Touring the Toronto Reference Library's new Hub with Ab Velasco, Project Leader, Digital Content and Innovation. In response to society's changing definitions, this and other North America libraries now offer do-it-yourself computer programming, 3D printing, and maker spaces as components of literacy

1. 14 • PRINTACTION • APRIL 2014
I
n the 1450s, Johannes Gutenberg’s de-
velopment of combining metal move-
able type, oil-based ink, and the wood-
en hand press into a printing process led
to an explosion of popular literacy – fos-
tering new possibilities for every person
in the civilized world to read and write.
But now, in 2014, literacy has acquired
a broader definition. In many North
American towns and cities, public librar-
ies are revising their services based on a
definition of literacy that includes not
just the ability to read and write words,
but also the ability to operate digital
technology and program digital code.
Public libraries now offer computer
programming, 3D printing, and maker
spaces as components of literacy. This ex-
panded definition, together with partial
funding from the Metcalf Foundation,
led the Toronto Public Library (TPL) to
create a $44,000 digital media lab, called
the Digital Innovation Hub, which drew
considerable attention from the press
when it opened in February at its popu-
lar downtown Toronto Reference Library
location, near the heavily trafficked in-
tersection of Bloor and Yonge Streets.
“Literacy comes in several forms, and
new technology plays a bigger and bigger
role in how people acquire knowledge,”
explains Ab Velasco, Project Leader, Digi-
tal Content and Innovation for TPL, who
recently gave me a tour of the new Hub.
“From the early days of computers, the
library has made digital technology avail-
able to the public and supported them in
learning how to use it, so the Hub is just
an extension of the same principle.”
Velasco says the taskforce which
planned the Hub consisted of TPL staff
from a cross-section of such depart-
ments as IT, Web Services, Policy and
Planning, and Marketing and Commu-
nications, aided by a survey of the TPL
community and consultations with other
libraries.He says Fayetteville Free Library
(in a suburb of Syracuse, New York) was
the trailblazer in creating facilities like
the Hub and that its model has since
been followed by libraries in Edmonton,
Chicago and Innisfil (20 minutes south
of Barrie, Ontario).
How the Hub works
For free and for up to two hours a day,
TPL cardholders can reserve one of the
Hub’s nine workstations, each dedicated
to either Audio/Video Editing, 3D Scan-
ning, VCR-to-Digital Conversion, Web/
Graphic/3D Design, or Coding/Pro-
gramming. Users can obtain help from
one of the digital design technicians con-
stantly on duty whose expertise varies
among each of the processes for which
the Hub is equipped. Users can also book
time on an array of other high-tech de-
vices, including:
• One of two MakerBot Replicator 2
3D printers (about $2,500 each),
• High-definition video cameras,
• A green screen (background for
digital photography or videography
that enables the image or video being
shot to be superimposed on a second
image or video),
• A variety of big-name-brand tablets
and laptops, and
• Smart Pens (electronic ballpoint pens
that digitize, store, and transfer what
is written or drawn to a computer).
In a Learning Centre beside the Hub, the
Library provides training sessions (some
up to 2 1/2 hour long) on subjects like
Photoshop (Parts I and II), Website De-
sign (Parts 1 and II), Introductory 3D
Design, and 3D Printer Certification.
March Break classes for students
are offered for 3D Printing, Video,
or DJ-ing. Again, all classes are free
to TPL cardholders and require
only advance booking (although
spaces are limited.)
Next, Velasco says, a course on
Computer Programming will be
added. And because high-school
teachers have expressed the desire
to build digital literacy amongst
their students, TPL is developing
a School Visits Program for the Hub, as
well as video training modules. A fur-
ther $50,000 from the Metcalf Foun-
dation will enable TPL to develop and
deliver outreach technology programs
to youth in underemployed areas. Ad-
ditionally, two more Digital Innovation
Hubs are scheduled for TPL’s Fort York
and Scarborough Civic Centre loca-
tions – two new branches expected to
open later this year, bringing TPL’s to-
tal number of branches to exactly 100.
3D printing and maker space
Velasco says since the first Hub opened,
3D printing has proven especially pop-
ular, and the 20 3D Printer Certification
classes TPL had scheduled for February
and March were fully booked within
three days. The certification courses are
mandatory before using TPL’s 3D print-
ers. About 60 of the 300 people who
signed up for them also obtained their
first TPL card at the same time.
