1. Kathryn Kuntz, Rapid City Public Library
Memory Lab
Kathryn Kuntz, Rapid City Public Library

2. Inspiration for RCPL Memory Lab
Outside programs:
The Memory Lab at the D.C. Public Library
Preservation Week
Previous RCPL programs:
Archives Roadshow
We borrowed ideas from other libraries’ programs and from our previous programs. We liked the Memory Lab at the D.C. Public Library because of how it approaches personal archiving, teaching digitization skills, and the technology it offers. Preservation Week’s mission coincided perfectly with the program that we imagined for our patrons. The free informational handouts were a great resource to get people more interested in personal archiving. Our past program, Archives Roadshow was a pop-up program where we set up a booth and scanner in the lobby. People could drop-in with archival materials to have them scanned on the spot. We specified that the images had to be “historic” and local. Overall, the program was unsuccessful because of this restriction. We had one person bring in materials, which was a photograph collection of Spearfish Canyon. With all this in mind, we wanted to create of a program that was welcoming to patrons and approached digitization is a different way.

3. The purpose for this program was to use it as an experiment to see if there was a local interest in preserving personal and historic archival materials through digitization. We also just wanted to see if it would be successful. We also were using it as a collection development tool for our digital archives.

4. Promotion Facebook and Twitter Local History Room Video Press release
Rapid City Journal Article
Black Hills Fox Interview
SD Public Radio calendar
Other community calendars

5. Equipment Gimp, an open access software similar to Photoshop
HP Scanjet 8300 and HP Scanning Software
Nikon Digital SLR Camera D7100
USB drives
Donation forms
Preservation items: gloves, corrugated boards, book weights
This list does not include the staff members that helped make this project possible. We scheduled three staff members to work the event in our Rapid City Historical Collection Room to help scan and answer any questions about the program or the space we held it in.

6. Statistics 14 patrons brought in materials
23 walk-ins wanted to know more about the program
366 total files created from digitized materials
50% of the files were donated to the library
15 telephone calls regarding the program

7. DIGITIZATION SAMPLES
Patron donated materials: High School diploma for Lead, SD; Certificate of service in the Lead, SD Fire Department; 1972 Flood photos, and personal/family photos.

8. After the program
The donated items will be accessible on our BiblioBoard site and will be integrated, if possible, into digital exhibits via Omeka.

9. Digitization Station
Due to the popularity of the Memory Lab event, we have set up one of the computers in the local history with the HP scanner we used during event, our slide scanner with trays to hold both slides and negatives, and sets of instructions for the flat-bed scanner and the slide scanner. We will be pursuing funding for additional equipment, as well.