Audio & Film Digitization

Museum Receives Grant to Digitize Audio and Film

Film canisters waiting to be digitized

The Renton History Museum has received grants from 4Culture and The Next Curve to digitize its collection of audio-taped oral histories and its collection of visual media (8mm, 16mm, Super 8, and video tapes).

These collections are rich with visual and aural information, but because of their fragility they cannot be easily accessed by researchers or used to enhance exhibits and other programs. Many of the visual media have never been viewed since they were donated, including rare footage of Renton's short-lived Aire Faire festival. Oral histories have been collected since 1966 and include interviews with former Mayor Barbara Shinpoch, an audio tour of the mine sites with a former coal miner, and rare recordings of Duwamish songs.

In late 2012 the museum completed the digitization of the oral history cassette tapes. Since then, staff has processed the collection and has now listened to all the recordings.

Some of the highlights of our discoveries:

January 15, 2013: A Fourth Generation Dairy Farmer
January 22, 2013: Oral History Through Song
January 29, 2013: All In The Family
February 5, 2013: Pioneer of Firsts
February 12, 2013: Inverted Triangle

The film collection has been digitized by McKenna Video Services for digitization. The film is in the process of being cataloged.

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