Fernie residents will soon have access to cutting-edge technology such as 3D printing as the Fernie Heritage Library looks to the future.
On March 26, Columbia Basin Trust announced $613,000 in funding for nine communities to upgrade their places for education.
The two-year, $1.5 million Community Technology Program provides grants to registered non-profit organizations, First Nations and local governments that operate public spaces like libraries and communities centres.
The Fernie Heritage Library is one of the groups receiving funding from CBT, as well as several other local organizations who are helping to build an exciting new hub.
The library will soon feature a technology hub with three main components: a digitization station that will enable people to convert old formats (such as VHS tapes) into digital formats, an editing and creation station with computers and software, and a “maker-space” with equipment like a 3D printer and laser cutter. Needless to say, Library staff are excited to start this project.
“The technology hub will be a place for the community to use technology to make new things,” said library director Emma Dressler.
“It will be a place of innovation and inspiration, where people can interact with their environment in new ways, learn new skills and come together in new ways,” she said.
The new technology hub will be located on the bottom floor of the Fernie Heritage Library.