Just as TPL charges users nominal fees
for black-and-white and colour copies,
3D-printer users pay a surcharge of $1
plus five cents per minute, with a two-
hour-a-day limit on printer time. Thus
users can print a consumer-grade proj-
ect, such as a smartphone case, in about
90 minutes for about $5.50; but if they
wanted to print something more com-
plicated and time-consuming, such as an
engineering or architectural prototype,
Velasco says they instead would have to
use one of Toronto’s commercial sup-
pliers of 3D printing. TPL also does not
allow 3D printing of weapons, sexually
explicit materials, and other items that
contravene the Library’s published Rules
of Conduct.
Some of the Hub’s other newfangled
gear is aimed at the “maker” community.
This is a subculture of do-it-yourselfers
who enjoy creating things in their spare
time, often new and unique inventions,
using electronics, robotics, 3D printing,
computer numerical controls, metal-
working, or woodworking. The theme
of Make Magazine, one of the niche
publications for this community, is to
celebrate “your right to tweak, hack, and
The Modern Library
VICTORIA GAITSKELL
The massive Toronto Reference
Library has undergone significant
transformation, led by Ab Velasco,
Project Leader of Digital Content and
Innovation.
Continued on page 40
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bend any technology to your own will.”
Items in the Hub’s inventory that
might especially appeal to makers
include:
• Raspberry Pi computers (tiny,
cheap computers expressly de-
signed for educational applications
and experiments),
• Arduino kits (open-source
electronic boards that can control
just about any do-it-yourself hard-
ware project; Getting your coffee
maker to tweet you after it finishes
brewing), and
• Makey Makey kits (a device that
lets you turn random objects, such
as fruit or Play-Doh figurines, into
computer-operating keys).
Part and parcel of the maker experience
is that it generally occurs in collabora-
tive spaces where people can connect
and learn from each other as they tinker.
Velasco comments: “Technology is great,
but it becomes greater with a commu-
nity and face-to-face interaction that
utilizes, defines, and conceptualizes it.
What is unique about the Hub is that we
are hoping to build and foster a similar
sense of community and collaborative
learning here.”
“To succeed in today’s digital world,
Torontonians need the opportunity to
useemergingtechnologiesinspacesthat
encourage collaboration and creativity,”
stated City Librarian Jane Pyper, when
TPL’s first Hub was introduced. In fact,
TPL has codified these objectives as one
of the four major initiatives comprising
its 2012-2015 Strategic Plan; name-
ly, to “Catalyze & Connect a City of
Innovators, Entrepreneurs & Creators.”
TPL’s Website reads: “Through part-
nerships, transformations of our phys-
ical and virtual spaces, and the use of
new and emerging technologies, Toron-
to Public Library creates cultural and
creative destinations that stimulate and
support creativity, encourage collabora-
tion, and spark experimentation and in-
novation for creators and entrepreneurs
of all ages.”
So far, these partnerships include
outreach to such local maker spaces
and communities as HackLab.TO, Mak-
erKids, and Site 3 coLaboratory, because,
“all these spaces are very much about
community defining the space and the
technology, and that’s the feeling we’re
trying to go for,” confirms Velasco.
Another partnership has enabled the
Reference Library to bring on site the
Toronto Mini Maker Faire, scheduled for
November 22 and 23, 2014. Other part-
nerships have resulted in Monthly Meet-
ups – drop-in programs in the Reference
Library’s Atrium with speakers and per-
formances on such topics as Robotics:
Creating a Star Wars Droid and When
Wearable Tech Meets Art. Yet another
of TPL’s innovations in collaboration is
a Repair Café session where people can
bring a broken household item and get
help fixing it amid their neighbours.
TPL also recently inaugurated an In-
novators in Residence program, com-
mencing with 3D printing expert and
digital fabrication artist Derek Quenne-
ville of 3DPhacktory. Besides working
on site for a six-week residency, Quenne-
ville is slated to create a video training
module; offer classes, demonstrations,
and drop-in appointments for TPL’s cus-
tomers; blog for TPL; and make himself
generally available. Because the Hub is
young, Velasco says further elaborations
are still under consideration and will
partly reflect how TPL staff witness peo-
ple making use of the new facilities.
ca.linkedin.com/in/vicg8
@vicg8
vicg8.blogspot.ca
The Digital Innovation Hub at
the Toronto Reference Library
includes a Learning Centre
with free courses on topics like
Photoshop and Website design,
as well as two MakerBot 3D
printers (right).