1. DIGITAL MEDIA LABS @
THE ELA AREA PUBLIC LIBRARY
Anne Belden
Head, Adult Reference
abelden@eapl.org

2. 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


3. WHY A MEDIA LAB?

Digital Literacy

Democratization

Employment/business support

Community

Creativity

Staying relevant!

4. 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.

5. 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 cardholders
ages 12 and up (younger patrons may
use the Labs with a parent)


6. 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

7. 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!

8. “THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER TO
HAPPEN IN LAKE ZURICH.”

9. 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


10. 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

11. 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!

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. STAFFING

Many staffing options are possible:
 Adding
full-time or part-time staff
 Expanding
 Not
the role of part-time staff
adding any additional staff
 Volunteers

18. 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?

19. HIRING

Look for experience/training in
 graphic
arts,
 video production,
 audio production,
 or multimedia.

Check out your local art school for possible
college majors

20. 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 play
and learn in the labs


21. HELP RESOURCES

Videos – Subscription
services or free:





Lynda.com
Atomic Training
Adobe TV
YouTube
Books in the Media
Labs

22. HELP RESOURCES

“Quick Start” instructions
(see ours at www.eapl.org/DMLhelp)

Blog Posts

23. HELP RESOURCES

Library generated training videos

Small group classes in-library
Outside classes –
Apple store, local community
colleges


24. 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

25. PROGRAMMING

Classes
 One-On-One
Instruction
 Small
Group Demos
in the Labs
 Larger
classes using a
set of 10 Mac Laptops

Contests

26. PROGRAMMING

Events
 General
Open Houses
 Task-specific Open Houses
 Fun photos at events
 Teen volunteers

27. 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