Memory Lab Network

April 22, 2019: One Year Post Bootcamp

Written by Blake Hatton, Pueblo City-County Public Library

It’s difficult to believe that it has already been more than a year since we traveled out to Washington, D.C. to meet with Siobhan and the rest of D.C. Public Library’s Digital Memory Lab staff. Since then, in bringing digitization to the community, we have gained invaluable glimpses into our community history that will eventually evolve into integral pieces of Pueblo’s cultural narrative. In addition to being extremely informative, the sessions we had with the Library of Congress staff were immensely enjoyable as we learned how to relate archiving best practices to the community so they could preserve their histories physically and digitally.

Even though the Memory Lab has come with its own set of frustrations, including the gremlins that inhabit all technology, and especially older technology, the Memory Lab has been immensely rewarding as we hear stories of individuals who have been unable to even view the videos they have had squirreled away for the past two decades or more. One patron that sticks out in my mind is the gentleman who has informed us that he has over 10,000 slides in his collection that he has inherited from family, and would never be able to afford to have digitized by an outside service. We have had a wide variety of formats come through the lab, from VHS-C and MiniDV in the AV Station to 35 mm slides, lantern slides, and at one point, even a tintype in the photo station.

One of our favorite aspects of the Digital Memory Lab is the engagement that it has generated in our community. Since we opened the Digital Memory Lab to the public in late September of 2018, we have had over 120 users take the orientation for our Memory Lab. In addition, the vast majority of these users are individuals who were not frequent visitors to our department, meaning that the Digital Memory Lab has been able to engage with individuals throughout the community. To date, the Memory Lab has so far appeared in our local newspaper and on one of our local AM radio shows. The interest in the Memory Lab has been astounding, and we are grateful to have had this opportunity to engage with our community in this way.