1. Designing Interactive Learning
Spaces through Technology
January 17th Tech Day Conference at PLAN
Presented By: Brian Pichman of the Evolve Project
follow the conversation on twitter @bpichman | #plantechday

2. Welcome
 Todays Agenda:
 Library Strategy
 Design Concepts for Spaces
 Play Time: Interactive Technology
 Promotion Ideas / Concepts
 Future Technology
 Types of MakerSpaces / FabLabs
 Planting a Money Tree (Funding)
But First….Two Things

3. Take Risks!
It’s a “Pilot Program” or “Beta Test”
There is no such thing as failure. The only failure is not trying.

4. We All Have
Creative
Potential
Creativity Exercise:
Grab Paper and A
Pen

5. Building a Public Value
Libraries can no longer be just about “books”; instead they must
position themselves as community anchors; providing for the general
needs as well as the endless learning possibilities.

6. What Does Your Community Ask For?
 Study Rooms / Homework Area
 Open Areas
 Tech (Computers)
 Business Centers
 MakerSpaces
 ?Others?
What do these things have in common?

7. Engagement
Your new space must allow for the ability for patrons AND staff to
engage with each other and the space.

8. We need to find ways to engage our patrons

9. Creation and Inventions
Oak Park Public Library

10. Discovery

11. Collaboration

12. Interaction

13. Innovation

14. Create a Public VALUE
•
Not be a “process” but an experience
•
Move from physical to digital
•
Create new ways to learn and explore
•
Libraries should be creating stories
•
Libraries HAVE TO BE ENGANGING!
•
Shift Focus To
•
Innovation, Interaction, Discovery, Collaboration and Invention

15. Dangers Facing Libraries

16. Dangers Facing Libraries

17. Dangers Facing Libraries

18. Did You Know?
Stats from: Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project

19. Did You Know?
Stats from: Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project

20. Did You Know?
Stats from: Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project

21. Create a Public VALUE
•
Not be a “process” but an experience
•
Move from physical to digital
•
Create new ways to learn and explore
•
Libraries should be creating stories
•
Libraries HAVE TO BE ENGANGING!
•
Shift Focus To
•
Innovation, Interaction, Discovery, Collaboration and Invention

22. If you build it they will come

23. Libraries are
like Candles
“Libraries Are Screwed” By Eli
Neiburger

24. Key Design Concepts
 Adding Color
 Art
 Have Open and Modular Areas
 Furniture
 Modularity

25. Adding Color
 White = Boring
 Think about Parks (typically colorful)
 Painting walls is an inexpensive redesign
 Use Fun Colors
 Be Bold!
 Children Areas should use bright attractive areas.
 Get your community and staff involved
 Having a painting party!
 Color alone can make a space look bigger and brighter

27. Art
 Have patrons create the art
 Donate it to the library
 Mix it up as often as you like. There is no cost.
 Patrons (often younger ones) will feel like their work has been “published”
 Sense of ownership with the library
 They will become marketers for your library

28. Open Areas
 Open Space !
 Seating
 Tables
 Multi Functional Areas
 Remove rooms that are used only for specific events:
 Activity Rooms, Meeting Rooms, etc
 Make these rooms open all the time with something going on all the time
 Larger, open areas allow you to rearrange your space much easier

32. Furniture
 Fun Colors
 Use lightweight furniture (easier to move)
 Encourage your patrons to rearrange the space to fit their needs.

33. Modularity
 Allows you to always change your environment
 Put things on wheels
 Desks
 …No Need For Shelves To Be On Wheels
 Don’t fasten furniture to floor…
 no one will be stealing a desk
 Raised flooring
 Makes adding more outlets in the future easier

34. Collection Concepts
 Rotating Collection
 Provides an “always new” environment
 Child Friendly Shelves
 Bin style shelving, so children can “flip” through books
 Props to show collection (not books)
 Interactive Book Ends
 Allow children to find, discover, and hear reviews of books, all via a touch
screen computer mounted at the end of a the shelf

35. Workflow Concepts
 Self Check Out Units
 Even children are highly receptive to the ability to do things on their own and utilize technology
 Mobile Check Out / Catalog Units
 Allow people to use an iPad to either search or check out material
 Standing “Help Desk”
 Have one or two people at a single circulation desk
 The rest are out on the floor to offer suggestions, help, and guidance
 Head of department should be in an accessible area so children can interact comfortably

