Memory Lab

Daily organization. Personal collections are larger than ever, spanning physical things like keepsakes and journals, to digital things like Word documents, photographs, email, and social media accounts. Taking steps to care for your stuff will help you locate, reference, and re-use what you create. 

Security. Losing track of your assets and online accounts is a threat to your online identity and personal security. This means that sometimes even deleting is a valuable personal archiving strategy. 

Legacy. What you produce purposefully (like a home movie or photograph) and what you produce in daily life (like a calendar appointment or email) could be important for your loved ones and for the cultural record.  

Complete the following steps to book your Memory Lab appointment: 

1. Get a library card. Click here for more information on how to get a library card if you do not already have one. 
2. Sign the Memory Lab waiver. Click here(PDF, 514KB) to access the Memory Lab waiver. All Memory Lab users are required to completed this waiver before using Lab equipment. Waivers will also be available to sign at the beginning of your appointment. 
3. Watch the orientation video. Users must watch the orientation video before making an appointment. This video will teach you what the Memory Lab is, how to use the lab to digitize each format the Memory Lab offers, and additional resources for those interested in digitization and preservation. Feel free to watch the introduction, then skip to watch only the section(s) for the formats you will be using. Click here to watch the orientation video on YouTube. 
4. Book an appointment. To make an appointment call (626) 403-7330 or email localhistory@southpasadenaca.gov. Patrons are required to sign a user agreement and watch the orientation video before making an appointment. Appointments are three hours long and are available on the fourth Wednesdays and Thursdays of each month. 

• Inspect your materials. Check your items for mold and damage, we are unable to accept moldy or damaged items as they risk damaging our equipment.
• Locate everything you want to save. This may include photo albums, file folders, carousels of slides, CDs of photographs, and more.
• Decide where you will store your digital files. This can be an external hard drive, 8GB (or higher) thumb drive, or to the Cloud. Note: 1 hour of video = 9 GB | 1 hour of audio = 620 MB | 1 5x7 photograph = >7MB as a JPEG vs. 40MB as a TIF.
• Organize your materials. Determine how you will sort your materials. Organize in a way that make sense to you. For example: Years, Holidays, or Stages of Life.
• Curate your collection. Do you need all the photos of the beach that you took on vacation? Or are there one or two key photos you want to preserve? Remember, making digital copies of your important items is important, but it is also time-consuming.
• Prioritize you materials. Determine which items are most important to you. These may be things requested by friends or family, or simply the thing you love most. 

• Item you have selected for digitization. Please inspect items for mold and damage; we are unable to accept moldy or damaged items as they risk damaging our equipment. Remember that 1 hour of video takes a little over an hour to digitize. Don’t try to bring too much.
• Bring a storage device. The amount of memory you need will depend on how much you will digitize. Note: 1 hour of video = 9 GB | 1 hour of audio = 620 MB | 1 5x7 photograph = >7MB as a JPEG vs. 40MB as a TIF.
• Check-in with staff at the Reference Desk. Staff will alert the person in charge, who will bring you to the Memory Lab. 

Our Memory Lab is a do-it-yourself (DIY) digitization space. We will provide written instructions in the Memory Lab, but you will control the process. Staff will not be available to provide assistance during your appointment. If you require one-on-one assistance during your appointment, sign-up for our Library eNewsletter to find out when the next staff-assisted Memory Lab program will occur.