PCCLD to preserve history with public “memory labs”

Tiffany Wismer
·1 min read

(PUEBLO, Colo.) — A new project for archiving memories is underway through the Pueblo City-County Library District (PCCLD). The Mellon Foundation recently awarded the PCCLD $250,000 to preserve the history and culture of communities throughout Southeastern Colorado.

Regional Memory Labs is an archiving initiative that provides equipment and training to people for the DIY digitization of their personal collections—recordings, documents, videos, photos, and more, can all be preserved in a modern, digital format.

“History is made locally by ordinary people living in a place,” said Aaron Ramirez, PCCLD’s manager of Local History and Genealogy. “One of our goals is to raise awareness of the principles of archiving and to help people understand that their personal and community histories are an important part of the cultural and historical landscape of Southeastern Colorado.”

The five-year project will allow for the creation of six permanent Satellite Memory Labs and five Mobile Memory Labs across 16 counties in Southeastern Colorado. Memory labs will allow users to digitize the following:

  • Photographs

  • Photo and slide negatives

  • Documents

  • Outdated video media, including 16mm film, 8mm, Super 8mm, VHS, VHS-C, S-VHS and MiniDV

  • Audio cassettes

  • 3.5-inch floppy disks and more

“The Southeastern region was settled long before Colorado became a state,” Ramirez continued. “The diversity of the region, of the land and of the people, has left its impact and it’s important to us, as archivists, to preserve this rich, diverse history before it disappears.”

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