The exciting, technological world is constantly expanding. It is ever present and ever useful in our modern lives. The Bartholomew County Public Library has embraced this concept from creative energy conservation solutions to tools for patrons to help with a variety of programs.
The library’s Digital Underground provides a creative harbor for individuals to film and photograph using camcorders, editing equipment and a green screen. Patrons can enjoy a fully functional, modern recording studio to create and master music from composition to final product.
Also available are a full range of Adobe creative programs and a 3-D printer. Computer patrons have access to Microsoft programs for anything from a resume to Excel spreadsheets. In the Digital Underground, a patron may have access to a Mac or a PC to match their preference. We are currently retooling some of our services and hours for the Digital Underground, so contact the library for the latest information.
A slate of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) programs targeted toward our patrons ages 7 to 17 has introduced our youngsters to Scratch, an MIT-developed coding language, and its practical application.
The Red Room boasts a projector, screen, a podium, sound equipment, an additional flat-screen high-definition monitor and a computer or the ability to connect your own computer for presentations, programming and films.
Our Children’s Department has offered keyboarding classes, programs focused on science using talking microscopes and a monthly program called Full STEAM Ahead that focuses on different scientific subjects.
A barrage of digital gadgets from Vox books, books with built-in narration buttons; Playaways, audio books with no discs; and Launchpads, tablets pre-loaded with learning content, are available for use.
The installation of the Exhibit Columbus artwork of Conversation Plinth on the library’s very doorstep for a time last summer and fall employed the use of complex mathematics, electrical work and implementation that was done in conjunction with staff at the library to find the best practical solutions.
Our website mybcpl.org boasts online content for all of our departments, a calendar of events, information on our services and the ability to sign up for monthly e-blast newsletters. We have ventured into social media primarily by use of Facebook and Instagram to not only remind you of upcoming events, but to celebrate events past and give you access to see things you may have missed from our Solar Eclipse programming to our Fall-O-Ween Fest.
If you are a child, a teen or an adult, there is always access to more than books at your library. Come in and enjoy a wealth of technology at your fingertips.
Kyle Willey is a graphic specialist at the Bartholomew County Public Library and can be reached at [email protected].
