NORFOLK, Va. - Many people in the community were heartbroken when the Naro video store shut down.
The Naro was one of a few remaining video stores of its kind on the East Coast until it closed its doors last summer.
Tim Cooper and Linda McGreevy, who spent 30 years building their collection of 42,000 movies and shows, decided to donate their collection from the store to the Old Dominion University’s Perry Library.
McGreevy taught at ODU for three decades in the art department.
ODU plans to categorize all the videos and create a unique space for the project. It will take a year and a half to put together, the university said.
Students and the community will have access to the collection once it is completed.
"We just couldn't let the community that loved us so much and were so happy with us be bereft of it," McGreevy said.
Stuart Frazer is ODU's interim librarian and spoke to News 3 about their generous donation. He said a section of the Perry Library will be transformed into what the Naro used to look like.
The Naro was a staple of the Ghent neighborhood and the last video store of its kind in the state.
Frazer said there were setbacks due to the pandemic; however, the library is still working to create the new space and hopes to be done in a year and a half.
