Memories in the Makerspace
How one customer preserved decades of family history with help from EPL staff
When Pat A. brought her old VHS tapes to the Abbottsfield (Penny McKee) Branch, she rediscovered her family’s history. Birthdays, graduations, family trips—everyday moments once carefully recorded—sat on aging tape, fragile and at risk of being lost for good. With access to the library’s Makerspace equipment, Pat finally had the tools and the time to bring those memories into the present.
For years, the tapes had been stored away, unplayable as VHS players disappeared from everyday life. Like many families, Pat’s history existed in a format that technology had quietly left behind.
She learned that having the tapes digitized professionally would cost thousands of dollars, an expense that put preservation out of reach for most people. Instead, she turned to the Library’s Makerspace, where access to the right equipment and guidance made the work possible.
For a couple of months, she visited the Abbottsfield Branch almost every week, transferring footage that spanned four decades, some tapes ran for hours; others held brief but irreplaceable milestones. She watched moments unfold in real time, heard familiar voices and bursts of laughter, and rediscovered details that photographs alone could never capture.
What she did not expect was how much that time at the library would become part of the experience itself. “At first I just came to digitize tapes,” Pat says. “But the staff made it a pleasure.”
“At first I just came to digitize tapes, but the staff made it a pleasure.”
From helping her navigate the equipment to accommodating longer sessions when no one else was booked, staff approached every interaction with patience and warmth. On one visit, Pat arrived to find the branch without power. When service was restored sooner than expected, staff called to let her know she could return and continue her work.
Over weeks of visits, Pat noticed more than just technical support. With the Makerspace located near the branch’s service desk, she watched staff greet children by name, help seniors with printing, support school groups, and balance the daily bustle with care and respect. Her project became more than a technical task — it became a window into how EPL serves its community: as a place of connection, dignity, and shared curiosity.
When Pat gave the digitized footage to her children at Christmas, their reaction confirmed the deeper value of the work. They laughed at their younger voices, recognized faces long gone, and saw pieces of their family story restored.
Pat hopes services like Makerspaces continue to grow, so others with old media and personal histories aren’t left behind as technology changes. Thanks to the Library, her family’s memories are no longer at risk of being lost.