Have a large box of old family photographs or documents you’re worried something could happen to?
The Johnson County Genealogical Society is here to help.
Beginning Monday, the society, in partnership with the Johnson County Library, will begin taking reservations for “Memory Lab,” a free service that will provide equipment for people who want to digitize their old pictures, home movies and slides.
You must make a reservation
The machines, which include various sizes of photo scanners and equipment, will be able to digitize photos, slides, photo negatives, 8- and Super 8-mm movies.
The Memory Lab equipment will be at the Central Resource Library in Overland Park and will be available through online reservations only, for two-and-a-half hour sessions.
There are currently no restrictions on the number of times a person can reserve the Memory Lab.
The reservations are required so a volunteer can be present to help operate the machinery and get the material onto a thumb drive, said Marsha Bennett, vice president in charge of education and outreach for the genealogical society.
Lab will be available each weekday
The lab will not have a dedicated room at the library, so that the space can be chosen and equipment brought in to meet an individual’s need, she said.
Lab hours have been set for Monday, Tuesday and Friday mornings beginning at 9:30 a.m., and Wednesdays and Thursdays from 1 pm. to 3:30 p.m.
Anyone who can’t make those hours can contact the society or the library’s genealogy desk, according to information in a short video about the project.
There’s growing demand for digitization services
Users are advised to prioritize their material and to not bring anything dirty or moldy.
Bennett said there’s been growing interest in digitization as the keepers of family history get older.
“There’s a demand coming for it because people are downsizing and don’t have room for all that stuff. It’s a good time to promote it,” she said.
At the same time, there’s a lack of private businesses doing that type of work, she said. And some people are reluctant to send treasured family items away to a digitizing service.
Memory Lab will be unique in KC metro
Once it’s up and running, the Memory Lab at the Central Resource Library will be in a network with 17 other such operations around the country.
The effort was begun in 2018 by the DC Public Library.
There are no other Memory Labs near Kansas City and only a few in the Midwest, Bennett said.
Lab’s opening marks special occasion for society
The genealogical society, which has about 300 members, has a “library within a library” and owns about 8,000 items for research.
The nonprofit has been operating alongside the county library for 50 years, since the main library was at the Antioch branch in Merriam.
The lab is, “our 50th anniversary special project giving back to the community,” she said.
The project was made possible by a partnership with the library, the Johnson County Library Foundation and a grant from the foundation, Bennett said.
There is no ending date for the lab, and Bennett said more equipment may be added in the future to digitize such things as VHS tapes and audio cassettes.
Other recent library news: Old Lackman Library building in Lenexa to be put up for sale
Roxie Hammill is a freelance journalist who reports frequently for the Post and other Kansas City area publications. You can reach her at roxieham@gmail.com.
