How to get your video, photo memories made into digital copies for free

PITTSBURGH — Do all of the proms, graduations and weddings happening this time of year have you feeling nostalgic?

Ready to pull out your old videos and photos? You probably have some old media you can no longer view on outdated formats, but what if you could access those old family memories--for free?

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh offers a free Recollection Studio service, allowing patrons to digitize various old media formats. This service helps residents preserve cherished memories from items like VHS tapes, Hi-8, 8mm film, audio cassettes, pictures, negatives and slides.

The studio provides equipment and staff assistance at no cost, enabling community members to convert their personal archives into digital formats.

This service addresses the common problem of outdated media, such as photos, negatives, VHS tapes and Hi-8s, often stored in boxes in basements and untouched for years. It offers an alternative to consumers who might otherwise spend hundreds of dollars shipping their memories to private companies for conversion.

Patrons can book the Recollection Studio for two-hour windows to work on their digitization projects. Users must bring their own storage device for saving the converted files.

Rachel Rossi, staff at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, explained how the process works for various media.

“If it isn’t fragile, it doesn’t break whenever you touch it, we can put it through our equipment, and then it is plays, we can digitize it,” Rossi said.

Emily Kubincanek, also a staff member at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, described the emotional impact the service has on patrons.

“A lot of people are seeing and sometimes hearing their family members for the first time in 20-plus years,” Kubincanek said. She added, “And I love hearing people laugh when they are watching the VCR there. It’s a very emotional experience for people, I think.”

Kubincanek also highlighted the educational and financial benefits of the studio.

“It costs nothing. We teach you how to do it, so you’re learning something at the same time. The word free is the biggest selling point for us,” she stated.

For those unable to visit the studio in Oakland, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh takes the program on the road. It hosts community scan days at various branch locations each month, with staff available to help individuals digitize their memories.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW