The last time I counted all the books in the library, we had approximately eleventy billion. This number does not even include all the e-books and e-audiobooks. I am sure you are all well aware of this awesome yet abundant resource available to you by simply acquiring a library card.
But, did you know that the library also houses a space where you could harness your inner creative and do the things you have only dreamed about? That’s right, not only could you finally record that album you’ve been singing in your head for the past 10 years, but you could also make a music video for a single off of that album, and design the graphics for the cover all in the same place. And all you need is a library card.
This wondrous space is called The Digital Underground and is located in the lower level of the main library across from the Columbus Indiana Architectural Archives. The Digital Underground houses two separate rooms. One room is a studio space with an audio recording studio. We have two microphones and a computer with audio recording software and a video production studio equipped with a green screen, studio lights, tripods and two HD camcorders.
The other room is a computer lab with two personal computers and two iMac computers fully loaded with the Adobe Creative Suite and various other creative software. We also have a 3-D scanner and a 3-D printer available for people interested in printing their designs.
If you have a dream project you would like to complete but have no idea how to make that a reality, we can help with that too.
Aside from all this fantastic equipment, we also teach classes on various elements within The Digital Underground. For instance, on Wednesday we’re teaching a class on how to use Adobe Photoshop to create a snow globe scene using images found on the Internet. You can even bring your own image to place inside the digital snow globe.
The tools and techniques used to create this scene have countless applications and can be used to help build the foundation of your Adobe skill set.
If I have managed to capture your attention and you would like to check out any or all of the things I have mentioned, the Digital Underground is open Monday through Friday from 1 to 5 p.m. If you have your sights set on using our studio space, you can reserve the room online from our home page (mybcpl.org) and follow the links for reserving a meeting room. You can also check out our Facebook page at mybcplunderground for up-to-date information on classes or to check out how other people have been utilizing the space. The possibilities of what can be created in The Digital Underground can only be capped by the boundaries of your creativity.
Curtis Hartwell is the digital media specialist at the Bartholomew County Public Library and can be reached at [email protected]
