Melrose 11

The Dorothy Lumley Melrose Center for Technology, Innovation & Creativity (Website) opens this Saturday at the Orlando Public Library.

The new tech center is over 26,000 square feet and takes up most of the second floor.

The tech center features various studios and equipment.

The main areas are:

  • Photography Lab
  • Video Lab
  • Fab Lab (3D Printers and other tinkering)
  • Sound Studio
  • Simulation Studio (flight, driving, fork lift, excavation)
  • Conference Room
  • Common Areas

Library guests can use the facilities at no charge.

“It’s for the professionals, families and students, where they can come to learn about different types of technologies and career paths,” Ormilla Vengersammy, Department Heat for the Technology and Education Center told Bungalower

There is a required orientation to use the equipment and there is only a charge for materials used.

The center offers a series of classes and workshops on the various types of equipment they have.

While it may look odd for a library to launch a technology center they see it as a natural evolution.

“Libraries have to evolve to meet the needs of the changing community,” Tracy Zampaglione a spokesperson for the library said.

“It’s no longer just a warehouse of books,” she added.

Libraries for a long time have offered classes on basic desktop technology like Microsoft Office or typing and now they will be able to offer more advanced classes.

“Majority of jobs require knowledge of technology. We now will be able to offer high-tech classes,” Vengersammy said.

To set the mood that this isn’t your normal library environment, guests are greeted by a hologram of Dorthy Melorse for whom the facility is named after.

The center was made possible in part by a $1 million gift from the Kendrick B. Melrose Family Foundation.

You can find more info about the center including upcoming classes on their website.

Here’s a look inside the new tech center:

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Melrose 2

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  1. If you haven’t been in the downtown library in awhile, it’s worth the visit. I’d been using various branches the last few years, but happened in a few months. Blown away. The place is a high tech, high cool monument to reading and books. Love the place!