Prelinger Library
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2004
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Prelinger Library does
Prelinger Library is an independent, free research library founded in 2004 by Megan Prelinger and Rick Prelinger in San Francisco's South-of-Market neighborhood. It maintains a curated collection of 19th and 20th century American historical ephemera, periodicals, maps, and books — much of it image-rich and in the public domain — organized via a unique geospatial taxonomy spanning six rows. The collection comprises over 700 archival boxes of ephemera, approximately 10,000 zine items, and 560+ periodical titles, and is used by visual artists, scholars, activists, students, and the general public, with up to 1,000 visitors per year.
The library's core offerings are a free, walk-in physical research space open three days per week, an artist and researcher residency program (up to four residents per year, $500–$1,000 stipends), and the Place Talks public events series accompanied by a live sound art installation ("The Instrullation"). Digital offerings include digitized books hosted via Internet Archive and the Stacks Explorer browsing interface (V1 launched 2018, V2 launched 2024), a Google Maps-like spatial browsing tool. The library is an unincorporated nonprofit and a sponsored project of Intersection for the Arts, which provides fiscal sponsorship, 501(c)(3) status, and administrative infrastructure.
Revenue is 100% community-supported through individual donations (via Every.org), foundation grants (Kenneth Rainin Foundation, Haas Foundation, The Seed Fund, Peradam Foundation, and others), and founders' earned income. There are no access fees, no appointments required, and materials may be scanned, copied, photographed, and (digitally) downloaded. The annual operating budget is approximately $28,000, and operations are primarily volunteer-run with a small hosting consortium and a collections steward.
Prelinger Library firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Prelinger Library
- Legal name
- Prelinger Library
- Website
- https://prelingerlibrary.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2004
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Prelinger Library industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Independent Research Library
- NAICS
- Libraries and Archives (51921), Libraries and Archives (519210), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192)
- SIC
- Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Libraries, Archives & Special Collections (BPAGAHAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Digital Library & Electronic Resources Operations (e-Resources, Repositories, Licensing) (EDAEAGAF)
Keywords
Where Prelinger Library is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Prelinger Library business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Individual Donations: Individual donors contribute through the Every.org platform (previously Flipcause). Donors range from under $100 to over $10,000 annually.
- Foundation Grants: Support from foundations including Kenneth Rainin Foundation, Haas Foundation, The Seed Fund, Peradam Foundation, and others.
- Fiscal Sponsorship: Sponsored project of Intersection for the Arts, providing 501(c)3 services and administrative support.
- Earned Income: Founders' earned income supplements library operations. The library is not incorporated officially but is a member of the Intersection Incubator.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free Public Access |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Prelinger Library product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Prelinger Library operates an independent research library providing free public access to a physical collection of 19th and 20th century American historical ephemera, periodicals, maps, and books organized through a unique geospatial taxonomy. The library supports an Artist & Researcher Residency Program and offers digital access through an Internet Archive digitization partnership and the proprietary Stacks Explorer browsing interface. Visitors can scan, copy, photograph, and download materials at no charge during scheduled open hours.
Product overview
The Prelinger Library is an independent research library offering access to a physical collection of 19th and 20th century historical ephemera, periodicals, maps, and books. The core offering is the Physical Research Library Collection, organized through a unique geospatial taxonomy across six rows. Supporting offerings include the Online Book Catalog accessible through Internet Archive, the Stacks Explorer digital browsing interface (V1 2018, V2 2024), an Artist & Researcher Residency Program, the extensive Periodical Collection (560+ titles), Place Talks public events series, The Instrullation sound art performances, and digitization services through Internet Archive partnership. The library operates as a free, appropriation-friendly workshop open to the public during scheduled hours.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- Up to 1,000 visitors per year
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Prelinger Library
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Prelinger Library technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature2 records
Prelinger Library partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Internet ArchivecoreBook scanning partnership with Internet Archive commenced in October 2006. Internet Archive hosts digital collections and provides digitization activity. Rick Prelinger serves on the Internet Archive board. The Prelinger Library catalog is accessible via archive.org.
- Intersection for the ArtscoreFiscal sponsor providing 501(c)3 services, incubation and consulting through the Intersection Incubator program. Provides administrative infrastructure and fundraising platform management.
- Long Now FoundationcoreEvent hosting partnership for Lost Landscapes of San Francisco benefit screenings. Co-hosts events and manages ticket sales for these events.
- Golden Gate Bird AllianceminorCo-founder Megan Prelinger is on staff at Golden Gate Bird Alliance. Organizations share community and allyship.
- Studio for Urban ProjectsminorCollaborated on Greening the City Library installation in 2009 and 'In Popular Terms' exhibition at Eyebeam Gallery in 2007.
