Mobile Memory Lab | Los Angeles Public Library

How does it work?

Community members bring keepsakes such as photographs, negatives, letters, diaries, and 3-D artifacts to events called "Scanning Days.” Library staff digitize and process these keepsakes, to be featured in the Los Angeles Public Library's digital collections portal, Tessa, and the Digital Public Library of America where newly added materials connect with historic artifacts. The Mobile Memory Lab also conducts oral history interviews with LA residents, collecting information about their personal histories, families, and communities. Each participant receives a flash drive with archival-quality digital copies of their keepsakes and oral histories.

Why are we doing this?

The project seeks to empower residents from diverse backgrounds to document the myriad histories that together tell a more complete story of life in our city.

So be on the lookout; the Mobile Memory Lab may very well pop up at your branch library next!

The Mobile Memory Lab is funded by an IDEAS mini-grant from the Los Angeles Library Foundation.

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Why support the Library?

The Los Angeles Public Library serves the largest most diverse population of any library in the United States.

Through its Central Library and 72 branches, the Los Angeles Public Library provides free and easy access to information, ideas, books and technology that enrich, educate and empower every individual in our city's diverse communities.

With more people than ever before using the library—a record 17 million last year alone—your support helps the Library provide people with the resources they need to succeed and thrive.

How to support the Library

You can support the Los Angeles Public Library in several ways:

Join a “Friends” group. There is a “Friends of the Library” group for most branch libraries and departments of the Central Library. Friends groups raise money for improvements to their library through memberships, used book sales and other activities. For more information click here or talk to your local librarian.

Join the Library Foundation of Los Angeles. The Library Foundation is a non-profit organization that raises funds for Library enhancement programs such as adult and early literacy, children and teen reading clubs, technology, and cultural programs. Foundation members receive a variety of benefits with their membership. For more information, see http://www.lfla.org.

Make a donation by check to the Los Angeles Public Library and send it to:
Support the Library, 630 W. Fifth St., Los Angeles CA 90071 or call (213) 228-7272.