Digital learning lab for teens breaking ground at Central Library

While its impressive footprint in the heart of the city will stay the same, the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library is growing. The $1.5 million Digital Media Teen Learning Laboratory will break ground this fall. The lab is expected to open in the spring of 2015.

The 8,300-square foot facility will be housed in Central Library’s Popular Library on the first floor. Renovations to the area for the Digital Media Lab will mark the library system’s largest construction project since the Central Library was built in 2001.

“To say that we’re excited about this project is an understatement,” said Director of Libraries Keenon McCloy in a prepared statement. “We are on the cutting edge of the revolution that’s Teen Services in libraries nationwide.”

The lab is based on similar facilities around the country, specifically Chicago’s YOUmedia with one such facility dedicated to high school students and four for middle school students.

The Digital Media Lab will serve as a resource for teachers and administrators, enabling their students to better navigate rapid changes in education, libraries, and technology; feature programs and workshops in graphic design and illustration, music and audio production, video editing, coding, and game design with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics; and serve as an incubator for technology and programs. Pop-up digital media sessions will be available at the system’s other 17 locations, along with online learning opportunities for teens without transportation.
Qualified staff and mentors will be on hand to assist and challenge teens to learn digital media tools.

Major funders include The Plough Foundation and the City of Memphis.

by Richard J. Alley
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A freelance writer since 2008, Richard’s work has appeared in The Memphis Daily News, Memphis Magazine, Oxford American, The Memphis Flyer, River Times Magazine, Rhodes Magazine, The Commercial Appeal, and MBQ magazine among others, and in syndication through the Associated Press and Scripps Howard News Service. He is the editor of Development News for High Ground. Contact Richard.

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