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Beyond Books From 3D printers to homework help, the modern library meets a variety of needs BY PAM GEORGE
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ONLINE ACCESS To access the Fresno (Calif.) County Public Library’s (FCPL) digital services, cardholders use OverDrive’s Libby app. Another OverDrive app, Sora, lets K-12 students in local school districts borrow ageappropriate digital books without a library card. “We’re excited because it isn’t easy for some students to get a traditional library card — transportation can be a challenge,” says Thomas Wood, an FCPL collection development librarian. When the COVID-19 crisis hit, many libraries quickly expanded their online programs, and many began offering virtual homework help for students.
FAB LABS High-tech equipment is increasingly part of the mix, but that is par for the course, maintains Diana Brown, manager of libraries for New Castle County in Delaware. “When typewriters were new, we had typewriters,” she says. “When computers were new, we had computers.” The county’s Route 9 Library & Innovation Center features a maker lab — or fab lab — with high-tech tools such as a laser cutter and 3D printer. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic this spring, Brown says a community group
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used the facility to make face shields for first responders. The 4th floor maker space in the Chattanooga Public Library in Tennessee has a sewing lab and a loom. “We’re very big into textiles — this was
an old manufacturing town — so we’re staying true to our history,” says Corinne Hill, the library’s executive director. The Central Library in San Antonio, Texas, has a soundproof studio, where teens can practice music or make videos.
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE As a modern-day community center, many libraries have upgraded offerings for all ages. In Glen Mills, Pa., at the Rachel Kohl Community Library, chair yoga classes typically sell out. The Route 9 Library in Delaware holds cooking classes in its café, and in Tennessee, the Chattanooga library staff whips up lattes using a proprietary coffee blend called Shush. FCPL locations have hosted therapy dogs that sit while young children practice reading aloud to them. As much as things have changed with these facilities, one thing is the same: A library should reflect the needs of its community, Hill says. “That model has served us well, and it will continue to serve us well in 2020.”
FRESNO COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY; NEW CASTLE COUNTY; SAN ANTONIO PUBLIC LIBRARY
t your local public library, you’re sure to find the expected items like books, magazines and encyclopedias, but many modern branches also house high-tech resources such as 3D printers alongside periodicals. Check out some of the updated amenities at 21st-century libraries: