An eye-catching digital service — for free

The staff at the Oscar Grady Library in Saukville helped Kathy Korinek put her life on a “stick,” a flash drive full of videos and photos of her years growing up and raising her family.

Using the library’s Digital Media Conversion Lab, Korinek, who lives in the Town of Grafton, transferred films and photos stretching from the 1950s through the 1980s.

“We’ve taken the stick to family gatherings and shown it to people,” she said. “They loved it. It brought back a lot of memories. A lot of the older people aren’t around anymore.”

Korinek is one of dozens of people who have made use of the lab since it opened in 2012. It is unique in the area and one of the few of its kind in the state and the nation.

The lab includes equipment for scanning and storing non-copyrighted transparency slides, negatives, 8mm film, VHS tapes and DVDs.

Users do the conversion themselves after getting training from staff and watching how-to videos.

Library Director Jen Gerber got the idea for the lab after she investigated how to digitize her father’s collection of Super 8 film and slides.

“The cost was huge,” she said. 

Gerber shared the experience with her staff:

“I said, ‘What do you guys think of figuring out a way to do this for the public for free?’ My staff did a ton of research and we submitted a request for a federal grant.”

They got the grant — $5,000 through the state Department of Public Instruction,  plus $3,700 in matching funds from the Village of Saukville. 

The funds covered the cost of purchasing the equipment and repurposing a study room.

It took about a year for the staff to learn the processes, and the project was rolled out in 2012.

Almost as soon as the lab was operational, the project gained notice, winning a 2014 Governor’s Award through the Wisconsin Historical Society.

“Libraries don’t usually win this award,” Gerber said. “We were super ecstatic.”

News of the award prompted articles in library trade magazines and garnered attention from libraries around the state and across the nation.

“Library staff from Connecticut flew here to see the lab and learn how we convert things and do it at no cost,” Gerber said. “They went on to create one for themselves.”

She said a professor at the University of Wisconsin -Madison uses the lab’s experience in a class on digital conversion. 

The digital media lab is available to any library patron in Wisconsin, Gerber said.

“As long as you have a Wisconsin library card, you can use it,” she said.

“You can use it for as long as your project takes you. We have some people who have been coming in for the last six months. Sometimes people use it for two hours or for an entire day.”

The only requirement is that a person call ahead and reserve the space.

Gerber said upgrades to some of the equipment have been done through the library’s regular budget process.

“We’re constantly upgrading the equipment and that room is constantly being updated,” Gerber said. “The Friends of the Library help us whenever they can.

“We’re super proud of it. It’s one of those crazy ideas that worked out.

Korinek said she’ll be back.

“I have more film and some slides and photos that I want to digitize,” she said. “I’ll be seeing a friend from kindergarten in May. I have some photos and videos I want to show her.”