Post on 17-May-2015
DIGITAL MEDIA LABS @ THE ELA AREA PUBLIC LIBRARY
Anne BeldenHead, Adult Referenceabelden@eapl.org
ELA AREA PUBLIC LIBRARY
Located in Lake Zurich, IL, in the northwest suburbs of Chicago
Serves a population of around 33,000 out of a 70,000 square foot building
Circulates over 1 million items per year
WHY A MEDIA LAB?
Digital Literacy
Democratization
Employment/business support
Community
Creativity
Staying relevant!
EAPL DIGITAL MEDIA LABS
Opened December 14, 2011
2 small suites built out of what was a closet – each with identical equipment and around 10’x10’
Funded with retained earnings
Costs were approx. $67,000, which included a lot of construction. Equipment alone cost around $18,000.
EAPL DIGITAL MEDIA LABS
The Labs were added without additional staff members
Managed and checked in and out by the Adult Reference Desk
Use is limited to Ela cardholdersages 12 and up (younger patrons mayuse the Labs with a parent)
EAPL DIGITAL MEDIA LABS
Labs may be reserved up to one week in advance
Reservations are taken over the phone, in person, via e-mail, and via instant messaging
Labs may be used up to 3 hours at a time
Help is by appointment only
PATRON USE AND RESPONSE
The Labs were used over 1000 times in their first year
This year, we’ve averaged 75-100 uses per month
Labs are used by all ages
Patron response has been overwhelmingly positive!
“THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER TO HAPPEN IN LAKE ZURICH.”
DIGITAL MEDIA LAB CONTENTS
Mac Pro Computer
Software: iPhoto ‘11 iMovie ‘11 Garage Band ‘11 Adobe Acrobat Pro CS5 Adobe Illustrator CS5 Adobe InDesign CS5 Adobe Photoshop CS5 Adobe Photoshop Elements 12 Adobe Premiere Pro CS5
DIGITAL MEDIA LAB CONTENTS
Voice microphone (Samson G-Track)
Instrument microphone (Shure SM94)
Recorder-Mixer (M-Audio Fast Track)
Camcorder and filming lights (Panasonic HDC-TM80)
Green screen painted wall
DIGITAL MEDIA LAB CONTENTS
Bose Companion 5-speaker audio system
VHS to DVD converter (Toshiba DVR 670)
Photo/slide/negative Scanner (Epson V600)
Analog/Digital Converter (Canopus ADVC110 )
A security camera!
MEDIA LAB EXTRAS
Midi keyboard
Cassette player to use with the computer to convert audiocassettes to CD or mp3
Portable hard drives (LaCie Rugged 500gb) – the only thing that circulates
MEDIA LAB EXTRAS
Box of cables, adapters, etc. VHS-C adapter Firewire 9-pin to 9-pin Cable Firewire 9-pin to 6-pin Cable Firewire 9-pin to 4-pin Cable Micro-USB to USB cable Mini-USB to USB cable RCA Audio-Video Cable iPad/iPhone/iPod dock to USB cable
MOST POPULAR FEATURES
#1 - VHS to DVD
#2 - Scanning Slides
#3 - Creating photo slideshows with iMovie
Runners-up: Editing home movies with iMovie, recording (usually singers) with Garage Band
STAFFING
Many staffing options are possible:
Adding full-time or part-time staff
Expanding the role of part-time staff
Not adding any additional staff
Volunteers
STAFFING
Questions to Ask:
Who will reserve and check the labs in and out?
What hours will help be available?
Will help be on-the-fly, one-on-one by appointment, in the classroom, etc?
How will the lab(s) be kept secure?
HIRING
Look for experience/training in graphic arts, video production, audio production, or multimedia.
Check out your local art school for possible college majors
NOT HIRING
Check labs in and out at an existing service point
Consider volunteers
Consider offering help by appointment
Look for motivated staff and give them time to playand learn in the labs
HELP RESOURCES
Videos – Subscription services or free: Lynda.com Atomic Training Adobe TV YouTube
Books in the Media Labs
HELP RESOURCES
“Quick Start” instructions(see ours at www.eapl.org/DMLhelp)
Blog Posts
HELP RESOURCES
Library generated training videos
Small group classes in-library
Outside classes – Apple store, local community colleges
PUBLICIZING
Publicizing Work with the local
media if possible
Handouts and signs: old-school, but they have an audience
Exhibit what others have done
Emphasize what they can do or create
PROGRAMMING
Classes
One-On-One Instruction
Small Group Demos in the Labs
Larger classes using a set of 10 Mac Laptops
Contests
PROGRAMMING
Events General Open Houses Task-specific Open Houses Fun photos at events Teen volunteers
QUESTIONS?
Anne Belden abelden@eapl.org www.slideshare.net/abelden
Ela Area Public Library Digital Media Labs http://www.eapl.org/how-do-i/digital-media-
labs-0 http://www.eapl.org/how-do-i/digital-media-
lab-assistance