Many of us have boxes of old photos, home videos on VHS tapes, or cassette recordings tucked away in closets or basements. Wouldn’t it be nice to digitally preserve them and make them more accessible for friends and family? Thankfully, Madison Public Library has you covered.
The Personal Archiving Lab at Madison’s Central Library provides equipment for digitizing various types of analog materials. This free service allows community members to convert their personal collections into digital formats that can be easily stored, shared, and preserved for future generations.
The lab supports conversion of VHS tapes, VHS-C tapes, DVDs (not BluRay), audio cassettes, MiniDV tapes, photographs, negatives, slides, and paper-based documents.
To use the equipment, you’ll need to complete a brief 20-30 minute tutorial with library staff. These tutorials are offered as drop-in sessions (no appointment necessary) at the Central Library on Mondays from 2-4pm through August 2025, with some dates excluded.
For those interested in family history, local history, or simply preserving personal memories, the Personal Archiving Lab is a fantastic community resource!