger from an editorial column titled 'Poles and Zeros' published in 'Proceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers' in September, 1961. It goes back to the very first instances in which the term 'radio' was used, reconstructing a chronology of how it has been used until it became a shared notion and concept.
Conversation with Rick Prelinger on his film collection
This is a conversation by email with ephemeral film collector Rick Prelinger, which took place on April 2011.
Deleted scenes
We dig up some unreleased fragments of the interview with the archivist, writer and filmmaker Rick Prelinger.
Rick Prelinger
Interview with Rick Prelinger about home movies, alternative anthropology, lost landscapes and what he calls “archival anxiety syndrome”.
Rick Prelinger
Interview with Rick Prelinger, an archivist, writer, filmmaker, outsider librarian and founder of the Prelinger Archives.