Although TV has been the medium of choice for many people following the Persian Gulf conflict, copies of yesterday's newspapers will remain in scrapbooks and attics for a long time.

National newspapers sold out quickly as University students and State College residents rushed to buy history in banner headlines.

Scott Littlefield (sophomore-political science) arrived too late to buy a copy of the New York Times and had to settle for reading a library copy in the Pattee Periodicals Room.

By 9 a.m., most New York Times and Philadelphia Inquirer vending machines around campus stood empty. Bill Reynolds, manager of Graham's, 124 S. Allen St., said his store had sold 40 copies of the New York Times by 9:30 a.m., just 1½ hours after it opened.

Other out-of-town papers, including the Washington Post and the Philadelphia Inquirer, also sold out quickly, he said. Reynolds said he would try to get more copies of the Times to satisfy increased demand during the remainder of the conflict.

Although he had watched TV coverage of the previous night's events, Littlefield said he wanted to read more comprehensive accounts in the Times. And Robert Baker, a University journalism instructor specializing in media history, said newspapers often become keepsakes.

"Most people see this as an important day of their life, and (a newspaper) is a tool by which they can hold on to the moment," Baker said.

Collecting newspapers from noteworthy days, however, is not a conscious activity for the majority of those who do it, Baker said.

"It becomes a habit -- a lot of people do it because their parents did it," he said.

Many students said their parents or grandparents keep front pages of newspapers relating to historical events, such as the end of World War II or the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Baker said. Littlefield said his aunt has a newspaper from the day Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.

"If I had one of these, I'd keep it," Littlefield said, holding up the library copy of the Times. "It's kind of neat to be able to say you were around and were following what happened."

Bob Ashley, editor of the Centre Daily Times, said a staff member told him a woman bought 30 copies of yesterday's edition. Others have been buying 10 at a time, he said.

"A day like this is a defining moment for a newspaper," Ashley said, adding that since people collect newspapers to remember memorable events, newspaper staffs must be especially careful in assembling the day's edition.

"The last event that I remember having this much news impact was the Challenger explosion," Ashley said.

An extra 2,000 copies of The Daily Collegian were published yesterday after space was added to expand coverage of the war in the gulf.