- Oakland Museum of CaliforniaminorHosted Lost Landscapes of Oakland event in February 2014 and Bay Motion exhibition featuring loaned materials (2013-2014).
- SFMOMAminorPartnered on 'From Repository to Workshop: Reinventing the Library and Archives' course (2009, 2010) and Pickpocket Almanac project.
- ExploratoriumminorLibrary featured in Observatory Library exhibit (2013) and Shorelines and Timelines outdoor installation (2009).
- Third Coast International Audio FestivalminorCollaboration in March 2008 for audio content related to the collection.
- Reanimation LibraryminorAllied project and collaborator. Andrew Beccone's Reanimation Library is a similar independent library in Brooklyn collecting outdated books.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Prelinger Library competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Internet Archive: A massive nonprofit digital library that hosts Prelinger Library's digitized catalog and shares board-level leadership (Rick Prelinger). It is the closest broad incumbent—analogous mission (open access to knowledge), but vastly larger scope, including web, audiovisual, and book digitization.
- Bancroft Library (UC Berkeley): A major university special collections library with deep holdings in Western American history and ephemera. It is a broader incumbent whose California-based, researcher-serving special collections mission overlaps with Prelinger's research library role.
Direct peers
- Interference Archive: A Brooklyn-based volunteer-run archive of social movement ephemera including posters, pamphlets, and zines. Comparable in operating model (volunteer-run, free public access, focus on activism-related historical materials) and collection type (image-rich paper ephemera).
- Reanimation Library: Andrew Beccone's independent library in Brooklyn that collects outdated books and provides open public access to a curated, image-rich collection. Identified in the data as an allied project, it is the closest direct comparative—an independent, volunteer-supported, ephemera-focused research library with no fees.
- Center for the Study of Political Graphics: A Los Angeles-based nonprofit archive of protest and movement posters from the 1960s onward. It shares Prelinger's mission of preserving image-rich historical ephemera for activists, scholars, and artists, with free public access to a curated special collection.
Emerging players
- Henry Art Gallery: A contemporary art museum with a small research library and archive that supports artist residencies and unique collections. Comparable in combining a small special collection with artist-residency programming and a free or low-cost public mission.
- Maynard Institute: While primarily a journalism training organization, it operates a historical archive of newspapers and clippings focused on diversity in news media—an overlap with Prelinger's mission of preserving underrepresented historical materials for research and reuse.
Regional players
- San Francisco Public Library: The Bay Area's primary public library system, also serving researchers and hosting historical collections. Comparable in geography and free-public-access mission, but attached to municipal government and far larger in scale and hours.
Others
- Exploratorium: A San Francisco-based informal learning institution with which Prelinger has partnered (Observatory Library exhibit, 2013). It is an adjacent cultural/educational nonprofit that shares Prelinger's pattern of community-driven programming and Bay Area foot traffic.
- SFMOMA: A San Francisco art museum that partnered with Prelinger on the 'From Repository to Workshop: Reinventing the Library and Archives' course. Comparable as a regional cultural institution that occasionally draws on Prelinger's archival collections for programming.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Prelinger Library social profiles
Digital presencePrelinger Library financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Prelinger Library leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Prelinger Library funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Prelinger Library M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Prelinger Library
What does Prelinger Library do?
Prelinger Library operates an independent research library providing free public access to a physical collection of 19th and 20th century American historical ephemera, periodicals, maps, and books organized through a unique geospatial taxonomy. The library supports an Artist & Researcher Residency Program and offers digital access through an Internet Archive digitization partnership and the proprietary Stacks Explorer browsing interface. Visitors can scan, copy, photograph, and download materials at no charge during scheduled open hours.
Is Prelinger Library a public or private company?
Prelinger Library is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Prelinger Library founded?
Prelinger Library was founded in 2004. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Prelinger Library based?
Prelinger Library is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Prelinger Library make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Individual Donations are the primary driver. The others are foundation Grants, fiscal Sponsorship and earned Income.
Who are Prelinger Library's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Internet Archive and Bancroft Library (UC Berkeley). Direct peers are Interference Archive, Reanimation Library and Center for the Study of Political Graphics. Emerging players are Henry Art Gallery and Maynard Institute. San Francisco Public Library is listed as a regional player. Others are Exploratorium and SFMOMA.
Does Prelinger Library have an API?
No public API is recorded for Prelinger Library.
What industry is Prelinger Library in?
Prelinger Library's product category is Independent Research Library. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAHAF, Libraries, Archives & Special Collections, with a secondary code of EDAEAGAF, Digital Library & Electronic Resources Operations (e-Resources, Repositories, Licensing). Its NAICS code is 51921 and its SIC code is 2741.