Fayetteville Free Library members will now be able to use up and coming technology, such as 3-D printers, green screens and editing software, in the library’s new “creation lab.”
FFL officials unveiled the lab on Friday, June 29, at 10 a.m. to New York State Senator John DeFrancisco. The lab, officials said, will allow community members to use emerging technology that might otherwise not be attainable.
“The library is more than the collection on the shelves, or the programming; it’s about creating an opportunity for making and creating,” said Sue Considine, FFL executive director. “And how we do that is by creating access to technology and software and hardware that allows the community to come together and make.”
The creation lab is one part of a larger renovation project that the entire library is undergoing. On Thursday, May 24, New York State Senator Dave Valesky announced a $250,000 grant to help the Fayetteville Free Library develop a business center and “fab lab” in an undeveloped part of the building.
The creation lab is located in the teen space of the library, and includes Mac computers, a scan station, a creation station with two “maker bots,” editing software including the Adobe Suite and a green screen wall. Library members will also be able to sign out video cameras and other equipment.
Patrons of the Fayetteville Library can use the lab for two-hour blocks of time upon presenting a valid library card.
Lauren Britton, transliteracy development director, said both “maker bots” were donated to the library. The rest of the equipment in the lab was funded by a $10,000 award the library won at a Contact Summit in New York City. The library also raised an additional $4,000 through website idiegogo.com.
Pete Cioppa, FFL director of teen services, said the library will be starting a Lego robotics club that will join the New York State league in the fall. Team members will construct robots, this year’s theme is “assisting seniors,” Cioppa said. He and Britton will be coaches for the team and will attend competitions around the state.
This is the first public library to pull together a team, Considine said.
The creation lab, and the future fab lab and business center, will allow people to develop their ideas, and potentially create a marketable product, Considine said.
The cost of the entire project, including the fab lab and business center, is about $1.3 million, Considine said. But officials have prioritized the work, she said, so that the fab lab can be developed first, and then once the library has the funds, other parts can be added.
The renovations will greatly benefit the community, Considine said, and will give the public a space to come and do things they might not otherwise be able to do.
Considine said to have the support of both New York State senators is crucial to the library’s development.
“We can stay inside, and stay isolated, and worry and complain about the state of the economy, or how libraries are supported or not, or we can engage,” she said. “We can engage at the community level, we can engage at the state level, we can engage at the representative level, etcetera.
“And once we do that, our team is bigger. We’ve got more folks on board. And if you have folks on board with the idea that what you do every day has a direct economic and social, positive impact right in your community, then you’re doing things right.”
