POTSDAM – John Otis, manager since 2003 of Strawberry Fields Music, 8 Market St., has bought the business from owner Christian Parker.

Otis, who has worked at Strawberry Fields Music since 1998, when the shop was at the corner of Main and Market, says “It’s a wonderful way to make a living.”

“I think selling recorded music to people for their enjoyment is a great job,” Otis says.

In addition to selling new and used CDs, the shop also sells new and used vinyl LPs, “which I’m very excited about.”

Otis says he is seeing a bit of a resurgence of interest in the old record albums even as more and more recorded music is carried around on iPods and other MP3 players these days.

About the vinyl disks, Otis says, “That’s how I collected music when I was young. There’s nothing like it in terms of sound.

“Lately more and more people are coming around to buying vinyl and collecting records. I can’t explain it, but it’s rekindled my interest. It’s so much more interesting than having 3,000 songs on an iPod, as convenient as that is.”

“What I want to do is introduce people who have never been in a record store to it. With the predominance of MP3s, a lot of people have never had the experience of looking through the stacks and the “Wow!” factor of finding a record they want.”

Otis says he plans no dramatic changes to the store. He will continue to sell general music accessories, posters, T-shirts, headphones, and the like.

Hours of operation are and will generally continue from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., but he says that might be adjusted a bit for the summer.

He also says he has tentative plans for a grand re-opening in early September.