Making Spaces for Connected Learning
Audio production, coding, filmmaking, programming, robotics and 3D design … free access to these and other forms of technology will soon be available at your local library.
York County Libraries (YCL) has always served as a leader in promoting access to technology in the York County community. Today, the organization has created a bold vision for making spaces where connected learning can happen for library users of all ages. YCL is launching a $10 million capital campaign to create connected learning spaces at the Kaltreider-Benfer Library in Red Lion, Kreutz Creek Library in Hellam and Martin Library in York.
YCL President Robert F. Lambert and his team are using design thinking and working with businesses such as Design Quake and York Exponential to develop these “maker spaces.” With the support of resources from the Pennsylvania Library Association and Commonwealth Libraries Bureau of Library Development, Lambert and the staff are examining ways to reach more diverse audiences and deliver tech knowledge and tools to all library users.
“As we approach the public phase of our capital campaign in April, we will begin talking with the community about the technology offerings we are planning and provide ways for them to get involved,” says Lambert.
Using the library to connect York County’s youth directly with technology is a critical component of education. “Our libraries provide hands-on, project-based learning that teaches children in York County to not only succeed in the classroom but in life,” he says. “However as we move full ‘STEAM’ ahead to the future, I want our libraries to set a new level of innovation that sparks self-motivation, persistence, collaboration and teamwork. I believe that our mentorship of youth outside the classroom leads to greater engagement in school, greater problem solving and a greater capacity for independent project-based learning. Our libraries are vital links to student success.”
YRK PERSPECTIVES:
What Is a Creator and Maker?
“To be a creator and maker is to be an artist, an ‘imagineer,’ a thinker — a person who connects imagination to the discovery process of failure and success to learn how to bring ideas to life. Kreutz Creek Library, Kaltreider-Benfer Library and Martin Library will be the first to build and equip dedicated maker spaces to allow everyone in our community the opportunity to be a creator and maker.”
— Robert F. Lambert, president, York County Libraries
- 159 E. Market St. Third Floor York, PA 17401
- 717.849.6969
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- 159 E. Market St. Third Floor York, PA 17401
- 717.849.6969