A Space for Curiosity

“People use it in ways we never could have predicted,” said Librarian Vicki C., who helped shape the lab into what it is today. “It’s truly become a place where learning looks different for everyone.”

Learning, Hands-On and Heart-First

The lab is stocked with tactile learning tools that are perfect to borrow, explore, and return once a curiosity is satisfied. Families can check out LEGO kits, including the popular LEGO® Technic™ set, and come into the library to build, save their progress, and pick up where they left off. With almost 300 uses since August 2025, these resources have made the library even more of a destination for lifelong learning.

There are STEM and math kits, molecule models for chemistry students, and early language builder games that help not only preschoolers but also English-language learners. Reference books and hands-on materials sit side by side, offering a bridge between imagination and understanding.

“The idea was to fill in the gaps,” Vicki explained. “Libraries can support what happens in school, and what happens before and beyond it.”

A Room That Adapts

What makes the Collaborative Learning Lab special isn’t just what’s on the shelves, it’s what happens in the room itself. Staff love it for its flexibility. The bright, moveable furniture and open layout make it easy to transform: one hour it’s a storytime space, the next it’s a study room, a Dungeons & Dragons table, or a meeting spot for Girls Who Code and Senior Tech Classes, and other library programs like Crochet 101 and Stitch Together classes.

Some mornings, regular visitors unfold their newspapers across the tables to read. Later, teens gather to hang out and talk, while in the corner, a dad and his son — who is on the autism spectrum — work quietly through math problems on the whiteboard.

 
A Living Example of What Libraries Do Best

 “It’s working even better than we imagined,” Vicki said with a smile. “People learn and socialize in different ways, and the lab provides a place for all this to come together with a lot of flexibility. People walk in, and they just make it their own.”