I have over two melon crates of classic vinyl that goes back to the late 60s (not including re-issues). I also have a JVC turntable from the early 80s that I have connected to a battery operated preamp. It is connected to the sound card on my computer, and I have been digitizing them for the past five or so years. The stylus dampener on the original cartridge disintegrated over time... was not fun finding a halfway decent replacement.
Incidentally, I am also doing something similar with my cassettes that still work. Have had a number of classic concerts recorded from King Biscuit Flower Hour, etc. that now don't sound too terrible on my iPod. If anyone plans on doing that as well, recommend you have the screw-apart shell from an old Maxell or TDK cassette handy for doing quick repairs. I've had quite a few tapes separate from the spool leaders when loosening them up by fast forwarding and rewinding. Again, just like finding a cartridge replacement, finding a decent auto-reversing tape deck to replace the one whose belts are now shot was not easy either.