Donation came through Library Foundation for Sarasota County
“Thanks to a generous anonymous donation,” the Sarasota County Libraries and Historical Resources Department “is set to expand its digital preservation efforts at the Sarasota County History Center and increase public access to its vast archival collections, the department has announced.
“The anonymous $100,000 donation, made to the Library Foundation for Sarasota County, will fund the purchase of new equipment specifically designed to digitize maps, artwork and other large-format materials,” a news release explains.
“We are thrilled to be a partner in supporting the History Center’s efforts to make this technology more accessible to our local community,” Alisa Mitchell, executive director of the Library Foundation, said in the release.
“In addition to enhancing the History Center’s digitization capabilities, the donation will support the launch of a new public-facing resource: the ‘Memory Lab,’ ” the release points out. “This do-it-yourself space will allow residents to digitize their family treasures, including photographs, home movies, audio recordings and documents stored on fragile or outdated formats,” the release says.
The pilot Memory Lab opened at the History Center last week, the release notes. Plans call for the introduction of additional labs across Sarasota County Libraries in the future,” the release says. Patrons may schedule appointments and receive staff-led training on how to use the equipment, the release adds.
“Maximizing public access to our collections is our highest priority,” said Josh Goodman, manager of the History Center, in the release. “This generous gift will go far to help us achieve that goal.”
For more information, or to make an appointment to use the new Memory Lab equipment, visit SarasotaCountyLibraries.org or call 941-861-1110.