Jacksonville Public Library introduces new ‘memory lab’ to digitize old film and photos

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Dust off those old photo albums and gather up those VHS tapes and 8 mm films you haven’t seen in years. It’s time to give them new life with the free, do-it-yourself digitization equipment opens today at Jacksonville Public Library’s brand-new Memory Lab.

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Located on the fourth floor of the Main Library, the Memory Lab is open to the public Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Memory lab allows visitors to restore and view old film and photos in a number of ways, including scanning and restoring family photos and slides, accessing old documents on 3.5 inch floppy disks or CDs and transferring VHS tapes, audio cassette tapes, vinyl records, even film and audio reels, into digital formats that can be shared online.

To ensure a station is available upon arrival or to ask about what to bring, please call 904-255-BOOK to speak with library staff. Interested parties can also visit jaxlibrary.org/memory for more information or to make an appointment online.

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Please note that 16 mm, 8 mm and Super 8 film transfer service and reel-to-reel audio deck are available by appointment only since staff assistance is required.

If you don’t have a library card, Jacksonville residents can sign up for free in person and online. In order to save your files, you will need to bring a flash drive or memory card or have access to a Google Photos account.

If you plan on doing any editing, check out some of the Photoshop tutorials on the library’s LinkedIn Learning before you visit the library. These video tutorials are available on demand and free with a library card.

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