What Can I Digitize?
By Dale E. Lee
2024.04.10
If you are curious about all the different types of old media it is possible to convert to digital format, this article is for you.
I have visited the Mesa Family History Library several times during the past little while, after realizing they had a lot of equipment I could use to digitize my old records. Having grown up in an era of rapid innovation in picture and voice recording, I found I have many different types of recordings on old media. This presents a problem because each type of media, whether VHS, or Super 8, or audio cassette, etc. normally has it’s own type of equipment to do the recording. Having to purchase equipment for each and every type of media I’ve collected over the years, would prove to be a bit expensive, so having the possibility of using the Mesa Family History Library’s equipment for free was a good option.
Recently I have been able to scan in over 1,000 photos at 300 DPI with a Fast scanner. This saved me an enormous amount of time over using my own flat bed scanner. As I was doing this and also scanning in old records, I started wondering what other types of media the Library had the ability to digitize. So while at home, I went to their website and looked for a list of their capabilities. It took me a few minutes, but below is the list I found. I understand that not everyone has the ability to go to the Mesa Family History Library, but just knowing what equipment is available can be useful. You can either purchase some of the equipment (as I have) or see if there are Libraries or Institutions with these capabilities. Ask around, you may be pleasantly surprised.
Digitizing Capabilities:
– Photos,
– VHS,
– VHS-C,
– Mini-camcorder,
– Camcorder,
– Slides,
– Negatives,
– 8MM and Super 8 film,
– Audio cassettes,
– DVDs,
– CDs,
– Floppy discs,
– Books, and
– Journals.
Obviously this list is as of the time they put it up on their website, and may have changed since then. There also may be other equipment available for additional types of media out on the marketplace, but I was surprised that the Mesa Library had so many different kinds, even after having been there several times before finding this information on their website.
Hopefully this list will be helpful to you. Good luck in your Digitizing efforts!
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