Digital Innovation Hub Librarian Internship Experience!

February 2, 2015 | Emoke

Photo of me at the Toronto Reference Library Hub

Recently I finished a librarian internship at the Digital Innovation Hub at the Toronto Reference Library. I had the honour of spending about five months there, getting to know what goes on in the hub and learning how to do my own 3D printing along with figuring out the other software that customers use there, such as Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, and MakerWare, to name a few!

The Digital Design Technician staff and others who work at the hub are knowlegeable about 3D Design, 3D printing, website design, Adobe software and the Asquith Press self publishing book machine services. I learned a lot from them by shadowing their public Digital Design Classes and generally running around the hub watching and listening to how they are helping customers and asking them a million questions along the way.

This internship changed librarian work for me forever! For a few months, I was not answering reference questions or taking care of a collection of books, but instead; helping architects, engineers, students, inventors, designers, artists, and the general hobbyist or maker with their 3D printing and creative work. I was teaching 3D Printer Certification classes, helping out at the International Book Fair, Maker Faire, and a Hackathon event with the Ryerson Digital Media Zone and Penguin Books. I also helped anyone that walked by learn about the space and gave various group tours.

My time there was a wake-up call about the future direction libraries are heading in. Many customers asked me why the library of all places would have a Makerspace or tech lab. I always tried to answer as eloquently as possible, but really, the answer is pretty simple: the library world has to keep up with innovation, especially technological innovation and offer it in an accessible, helpful and educational way to the public, just like they have always done with computers, programs, and services.

I was always quite proud of how impressed the public was that the library has a space for 3D printing, designing and printing your own books, and a whole slew of other nerdy techy equipment to help you with your work or play.

Enough said. Go see for yourself how awesome and techy the library has become!

The Innovation Hubs blog

Toronto Reference Library Digital Innovation hub

Fort York Library Digital Innovation hub