As a media historian, I often feel that I must work hard to shore up my "real research" street cred. Many fellow historians look down embarrasedly at their shoes if you mention needing to rewatch something on your TiVo before you teach a class.
The LoC has really helped me out in this area. When I need to see old 60s TV shows that are [gasp] not yet released on DVD, I can get them delivered to me on real film, in real silver canisters up in the Moving Image Reading Room. I even have to wear white cotton gloves so that I don't contribute to the decay of the archive. I felt my research credibility skyrocket the minute that I put them on.
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