The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County’s main downtown branch will become the home for a revamped
TechCenter and brand new Makerspace Jan. 26. For Ella Mulford-Chinn, team leader of the new space, the hope is to reach new audience members and bring a new demographic of users into the library.
Mulford-Chinn, 28, who is a
YWCA Rising Star and who was also chosen by the American Library Association as an
Emerging Leader in Libraries, initiated maker programs when she served as teen librarian at the Mt. Washington branch.
“It all started with a curiosity about 3D Printing that helped me discover an entire community of people who were interested in teaching and learning about new technologies,” Mulford-Chinn says. “Libraries across the country had just started implementing programs like this, so I decided to take a chance.”
According to Mulford-Chinn, it was a huge success.
“I was having teens and tweens coming in from around the city to learn about robotics, soldering, computer circuitry and app/ video game creation,” she says. “Nothing is scarier than a bunch of 10-18 year olds with soldering irons, but they were so respectful with the tools. They knew they were doing something special.”
Now an even wider audience will have the chance to collaborate with one another by sharing ideas and working in a space that facilitates their creativity and inventiveness.
After the downtown branch purchased a 3D printer in May 2014, a committee came together to discuss the ways in which even more technology could be offered to the public, and now that dream has become a reality.
The new downtown space will have various maker stations and include equipment and technologies like a sound recording booth and a laser cutter that can do everything from engraving glass bottles to burning wood.
“People will be able to go into this booth and make their own personal recordings, like in a studio,” Mulford-Chinn says. “We will have music mixing and media available for people to record and take their projects home with them. I think the teens are really going to love this. I am so excited to work with them and show them how to create their own media and not just consume it.”
Do Good:
• Support the library through the
Library Friends or the
Library Foundation.
•
Volunteer at the library.
•
Contact Ella to share your skills in the new Makerspace.
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