The Fusion Lab in the Parker Library, which opened last month, offers a wide array of sophisticated software and equipment for music, audio and video production, and media preservation. The lab, called a “maker space” is the first of its kind in the Douglas County Library system.

Article and photo by Lisa Crockett

What used to be a conference room at the Parker Library just got a whole lot livelier. On any given day, you’re likely to find patrons mixing a new song, creating an audio or video podcast, or transferring old VHS home movies to DVD. The new Fusion Lab in the Parker Library, which opened last month, is what’s called a “maker space.”

“Libraries have traditionally been about content collection,” said Adult Services Librarian Derrick Mason, who was part of the four-person task force that brought the Fusion Lab to life. “Libraries are now moving toward content creation, and this lab provides a space where people can do that.”

The lab is equipped with stations where people can record and mix music, produce and edit audio and video content, create digital content and upgrade existing content. The lab is home to both Mac and PC computing systems and a whole host of sophisticated, state-of-the-art software.

“Not everyone can afford to have these things at home,” said Mason. “We think this will be a great place for people to have access to these things, to learn these programs, and to benefit the community.”

The lab is geared for a wide audience, not just tech-savvy youngsters, and trained library staff can guide patrons in their use of the software, leading them along until they get comfortable with the technology. One of Mason’s favorite applications of the tools in the lab is the ability to bring family memories into the twenty-first century.

“I worked with a patron who digitized a set of slides from a 1966 Disneyland trip,” said Mason. “He said that his children have never seen the images. They will be pleasantly surprised.”

Library patrons can reserve use of the lab in two-hour blocks; reservations are also available for groups who wish to use the whole lab to work on a project together, which would allow them to mix audio, edit video, and create graphics simultaneously. The lab’s green-screen wall allows for customized video backgrounds.

The Parker Library is the first in the Douglas County Library system to feature this kind of tech lab, but it may not be the last.

“We are considering this a pilot program that will enable us to better understand how the community prefers to use technology like this,” said Amy Long, Parker Library’s manager. “We are very much hoping to see what is most popular and what we can improve on so we can evaluate how best to participate in spaces like this in the future.”

For more information about the Fusion Lab at the Parker Library, visit www.douglascountylibraries.org/Locations/ParkerLibrary. Reservations in the Fusion Lab are available in two-hour blocks to any library patron with a library card in good standing and a photo I.D. To make a reservation, contact the library at 303-791-7323.