Nashville library launches Memory Lab for digitizing home movies
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Starting Monday, anyone can book time to turn their old home movies, photos and slideshows into timeless digital artifacts.
Why it matters: Every family has a stash of old VHS tapes or slides that hold priceless memories. But as VCRs and projectors became outdated, many of them slid into obscurity.
- Now the Nashville Public Library is offering to help preserve those memories for generations to come.
▶️ State of play: The library's new Memory Lab program, which launches Monday at the Donelson branch, features reservable space with tech and software that can convert VHS tapes and Polaroids into pixels and megabytes.
Flashback: The library previously dabbled with this idea last year through its "home movie project," which allowed Nashvillians to apply for a chance to have their movies digitized by preservationists.
- The goal is to create a video time capsule of life in Nashville over the years.
The latest effort is a more personalized, self-service approach. Participants can book time to come in and use library equipment to convert their family memories into digital files.
- They'll have help from library staff as needed during their session, but the end result is theirs to keep.
What they're saying: "Memory Lab is more than just technology — it's a creative space where anyone can reconnect with their history and capture moments that otherwise might have been lost forever," library director Terri Luke said in a statement.
Between the lines: Paying a private company to digitize movies can cost $30 per VHS tape, but the self-service Memory Lab is free.
The big picture: Nashville is the latest library system to launch a free digitization service. Systems in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Brooklyn have already created similar programs, as have libraries in Williamson and Rutherford counties.
If you go: You can reserve a four-hour session at the Memory Lab online.
- Pro tip: Don't forget to bring an external hard drive to save your high-resolution files.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to say that anyone (not just library cardholders) can use the Memory Lab.