The Digital Projects Lab is no longer open.
But we are in the process of planning for a reconfiguration of Central Library and that will include public access to additional technologies.
In the meantime, check out some of the Library’s many technology events or maker programs.
[…] Multimedia Tools Available at Library ‘Lab’ — Next month Arlington Central Library will be launching a temporary “lab” on the first floor that will provide do-it-yourself multimedia creation tools. The Digital Projects Lab, as it will be called, will be open 20 hours per week and will have digital tools like Photoshop, Flash, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Final Cut Pro, Audacity and iMovie. The lab will be powered by MacBook computers and will also have a video camera, microphone, large color printer, film/photo scanner and Wacom Intuos 3 tablet. [Arlington Public Library] […]
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APL is awesome. Thanks for being on the front line with helping Arlington citizens get up to speed on technology.
Will the equipment be able to read both MAC and Microsoft-created files? Great idea for those of us with occasional needs!
Gretchen, what kind of files are you thinking of? Audio and video? Something else?
Will the lab eventually have technology to convert old video recorder film into DVD. That’s a project I’ve been want to do for a while.
Great question, Gen. While that won’t be part of the initial Project Lab setup, it is one of the many things we’re looking into for the future.
Very nice! I am looking forward to it. Hopefully we’ll be able to read the DV (digital video) format and perhaps others.
I too am very excited about the new facility. Among the hardware listed is a large color printer. Would you know the printer make and model and what are the largest sized prints that can be made on the printer? Many thanks.
The printer is an Epson Stylus Pro 4000 with Epson UltraChrome Ink. It prints up to 11×17 paper, and also has an option to print on rolls of paper (although you would need to supply the paper yourself).
Check out a photo of our printer.
Read the Printer specs from Epson.
I find this to be a wonderful idea. I want to know where and how one can learn about using the software of these tools. Does the library teach some of the basics of Adobe, Dreamweaver and Audacity? I know what these programs can do, but do not own them and would like to learn more.
Kit, we will keep a collection of manuals for all of the programs and equipment in the Lab itself. There will also be online tutorials bookmarked on the computer.
Want to take a class?
Arlington Public Schools’ Adult Education offers Photoshop, Dreamweaver, HTML and CSS, and more.
Arlington Independent Media (in Clarendon) teaches classes on basic video editing, Final Cut Pro, WordPress and Photoshop, as well as many video production and marketing classes.
Would it be possible to add other software titles in the future? Autodesk’s AutoCAD LT 2013 is the standard technical drawing application for most designers and design students, yet it is cost-prohibitive for many. It integrates well with other programs like Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Acrobat Pro. I’d also highly recommend Autodesk Sketchbook Pro which would really put the Wacom Pen tablet through its paces.
These are great software suggestions – thanks.
While we’re probably not going to be able to implement them during the pilot phase of the Digital Project Lab, your feedback is essential as we develop the Lab to best serve our community.
Please consider attending our Open House / Focus Group on May 9, and sharing more of your questions, ideas and thoughts.
I would like to learn how upload my digital photos to Clark Color Labs. Also, I would like to learn how to convert 35mm slides to digital so that I can upload to Clark Color Labs for digital processing. If you do not provide this service, do you know someone who could train me? Willing to pay. Thanks, Roland
Roland,
Our Digital Lab would be the perfect place for this type of project, but it is currently closed for construction.
In the meantime, you could take your slides to many of our local drugstores, or Target, to convert your slide to digital format.
Then you could make an appointment for one-on-one tech tutoring at our Columbia Pike Branch Library, to learn how to upload the digital files – the next one takes place on August 19.
I was wondering if Arlington Library had ever looked into a kiosk subscription for Lynda.com It seems like it would go along with the ideals of the Digital Projects Lab. It would allow users to quickly look up questions or take in depth classes online in hundreds of different topics and software. I was looking at getting a personal subscription and decided I should check to see if you have it first. Here is more information on it: http://www.lynda.com/online-software-training/lyndakiosk-education.html
I’d be interested to know if it is a possibility for the some what near future.
Thank you!
Diane,
It’s on our radar (we have used it for staff training, and recommend it to our patrons) and are evaluating it for the DPL!
The DPL is currently closed for renovation, but will reopen with new equipment and software later this Fall.