By Heather Pizutto Library & Cultural Arts Director City of Carlsbad
Are you looking for a convenient space for your next small group meeting, one that is fully equipped with high-speed internet, a high-definition monitor and a magnetic white board? In need of a 3D printer to bring an idea to life? With a coffee house just steps away?
Welcome to your newly modernized Carlsbad City Library on Dove Lane.
When City of Carlsbad librarians envisioned a library for the 21st century, they saw more than what many people typically see – a treasure trove of books.
What Carlsbad librarians visualized was a community gathering place where people of all ages go not only to research school and work projects, but a place where they push their chairs together to brainstorm and collaborate on new ideas. They imagined a destination where people can connect with others using the most up-to-date technology available. And they envisioned a resource center where community members can learn the latest technology and put it to use in their homes and businesses.
The Carlsbad City Library on Dove Lane, which reopened on June 25, after a four-month renovation and modernization, offers this and much more. It has become the gathering place we expected it to be while maintaining its popular print collection.
When we modernized the Carlsbad City Library, Carlsbad’s small businesses were a big part of our conversations. We know that working people are often looking for a place where they can plug in or tune out, whichever they prefer. A place where they can labor alone in silence or team with co-workers in a high-tech environment to advance their latest project. The Carlsbad City Library offers six study rooms where people can do just that. And two study rooms on the second floor are separated by a movable partition, so they can be joined as one large room to accommodate eight or 10 people comfortably.
The library includes a space for a new cafe, and the city is accepting proposals from qualified firms to operate this location, which will be able to serve groups with beverages and snacks.
The library’s newest and most exciting addition is the Exploration HUB, equipped with the latest cutting-edge technology, and available as a resource for our local businesses.
The Exploration HUB includes two 3D printers that can reproduce an object by scanning it or produce a completely new object that a user creates on a computer. It also houses an electronic cutting machine that can cut a wide variety of materials, such as paper, cardstock and fabric, from designs that users create using software.
The Exploration HUB is equipped with 13 Mac computers where people can learn computer programming and video and audio editing. So after you’ve shot that video on your smartphone, you can take it to the Exploration HUB and turn it into a finished movie to post on your website or upload to YouTube. Or perhaps you have a video on an old VHS tape that needs to be restored? The Exploration HUB provides the tools to convert them to the latest digital formats.
The library will host classes on the 3D printers and all the high-tech hardware and software, so library users can learn how to use the equipment and teach others as well.
The Carlsbad City Library complex includes the Gowland Meeting Room and the Ruby G. Schulman Auditorium, which can be rented for meetings, presentations or performances.
The renovation included a complete overhaul of the Schulman Auditorium, with better seating and a raised stage to improve sight lines. The auditorium also offers the latest in integrated video and audio production tools, including five cameras, enhanced lighting and sound. This gives a renter the ability to record an event and provide digital products, or even stream the meeting live.
The library also provides free online research tools for business, including referenceUSA, AtoZdatabases and Value Line, to name just a few.
The City of Carlsbad Library system consists of three libraries: Carlsbad City Library on Dove Lane, the Georgina Cole Library on Carlsbad Village Drive and the Carlsbad City Library Learning Center on Eureka Place. Carlsbad libraries circulate 1.3 million books, DVDs and other materials every year, and host more than 65,000 visitors every month.
We look forward to partnering with the business community. We hope you will stop by to see the improvements and let us know how we can be of service.