Yesterday, I visited one of the four district libraries in our village, Brambleton Library. Besides books, all libraries are equipped with a lot of technology, and each has a Maker Space—a department where you can engineer something.
All four libraries have:
* various 3D printers (Formlabs Form2, LulzBot TAZ, Fusion3, Makerbot Replicator)
* sewing equipment,
* embroidery machines,
* wide-format printers,
* 3D wood milling (Carbide 3D Nomad 3)
* laser engraver (Glowforge),
* fabric printing press,
* plotters (like Roland CAMM-1 GS-24 Vinil Cutter), including for fabric,
* video work (including VHS transfer),
* robotics kits (Lego, Makey Makey, Little Bits, etc.).
Specifically, Brambleton Library also includes a recording studio. Everything is free, except for consumables, which are priced slightly higher than retail (for example, PLA costs $10 per 100 grams, Resin – $20 per 100ml, which is about six times more than on Amazon). But, the use of equipment is free. And for the recording studio and video work, no consumables are required (except for patience).
With 3D, you can even upload files over the internet and then come pick up the finished form. There are people who will review the design and only proceed if it’s printable.
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The library also offers subscriptions to digital content—from books and magazines to music and audiobooks, plus a plethora of educational content. However, not all of it can be taken home—access is library-only. But music, PDFs, and audio can be borrowed for free on your phone, and streaming is entirely free as well.
https://library.loudoun.gov/online
Language courses, and a whole bunch of various classes (with physical attendance) are free. A library card works across a multitude of libraries (not just in our county) and is, of course, free.
Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev. 