In today’s issue of the paper, John Motley interviews photographer Marc Joseph, whose loving images of book and record stores from across the country (including Reading Frenzy and Jackpot Records) are hanging at Reed College through March 11. For anybody who loves the smell of dusty book jackets or the sound of people flipping through crates of vinyl, this show is one step short of being straight up porn for you. Joseph’s photos capture the anti-corporate, individualistic character of these great shops and focus on the fantastic treasures therein (Daydream Nation on vinyl, old Penguin paperbacks).

As “important works of art,” I found the photos lacking much depth—they’re well made shots of inherently interesting and evocative spaces, but they do little to transcend that. Erik Schneider, owner of Quality Pictures, has his own interesting quarrel with the works, which I don’t disagree with, either. But for fans of photography, music, books, and the dusty places that house them, I’m pretty sure you’ll find something to like here. I’ve posted a bunch of pictures from the show after the jump.

Reed’s Cooley Gallery is open Tues-Sun, noon-5 pm, and Joseph’s photographs from this series have been collected in the book New & Used with essays by Thurston Moore, Jonathan Lethem, and others, and is more successful than the gallery show in most ways.

OK, on to the pictures…