Vicki Perrie, director of the Superior Public Library, has been waiting for months for Library Innovations Studios to come to town. It is soon to be available at the library.
Plans were for the studio to be in Superior in June but one of the trainers from Lincoln came down with COVID-19. The studio was rescheduled. Then there was another delay. Now the equipment is finally here and volunteers have been training for a week. It appears the wait is finally over!
Blue Hill and Nelson libraries have already had Library Innovations Studios. Their patrons frequently utilized the studio and were sad to see the studio move on to another site.
Library Innovations Studios offers equipment most people do not have access to use and provides an opportunity for individuals to explore creative possibilities using the equipment.
Six stations are set up at the library. They include a 3-D printer. People can create their own project or use one offered. Several colors of 3-D filament can be chosen for projects. However, people can not bring in their own materials for this machine.
The laser cutter can etch or cut many different materials.
The vinyl cutter has both permanent and removable vinyl in many colors to choose for projects. It can cut material up to 24 inches wide.
Many people will like using the CNC Router. It cuts out words or pictures using CorelDraw for projects.
Station 5 is the Bernette Chicago 7 embroidery machine. It has 100 embroidery designs and features a stitch width up to .275 inches, an embroidery module that can embroider designs up to 4.33” x 6.69” in size. Perrie used it to apply embroidery designs for pillow cases when she was training. She was pleased with the results.
People can use the heat press to apply designs to t-shirts, mousepads, bags or other fabric projects. Other materials that designs can be imprinted on are glass, tile and metal. Designs are limited to 9 by 12 inches. Perrie took a picture of her grandsons and heat pressed it onto a metal square.
The studio offers nine mobile kits. With Lego Mindstorms individuals can create three different robots. Programs can be used to control them.
The laminator kit is popular for making luggage tags, bookmarks, ID cards and other projects. The Arduino starter kit teaches coding and programming with electronics. A circuitry and sensors kit can be used for learning how circuits work. Makey Makey uses a computer to make a banana into a piano. Imagination can go wild with this kit. The camera and video kit create interesting projects and can be used with a green screen. A music and recording kit allows for creating, recording and editing. A soldering kit can be used to create jewelry, joining metals or electrical connections. The button maker can be used to make buttons, magnets or other projects for all occasions.
People can bring their own materials to use with all the machines except for the 3-D printer. The library also has materials people can purchase for each of the machines at a reasonable price.
Some of the machines require certification to use independently. Programs will be held each week so people can get certified on their choice of machines. Volunteers have been training so they will be ready to help when the studio is open in Superior.
The studio will be in Superior for about five months. Christmas is right around the corner so the equipment can be used to create affordable Christmas gifts before the holidays. Reservations are required for using the equipment. It will be announced when the studio will open at the library.
The Nebraska Library Innovation Studios: Transforming Rural Communities project is made possible by a National Leadership grant awarded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (MLS). The project is supported by the Nebraska Library Commission, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Nebraska Innovation Studio, Nebraska Extension and Regional Library Systems.
For more information, contact the Superior Public Library at 402-879-4200.
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