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Off the Shelf: Preserving memories at the Library

Do you have home movies collecting dust in storage because you don’t have a way to play them anymore? How about audiocassette tapes? VHS tapes? We suspect many of you have a treasure trove of memories that you can’t access.

That’s why New Ulm Public Library applied for the Memory Lab Network grant from the Washington, D.C., Public Library (DCPL) in partnership with the Public Library Association and the Library of Congress. We were one of seven public libraries nationwide selected to receive training, mentoring and financial support to create digitization stations and educational public programs for personal digital archiving.

After a brief delay because of the epic snowstorm, we spent four days last week in “boot camp” in Washington learning about archive and digitization standards from experts at the Library of Congress and DCPL. Yes, the Library of Congress, the largest library in the world. We were a bit intimidated. Then two digital archivists presented their work in such a down-to-earth way that we knew this would be successful in New Ulm. We received a lot of technical information, but we also learned practical strategies for how to market the service and make it accessible to the public.

We learned more specific information about the project, including what it is and is not. What is it? It is the library creating a digitization station, and we plan for it to include a VHS analog-to-digital converter, a cassette analog-to-digital converter, and a large flatbed scanner. It also is a do-it-yourself resource. Library staff will teach classes on the equipment, and we’ll be available to troubleshoot, but the goal is for us to give you the tools to independently digitize your materials. What is it not? It is not a digitization station for reel-to-reel films such as 16 mm; that technology is too sophisticated for the library to manage. It also is not a studio for recording new material.

The grant is a yearlong project, and one of our next steps will involve assessing our space and equipment needs. We want the Memory Lab to be a popular resource, so we will be reaching out to the public and keeping you informed about the process.

Your first step is to start looking for those old camcorder tapes and family histories you audiotaped on cassette. Soon you will be able to relive the memories you captured years ago.

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