Preserve Your Memories!
The Princeton Public Library would like to assist people in preserving their memories by scanning in their old documents, photos, VHS videos, and floppy discs. These items will be converted to computer files and put on flash drives for people to take home. Flash drives, also called USB drives or thumb drives, can be used in any modern computer. Files can then be transferred from the flash drives to the computer, email, Facebook, online photo albums, etc. Flash drives can also be taken to any photo printing kiosk, and photos can be printed from them. In the case of videos, people can choose to have a DVD made instead of having it stored on a flash drive.
There will be a small charge to cover the cost of supplies ($2.50 for each flash drive and fifty cents per DVD).
This project will start November 7th and end November 19th. Due to the anticipated high demand for this service, we ask that people limit the number of items they bring in to 4 VHS tapes, 4 floppy discs, 4 documents, and 40 photos. We understand that people may have many more items they wish to digitize, so we are willing to teach them how to use the equipment themselves. Paper copies of photos (NOT on photo paper) can be printed at the library for minimal cost: each 8.5" X 11" sheet of paper is ten cents for black and white, twenty five cents for color.
The Preserve Your Memories service will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Processing time may take up to two weeks. Part of the long wait time has to do with limited staff, but it is also because any VHS tape takes as many hours to convert as there are hours of footage on the tape. The library will call people when their items are ready to be picked up. Some of the equipment the library will use to convert memories will be borrowed from the Winnefox Library System, so we are unable to extend this service past January. However, if there is enough demand, we may offer this service again at another time.
Although we will take the utmost care with any materials entrusted to us, we require people submitting items to sign a form with a waiver releasing us from liability for damage done during the scanning process. The form also guarantees that you are not submitting copyrighted material for us to copy/digitize. We cannot and will not copy Hollywood movies and other protected works. This service is strictly for people's personal memories.
We encourage people to tell us about historic family photos and documents that may be of interest to the Princeton Historical Society. We can help make digital copies of these, at no charge, to give to the Historical Society for their collection. The Historical Society will want to be able to contact people in order to document the full stories behind the photos.