36. Interactive Technology
Fill The Space With Fun Interactive Technology
Allow People to CHECK THINGS out

37. Sphero Ball …. MSRP: $130
Guide Through Library (Follow The Ball)
People Approach The Ball – Curiosity

38. Kurio Tablet …. MSRP: $150
Affordable Tablet
Locked Down
Secure

39. Sifteo Cubes …. MSRP:
$130-$200
Interactive Touch Cubes
New Learning Game, Spell, Sort, and
more!

40. Lego WeDo’s …. MSRP $130
Simple, Drag and Drop GUI Based
Program
There is a nation wide Lego Robotics
Contest
Software: $90.00

41. Lego Mindstorm …. MSRP
$300
More Advance Programming
There is a nation wide Lego
Robotics Contest
Software: $80.00

42. Tiggly Shapes…MSRP
$30.00
Uses soft and strong rubber shapes to
teach younger children about shapes
in a fun and interactive way, using an
iPAD (coming soon to Android).

43. LittleBits
MSRP $100-200
littleBits is an open source library of
electronic modules that snap together
with tiny magnets for
prototyping, learning, and fun.

44. Makey-Makey…
MSRP: $49.95
MaKey MaKey is an invention kit for the
21st century. Turn everyday objects
into touchpads and combine them
with the internet. It's a simple Invention
Kit for Beginners and Experts doing
art, engineering, and everything
inbetween:

45. I Have All This Tech…
…Now What
Your environment can have all the best tech toys and cool fablabs but it could still fall short.
It is up to the frontline staff to ENANGE their audiences. A friendly hello goes a long way. Allow
the staff to play with the tech, get them involved to reflect that excitement to the patrons.

46. Staff Communication
 Get Them Involved In Your Library
 Tech
 Books
 Stories
 Get “resident” experts
 Cooking
 Computing
 Fishing…
 AND LET THE PATRONS KNOW WHICH STAFF ARE EXPERTS ON SPECIFIC HOBBIES

47. Engagement Ideas
Ask Your Patrons These Things:
 Books
 Ask them their thoughts
 Suggestions for collection
 Recommend other reads
 Computing
 Ask them what games they want to see
 Programming
 Ask them what programs they like.
 Socially
 Ask how they are doing.
 Homework Help
 Offer ways to help them on assignments. Bring
them snacks and beverages. Positive
reinforcement.
 Sit down with patrons and interact with what
they are doing
 Remind them a library can be more than just
“books”

48. Ways To Engage Your Space
This Can Also Be Used To Promote Space

49. Sphero Ball …. MSRP: $130
Guide Through Library (Follow The Ball)
People Approach The Ball – Curiosity

50. Ubisoft Laser Tag
Score Keeping, Board Projecting Score
Board, Laser Tag Game!
Discover New Places In Libraries
Through Objectives
Hunger Games style playing.

51. Miniature Golf
Purchase Cheap Plastic and Foam to
setup Paths and fairways with felt.
Have it throughout the library, engage
the participants through your space.

52. Zombie Movie
Film A Zombie Movie (Cameras and
some Face Paint for Your Library)

53. Mystery Grab Bag
Place books into color themed bags.
Barcode number written outside of
bag. Allow patrons to check out and
take them home.

54. Other Cool Activities
 Library Lockin
 Play Games, Watch Movies, Etc.
 Teddy Bear Lockin
 Children drop off their stuffed animals, and staff take pictures with their stuffed animals interacting
in the library
 SnapChat Game
 Take pictures of your space on SnapChat and have your patrons find where it was taken
(award prizes)
 Find Your Skilled Staff Members
 Ask the Expert (Fishing, Boating, Cooking, Couponing, Computers, Surfing)

55. Video Marketing
Chard Mairn, Librarian/Adjunct
Professor at St. Petersburg College
started a viral media marketing tools.
Purchased cheap inexpensive flip
cams.

