Digitize Home Movies, Videos, Photos For Free In San Leandro

SAN LEANDRO, CA — Do you have boxes stored in closets or the garage containing old home movies, VHS tapes, and hundreds of photos? You can't throw them away, but many of them you cannot view anymore.

The San Leandro Library just became a valuable resource.

The DIY Memory Lab is a do-it-yourself space with equipment to digitize home movies and audiocassette tapes, and scan photographs and slides, along with other personal/family keepsakes.

It is located in the History Room on the second floor of the San Leandro Public Library.

The lab has step-by-step instructions for user reference, and staff or volunteers on hand for technical support.

Get a SLPL library card, attend an orientation, and sign the Memory Lab User Agreement in order to book a reservation to digitize your own materials.

The library provided this information to get you started.

What Can I Digitize?

• Photos
• Photo negatives
• Slides
• Other paper-based documents
• VHS Tapes
• Audio cassette tapes

How do I make an appointment?

• Get a library card. If you do not have a library card, you can fill out this online application and get your physical card when you come in. Library cards are free for all California residents. You will be asked to present photo ID with your current address to retrieve your card when you come in.
• Memory Lab orientation is available 24/7 online. Occasionally, in-person orientations are held. To check for in-person orientations, check here and search for "Memory Lab."
• Sign a user agreement. If you use the online orientation, sign the user agreement when you come in for your first appointment. If you attend an in-person orientation, a user agreement will be provided at the presentation. You can view the user agreement here.
• Make your appointment here! Please make sure to reserve the correct station. Available time slots are indicated by green bars.

Preparing for your Appointment

• Select items to digitize & check their condition.
• Make sure you have a USB storage device or external hard drive with sufficient space to save your digitization, or your login for an account with an online storage service (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.).
• Plan your time. Digitizing VHS takes at least as long as the running time of the VHS tape. For example, if your video is 90 minutes long, it will take at least 90 minutes to digitize the files, plus time to prepare the equipment and transfer the digitized files to your storage device. Scanning photos, slides, negatives, and documents take at least 2 minutes per photo, not including the time to prepare the equipment and transfer the digitized photos onto your storage device.
• Come to the History Room on the 2nd floor of the main library and check-in with the volunteer. The volunteer will do a quick visual inspection of your items to verify their condition and will get you setup at the Memory Lab station you reserved.

Equipment and User Guides

Each of the stations has thorough directions to walk you through using the equipment. They are linked below, but are also available at the stations when you come for your appointment. Instructions are available in Spanish and Chinese for the scanner and VHS transfer station.

• Epson 12000XL Scanner - flatbed size 12.2"x17.2"
  • Scanner user guide
  • Epson 12000XL 掃描器使用說明
  • Uso del escáner Epson 12000XL
• Epson FastFoto FF-680
  • Epson FastFoto FF-680 User Guide
• Panasonic AG-1980 VCR
  • VHS Transfer User Guide
  • VHS Transfer User Guide - Chinese
  • VHS Transfer User Guide - Spanish
• TASCAM 202MKVII Cassette Deck
  • Audiocassette Tape Transfer Guide

When Can I Use the Memory Lab?

The Memory Lab equipment is located in the San Leandro History room, and available by appointment during History Room hours:

• Mondays 5pm-7pm: Scanning station
• Tuesdays 1 pm - 4 pm: Scanning station, VHS/Audio Cassette Transfer Station
• Wednesdays 2:30 pm- 5:00 pm: Scanning station
• Thursdays 1pm-3pm & 5:30-8:00: Scanning station
• Fridays 12pm-3pm: Scanning station, VHS/Audio Cassette Transfer Station
• Saturdays 11am-2pm: Scanning station, VHS/Audio Cassette Transfer Station

Memory Lab availability is subject to change due to volunteer availability. If your appointment is impacted by this, the library will reach out to you at the email provided on your appointment submission.