What do you think is the first thing people think of when you say family history?
Genealogy is probably near the top of the list.
Researching ancestors (lost or recent) is probably another big one.
But family history is so much more than names, dates, and places.
Sure, it is fun to find a great uncle Bartholomew that lived in Denmark in 1577. But the bigger mystery is, what was his personality like?
Did people like him? Was he an active believer of Jesus? What was his story?
Everyone has a story. Some are long – others, not so much. Some stories are filled with drama and some stories are just about putting one foot in front of the other. The real joy for me in family history work is getting to know the stories of those who have gone before.
Today, more than ever, we have many tools to help us find and preserve those stories. At the Granite FamilySearch Center, there is a collection of tools and devices that any patron can use to save those precious memories.
We have two stations in the center that are dedicated to scanning and preserving photos. These two stations consist of a high speed batch scanner that is capable of scanning the front and back of photos up to size 8×10 (capturing about 5-10 pictures per second) and a 9×13 inch flatbed scanner for larger photos and news clippings. These scanners will make quick work of digitizing your shoebox collection. To learn more about the photo scanners available at the Granite FamilySearch Center, click here and here.
We have one station that has a high quality book scanner. This touchless scanner will scan facing pages of any bound book or manuscript and then automatically combine each scan into a multi-page pdf for easy archiving and retrieval.
This station also has a large format flatbed scanner. This scanner will scan single page documents up to 11×17 inches in size. To learn more about the book scanner, click here. To learn more about the large format scanner, click here.
There is a slide scanner that will digitize all of your 35mm slides. This machine is Kodak carousel based, so if your slides are already in a Kodak carousel, there is no need to take them out. To learn more about the slide scanner at the Granite FamilySearch Center, click here.
We have two 8mm film digitizers. These digitizers will handle 8mm and Super 8mm film reels up to 9 inches. Be aware that these film digitizers scan frame by frame. Time frames for copying 8mm film vary by reel size. A 3” reel will take about 15-20 minutes to copy, a 5” reel will take 2-3 hours to copy, and a 9″ reel could take upwards of 5.5 hours to complete, so plan accordingly. To learn more about the 8mm film digitizers at the Granite FamilySearch Center, click here.
We have three stations dedicated to digitizing video. Each station saves the video to a USB flash drive (we offer drives for $5 cash, or you can bring your own from home).
One station digitizes 8mm cassette tapes, one station converts the mini DV tapes and one station converts VHS tapes (we also have an adapter for the smaller VHS-C tapes). Be aware that these devices work in real-time. That means that if the tape you are trying to digitize is 2 hours long, it will take 2 hours to capture. To learn more about the equipment we use to digitize video, click here.
The last station is for digitizing audio. It is set up to copy audio cassette tapes and reel to reel tapes. The software we use for audio is a freeware software package called Audacity. To learn more about Audacity, click here.
All of the scanners at the center are available during normal operating hours on a first come, first serve basis. Please call ahead to confirm availability at 801-943-3005.
There should be step-by-step instructions at each station, as well as a trained consultant that can help you get the most out of your digitizing experience.
If you have any specific questions about any of the scanning options at the Granite FamilySearch Center, please email me at media@granitefhc.com.
– David Aird, Tech Support, Granite FamilySearch Center