About the Memory Lab
Do you have old photos, slides, home movies or cassette tapes? Would you like to ensure that these memories, many of which you may no longer have a way to view or access, are saved for your family or personal history? Visit Montville Library’s new Memory Lab!
What is the Memory Lab?
The Memory Lab is a free, do-it-yourself space for making high-quality digitized personal archive collections. Using professional-grade equipment, library users can digitize multiple formats. We opened the Lab with the ability to accommodate slides, negatives, photographic prints, Super 8 film, audio cassettes, documents and VHS tapes. The Lab also accommodates VHS-C, 8mm Video8 as well as MiniDV cassettes. The Memory Lab at the Montville Township Public Library consists of two digitization stations:
- One station for scanning photographs, slides, and negatives as well as flat documents. The scanner is a large format Epson 12000 that with a scanning space of 12” x 17.” This station also helps digitize 8mm Video8 as well as MiniDV cassettes.
- One transfer station for digitizing VHS tapes, VHS-C tapes and audio cassettes.
The Memory Lab provides a space for the community to learn how to access, digitize and share old videos, audio recordings, photographs and slides.
The Lab is available for three-hour appointments Monday through Thursday, 9 am to 6 pm and Friday 9 am to 4 pm. Appointments can be made here or by calling 973-402-0900.
How it Works
The lab provides equipment for digitizing home movies and scanning photographs and slides. It’s a do-it-yourself (DIY) model, meaning we provide step-by-step instructions, but you control the process from start to finish.
Formats Accepted: (Customer Provided)
- 8mm Cassette
- 8mm / Super 8mm film
- Audio Cassette
- Digital8 Cassette
- Hi8 Cassette
Formats Saved On:
- External hard drive
- USB
- Cloud Storage
- MiniDV Cassette
- Photos/slides/negatives
- VHS
- VHS-C
- Vinyl records
Appointment Policies and Procedures
To use the Memory Lab, users must:
- Attend an orientation/training session.
- Make an appointment.
- Memory Lab appointments can be made by calling the library at 973-402-0900 or on our events calendar.
- Agree to sign the User Agreement when they arrive for their first appointment, before accessing the equipment.
- User Agreements are kept on file for 3 years.
- Patrons under age 18 will need parent/guardian signature.
- Provide storage for your digitized memories
For other essential guidelines on how to use the Memory Lab, please review our policy.
