What is this project about?
The Pembroke Public Library’s Tech-Forward Learning project is the brainchild of a multi-departmental endeavour that aims to nurture and promote community learning, from infancy to adulthood, through the modernizing and updating of the different tools and technology available to residents of the City of Pembroke and surrounding areas.
The proposed project will aim to:
1. Expand the existing Public-Access Computer Lab by bringing in a greater number of desktop units for patrons to use;
2. Provide the Children’s Department with much-needed technology upgrades, including:
• two brand-new AWE Early-Literacy Workstation computers;
• several LeapReader Learn-to-Read pen and book sets;
• interactive Plugo kits;
• educational games for the library’s Nintendo Switch system;
• as well as a brand-new collection of VOX read-along audio/print books.
3. Procure modern technology that appeals to the current interests of teens and young adults, such as the Wondershare “Filmora” video-editing software and a green screen with which patrons can create social-media content;
4. Streamline the ongoing Local-History digitizing process via the obtention of a dedicated book scanner, which would also free up the current scanner for patrons to use.
Why is this project important to the community?
The Tech-Forward Learning project is a deeply relevant and important endeavour for the residents of Pembroke and all communities in the surrounding area. It offers the Pembroke Public Library an opportunity to keep up with the demands of this digital age and better serve the people who rely on its services.
The expansion of the Public-Access Computer Lab would be highly beneficial for library users. Free access to reliable, high-speed internet services is an indescribably meaningful tool for locals who do not have home computers, and additional desktop units would allow for a greater number of community members to create and print off resumes, apply for jobs, fill out government forms, further their studies, and much more.
Providing the Children and Teens Department with updated technology is a worthwhile investment into the future of local youth, one that will certainly impact early literacy rates and library usage among kids, tweens, and teens.
The department’s solitary early-learning computer system is well over 10 years old, and having only one means that young patrons have limited opportunities to access its benefits. The addition of two brand-new AWE Early-Literacy workstations would provide many more children with the opportunity to enjoy learning through computer games based on early-learning concepts. Moreover, having access to this technology would allow students who do not have home computers to keep up with their peers, both in terms of skill building and social development.
The purchase of items such as “Learn-to-Read” pen and book sets, interactive kits that connect to phones or tablets, VOX books, and educational Nintendo Switch games would help expand the selection of materials with which the library could encourage children’s budding autonomy and strengthen their early-literacy skills.
Going above and beyond play-based learning, these tools would allow kids to improve their reading skills with a sense of independence, enjoy STEAM-focused activities and games, as well as socialize while gaining knowledge and skill building.
Teenagers are a typically underserved demographic. With that in mind, staff members at the Pembroke Public Library have been consistently working to bridge this gap through the creation of programs and events that appeal to their age group. Bringing in technology like the Filmora video-editing software (and a green screen with which to experiment) would be a definite draw for any young people looking to practice and sharpen their content-creation skills, or to engage with their peers in a way that reflects current trends and interests.
Last but not least, the Tech-Forward Learning project would revitalize and streamline the Pembroke Public Library’s ongoing local-history digitization initiative. Currently, staff members make use of the main library printer to scan each page of these archival documents, many of which were kindly donated by community members. While this process is functional, it is also
demonstrably cumbersome, and usage of the scanner function means the printer is less accessible to patrons looking to print, scan, or fax their own documents.
The procurement of a scanner solely for use in the digitization process would free up the resources needed for daily use by staff and library users, as well as ensure a faster induction into digital posterity for these historic local records.