56. Social Media

57. Gamification

58. Game of Books
 The Game of Books is gamifying the reading experience.
 In the Game, you are the character that you are leveling up; books are the magical items
that give you rewards.
 This is a project from BookLamp.Org
 Each Book in the world has a very specific DNA, a structure that contains specific themes, writing
style, density, etc.
 The themes in the book relate to points – and those points apply to your character.
 More Details: www.gameofbooks.com

61. Just Press Play

62. Interactive Library Cards
 Put a “Reward System” into the library card
 Badges
 Prizes
 Exclusive Programming / Event registration
 Low Tech:
 Print new more colorful library cards, allow patrons to customize their card with different and
increasingly more desired badges – based off books read, programs attended, etc.
 High Tech:
 Create Library Cards with screens
 Send Messages to card when they are in the library (wirelessly connected)
 Display “reading level” or “badges they own”

64. Future of Technology
Goals of Technology
General Themes
 To discover and curate of
information
 Touch-Based
 Value adds
(efficiency, reliability)
 Object Orientated
 To build or discover new “things”
 Gesture-Based
 Wearable Technology
 Data Curation / Predictable Technologies
 Open Source Hardware

65. Touch Based
 People want to touch everything
 Discover Through Touch
 Search Through Touch
 Learn Through Touch

70. Gesture Based
 Communicate with Technology Hands Free
 Uses multiple cameras to detect depth/movement
 Microsoft Kinect
 Sites to Explore:
 Microsoft Kinect (We Will Demo)
 Leap Motion (We Will Also Demo)
 PrimeSense
 Evoluce

77. Wearable Gesture Based Computing
http://www.pranavmistry.com/projects/sixthsense/

78. Object Orientated
 Use Objects to interact with surfaces

83. What’s this talk about
“Big Data”
 Technology is being used to identify trends in our lives. This data is being curated and
collected.
 This can help us with:
 Identifying health trends
 Saving Time or Energy
 Increase efficiency in our lives

84. Wearable Technologies – Life Logging
Memoto
MeCam
Autographer

85. Wearable Glasses

86. Crowd-Sourced

87. Home Security
Goji
Drop Cam
Canary

88. Fitness Monitors
FitBit
Nike
FitBark

89. Learning Your Life Style

90. Home Automation
 Fridges that detect when you are low on
basic foods (eggs, milk, etc)
 Stoves that can sense the difference
between a pan and your finger
 Lets you search for recipes right on the
table

91. What does this have to do with libraries?
 Our Patrons will be talking about this technology!
 How can we incorporate this technology in our library?

92. Fab Labs and Maker Spaces

93. Evolve: A Library Playground
 Fab Lab / “Hackerspace”
 A location where people with common interests (usually in computers, technology, science, or
digital or electronic art) meet, socialize and/or collaborate.
 Can be viewed as open community labs incorporating elements of workshops and/or studios
where people can come together to share resources and knowledge to build and make things
and ideas.
 Combining the positive & fun aspects of schools, museums, and playgrounds into one “entity”.

94. Types of Learning Spaces
Collaborative Areas (Either Network
Based or In A Room)
Provide Tools (Hardware and/or
Software)
Learning Labs or Training Centers

97. Music / Graphic Design / Video Editing / Programming

98. 3D Printing

99. Allen County Public Library

100. Multimedia Room
 Room Set Up Features:
 Clickers
 Allows for jeopardy style gaming
 Smart Board (interactive white board)
 Full DVD/BluRay/Sound System
 Easy to use and start (Touch Panel System)
 You Can Use This Room For
 Jeopardy
 Movie Nights
 Presentations / Interactive Style Board Game Night
 Create a Business Plan, Project Plan, etc

102. Chattanooga ”Fourth Floor”
The 4th floor is a public laboratory and
educational facility with a focus on
information, design, technology, and the
applied arts.
The 14,000 sq foot space hosts
equipment, expertise, programs, events,
and meetings that work within this
scope.
While traditional library spaces support
the consumption of knowledge by
offering access to media, the 4th floor is
unique because it supports the
production, connection, and sharing of
knowledge by offering access to tools
and instruction.

103. DOK Lab (www.doklab.nl)

106. Funding
Its always a challenge, but here are a few simple tricks

107. Sell Your Idea
• Be Excited about what your
talking about
• You have a lot of members
in your community, let the
people you are speaking to
know that.

108. Twitter
Use Twitter to ask vendors or product
manufacturers for help

109. Crowd Source Funding

110. Donations and Grants
 Ask for donations to the project
 Name Rooms after Business who sponsor parts of renovation
 Grants
 Work Up Organizational Charts

111. Volunteers
Ask People To Help
Manual Labor
Paint
Move Furniture
Set Up Computers or Furniture
Don’t Forget Local Schools / Universities
Computer Programming / Internships

112. Questions?
Brian Pichman
 @bpichman
 815.534.0403
 bpichman@evolveproject.org