Illinois: The New Teen Place Opening at Schaumburg Township Library is LOADED with Tech Tools, Video Games, and 3D Printer
FYI: Schaumburg is a Chicago suburb located west of the city, not far from O’Hare Intl. Airport.
From the Chicago Tribune:
At a cost of $1.2 million, the 6,000-square-foot center at the library, 130 S. Roselle Road, will cater to the 11,000 teens between 12 and 19 years old in the village. The new area features a digital production studio with green screen, advanced music-creation and video-production and -editing software, two smart discussion rooms, a multipurpose room for programs, movies, gaming and performances, a digital whiteboard, high-tech collaboration stations plus 30 MacBook Pros, four iMacs, five iPads and, for gamers, four versions of PS3, Xbox 360 Kinect and Wii consoles. A three-dimensional printer and scanner are also available.
“When we moved here 14 years ago, we never had a teen area and we saw a real need for it,” said Judy Napier, director of popular services, explaining only 600 square feet on the second floor had previously been dedicated to teen titles. “We wanted to create a really amazing teen center that comes with technology. With Districts 54 and 211 using a lot of technology in the schools, we wanted to make that available to students on nights and on weekends.”
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The Teen Place even features its own version of the popular RedBox, in which students can use their teen library cards to check out up to 800 music CDs, DVDs and video games. Also, there will be professional music equipment such as keyboards, bass, guitar, electric drum set and a Roland Gaia synthesizer plus a TC-Helicon voicelive touch for vocals to allow for music recording and mixing. Headphones are always available so “someone can be typing a term paper next to you,” [IT expert Ron] Wolek said, while others will be playing music, gaming and more.
Read the Complete Article, Learn What Else Teen Place Offers
Visit the Teen Section of the Schaumburg Township District Library Web Site
Take a Look at Pictures of the Teen Place Under Construction
Filed under: Journal Articles, Libraries, News
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.