The Tacoma Public Library is among three libraries selected nationally to be part of the final cohort of the Memory Lab Network, opens a new window!
Established in 2015 at the Washington DC Public Library, the Memory Lab is a space that users can reserve to have access to equipment and resources to help them digitize their own photographs, home movies, and other content. Users receive training materials to get them started and the Memory Lab hosts workshops and events around digitization, digital preservation, and personal digital archiving. With support from the Institute for Museum and Library Services, the DC Public Library established the Memory Lab Network to create similar labs at public libraries across the country. A total of 16 public libraries were selected with Tacoma Public Library being among the final three to participate in the training and receive funding to create a Memory Lab.
In a press release issued by the DC Public Library, opens a new window, Memory Lab Network Project Manager Siobhan Hagan said, "People and families in three communities are one step closer to being able to digitize and preserve videotapes, photographs and other family keepsakes at their library. Their libraries have been awarded a Memory Lab Network Grant. Santa Fe Public Library, NM; Tacoma Public Library, WA; and Harnett County Public Library, NC are the recent recipients of the grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and administered by the DC Public Library. This is the third and final cohort to receive grants. The program is modeled after the DC Public Library’s Memory Lab, which features technology like professional-grade scanners and VCRs along with step-by-step instructions for saving items in a digital format. Since the lab’s launch in 2016, patrons have booked more than 1,400 sessions and digitized more than 4,000 hours of video, audio cassettes and other personal materials."
The new TPL Memory Lab will be open when the re-model work in the Main Library building has been completed. We look forward to providing this new service which will give the community the tools and training they need to ensure these important family stories are preserved and accessible in the future.
