Bethlehem Library Notes for Wednesday, June 5, 2019
— Photo by Kristen Roberts
Tell your story: The Studio Makerspace at Bethlehem Public Library is a user-friendly space that allows anyone with an Upper Hudson library card to self-produce his or her own video.
By Bethlehem Public Library continues to take the lead in putting new technology within everyone’s reach with our Studio Makerspace and One Button recording system. The studio, which celebrated its grand opening this spring, has recently been enhanced with sound-dampening drop ceilings and LED [light-emitting diode] lighting to provide an even better user experience.
The Studio Makerspace makes it easy to share stories and ideas with a greater audience through self-produced videos, TV shows, podcasting, and more. It’s also a great way to record and preserve personal histories or create presentations for distance-learning. The only limit is your imagination.
This self-service model and its user-friendly audio-visual equipment is right in line with the library’s mission of providing the tools and training to help people reach their goals — instead of doing the work for them.
It also means studio availability is no longer limited by staffing and is now accessible seven days a week. Anyone with an active Upper Hudson library card can book studio time in three-hour increments through the library’s online calendar. Public access to these cutting-edge tools helps bridge the digital divide in our community and creates opportunities that were once limited to those with professional experience.
The hallmark of the Studio Makerspace is the One Button system, which records and saves an mp4 file directly to a USB flash drive in one step. Laptops with Adobe Premiere Elements are available in the library for video editing, and the library also loans out handheld digital video cameras, so anyone is free to take their show on the road.
Content created in the studio may be made for personal use, distributed online or, if the producer is a not-for-profit organization, for broadcast on BCN-TV, the library’s public access channel, which is available on Spectrum Channel 1301 and Verizon Fios Channel 28.
Read It Forward
Teens, it’s Read It Forward time again at the library! This year, the featured book is “Miles Morales: Spider-Man” by Jason Reynolds. No due dates, no late fees, no worries! Just read the book, tell a friend about it, and pass it on. A limited number of books will be available at the library.
For details, see the guidelines found in each book, visit www.bplteens.org or stop by the desk in the Children’s Place. This is a collaborative project with the Upper Hudson Library System.
What’s hatching at the library?
Don’t forget to drop by the Children’s Place to see how our “Incubation Eggsperiment” is coming along as we hatch a brood of chicks inside the library. We’re also live-streaming their progress through the Chick Cam featured on our website at www.bethlehempubliclibrary.org.
On Sunday, June 9, at 3 p.m. Environmental educator George Steele will return for the second part of the “eggsperiment.” At the “Inside the Egg” program, he will show everyone how to candle the eggs to take a look at how the embryos are developing. Once they hatch, the chicks will hang around the library for a week or so before heading to the farm.