Scugog Memorial Public Library unveils their 'Makerspace'

DAN CEARNS The Standard

SCUGOG: After a few years wait due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Scugog Memorial Public Library officially opened and unveiled their ‘Makerspace’ on Wednesday, November 1st.

The grand opening saw a ribbon cutting and tours of the space for members of Scugog Council, the Scugog Memorial Library board and Scugog Chamber of Commerce representatives, as well as local media.

At a meeting on Monday, October 30th, library CEO Amy Caughlin explained what a ‘Makerspace’ is.

“The Makerspace is a hub for making and creating, and offers our community access to services and equipment such as 3D printing, laser cutting, high-end creative work stations with Adobe Creative Cloud, sewing machines, coding and robotics kits and much more.”

She also stated the Makerspace will be open for 20 hours per week at the library. Those who wish to use the Makerspace will have to fill out a waiver first.

During the grand opening, library board Chair Sarah Parry told those in attendance the first library Makerspace opened in New York in 2011. Since then, there have been Makerspaces launched in Durham libraries such as Pickering, Clarington, Oshawa, Ajax and Whitby.

“We are proud to be able to offer the same state of the art equipment, technology and services to the Scugog community, starting today,” Ms. Parry said.

Scugog Mayor Wilma Wotten said the Township is “very excited for Amy [Caughlin] and the board to have this in our community.”

“We have many creative people in our community, and I know it’s open to everyone, so I expect great things to come out of this,” Mayor Wotten added.

For more information on the Makerspace, go online to www.scugoglibrary.ca/makerspace.