For the last year or so, there has been a lot of buzz in the library community about the development of technology laboratories in libraries around the country. Also dubbed makerspaces, hackerspaces or hacklabs, these are open community labs where people with common interests (usually in computers and technology) can meet to share ideas, resources and knowledge to build and make things. Although these spaces have been around since the 90s, the idea of including one in the library is a fairly recent development.
Fayetteville (NY) Free Library was the first to bring the idea to life in the U.S. with the development of their Fab Lab last fall. But, why is this a good fit for the public library? Libraries have always been the place to go for information, but over the past fifty years, how we process information has changed. Technological developments have changed the way we interact with information, allowing us to become creators rather than just consumers. This trend is most readily adopted by the younger generations, who have grown up in a society where (thanks to the internet) you can design your own shoes and create custom m&ms®.
The Mancos Public Library has made steps toward addressing this need with the creation of our new youth technology club (official name TBD). The clubs initial project was to build a high-performance gaming computer for use by library members, which is almost complete. In addition, club members will be looking at video games and video game design, 3-D printers, robotics, and other topics that may pique the curiosity of the group. As the program grows and funding is identified, we hope to create more physical infrastructure that members need to complete projects (tools, audio and video equipment, game consoles, electronic instrumentation, electronic components and raw materials) to build a community space for creation.
The youth technology club is open to kids ages 10-18 and meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. Contact Charlene Swansen at 533-7600 for more information or if you have expertise that you would like to share with the club.
