SYLACAUGA, Ala. – The Laura and Bill Campbell Memory Lab, located within the B.B. Comer Memorial Library, is a digitization center used to help individuals keep their cherished memories, free of charge.
The idea to create this memory lab came about when Bill Campbell approached library director Tracy Thomas. Campbell wished to honor his wife Laura in some way, but he wasn’t exactly sure how to manifest this.
Thomas offered a multitude of ways to do so through the Comer Library Foundation, and Bill and Laura chose the preservation of the past in the form of a memory lab as the best way to go forward.
At the Laura and Bill Campbell Memory Lab, videos on old storage devices such as 8 millimeter (mm) film or VHS tape can be copied onto SD cards, hardcopy phots can be digitally replicated, audio cassette tapes can be transitioned to smartphones, and much more.
Preserving local history has long been a priority for the B.B. Comer Memorial Library, and preserving their own family’s history has also been a passion for the Campbell family.
It only made sense for both parties to come together and create the memory lab to fulfill their want for record preservation.
The Laura and Bill Campbell Memory Lab is available by appointment during regular library hours Monday through Saturday. Memory lab coordinator Samantha Machen is available to offer instructions and provide orientation to help users navigate the memory lab.
Appointments for the lab can be made online on the library’s website at bbcomerlibrary.net (click on the Memory Lab tab at the top of the page) or by calling the library at (256) 249-0961.