Digital History Station

Make your old things new again!

In the Local History Room, you can find CADL's Digital History Station, which allows reformatting of media as well as creating and editing content. Users can access the station in blocks of up to three hours once a week, scheduled in advance with staff. If you have materials of potential historical value, the library will talk to you about donating originals or copies. Download the application form here to learn more.

Things you can do in the Digital History Station

(not an exhaustive list!)

• Convert home video to DVD and/or digital files to upload online
• Record an audio interview for oral history, podcasts, etc.
• Convert cassette audio to digital
• Convert 33 1/3, 45, and 78RPM records to digital
• View and scan negatives and slides in several formats
• Photograph oversize material
• Scan and recognize text (OCR) in documents
• Edit photographs, audio, video, graphics, or documents
• Photograph 3D objects
• Read data from an assortment of media cards, floppy disks, or Zip drives
• Clean dirty CDs and DVDs

Software available

• Adobe Creative Suite (audio, video, photo editing, and more)
• Silverfast and Epson scanning tools
• Internet connection for uploading your project to YouTube, cloud storage, etc.

Hardware available

• Windows PC
• Epson Perfection V700 scanner (includes several slide and negative trays)
• Toshiba VHS-DVD deck
• Converter for VHS-C to VHS tapes
• Tascam cassette-CD deck
• Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB turntable
• Zoom H2Next digital audio recorder
• 11"x18" light box
• Polaroid 3D photography cube and LED lighting
• Multi-function camera tripod
• Magnetic wall for photographing oversize material
• Light box for photographing 3D objects
• Canon EOS Rebel T6i camera with 50mm, 18-55mm, and wide angle and telephoto converter lenses

Note: Several of the same or similar equipment items also can be checked out from the Library of Things!

Fine print

The equipment in the Digital History Station must be used in the Local History Room only.

Users should discuss projects with library staff prior to an appointment to determine necessary software and hardware, and to estimate the time involved.

Appointments are scheduled in blocks of 1 hour which may be extended depending on the nature of your project and its time requirements.

A signed agreement form is required to use the Digital History Station.

The library is not responsible for personal materials being damaged during conversion. Users should discuss any concerns about the condition of materials with library staff.

Library staff do not have expertise in all software/hardware; users are responsible for their project's completion.

Please note that some conversion processes rely on obsolete equipment such as Zip or floppy disk readers. We cannot guarantee the operability of these devices as they age.

If a user's materials have value to the library's Local History Collection, we encourage donation of originals when possible, or digital copies.