About The Labs
The Labs is Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's digital media lab - a free space for teenagers to geek out at the Library!
If you've ever wanted to make a movie, learn photography or create your own music, this is your chance. You can do all that and more at one of four learning labs across the city.
Ask a teen librarian to get started or e-mail thelabs@carnegielibrary.org for more info.
What is a Digital Media Lab?
Good question. A digital media lab is a place full of computers and other technology where patrons are encouraged to learn and create. The Labs will be made free and available to our teen patrons in grades 6-12. You can drop by to learn from one of our Labs mentors, experts in various forms of digital media and expression, or just mess around with the equipment and learn on your own terms.
The Labs @ CLP will offer free programs teaching teens to use the equipment and software in the Lab. Plenty of free time will also be available where you can pick the brain of a Labs mentor.
Do you have a school project that could benefit from the use of video? Or maybe you'd like to record some music you've been working on? We can help.
Ask a teen specialist to get started or e-mail thelabs@carnegielibrary.org for more info.
Labs Sites
You can drop in to one of four Labs sites around the city:
CLP - Main
Hours: Monday - Thursday, 3 - 7 pm & Friday, 3 - 5 pm
CLP - Allegheny
Hours: Monday, 4 - 7 pm
CLP - South Side
Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 4 - 7 pm
CLP - East Liberty
Hours: Wednesday, 4:30 - 7:30 pm
The Rules:
>> Read our Rules
We want you to have fun and create in The Labs. To insure the best possible environment for yourself and others, please keep the following rules in mind:
- Respect yourself, others, mentors, equipment and The Labs space.
- The Labs' computers and equipment are reserved exclusively to create -- please use public PCs for all other purposes.
- You need a photo ID or library card to reserve a timeslot, Labs equipment and computers.
- Please pick up after yourself.
- No food and drink in The Lab.
- The Labs' computers and equipment are reserved on a first come, first served basis.
- You will be required to pay for any lost and/or damaged materials or equipment before being able to use Labs space or materials again.
- You need a photo ID or library card to reserve a timeslot, Labs equipment and computers.
Labs Creations Policy
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh reserves the right to use content created in Labs spaces and photos taken during programming to promote library services. This may mean posting photos, videos, or other content to our website and social networking accounts. However, your privacy is important to us--if you would like us to keep your work and likeness private, please tell a teen specialist or Labs mentor.
Getting Started:
>> How to use The Labs
On your first visit to a Labs location, you will be asked to register, and then given a tour of the space and an explanation of policies and procedures. Remember to bring your library card or an ID - you will need it to reserve time in the Lab.
You can reserve time on Labs computers for up to one (1) hour. If no one else has signed up, you may continue to use Labs computers as long as computers are free. You will be given a five minute warning once a new user signs up. Remember, computers and other equipment is reserved on a first come, first served basis and should only be used creative purposes.
Featured Programs
>> Monthly Workshops
Every month, The Labs focuses on a digital media topic at four branches around the city: Allegheny, East Liberty, Main (Oakland), and South Side. Depending on the theme, the Labs transform into movie sets, photography workshops, graphic design hubs, music recording studios, and computer programming workrooms-and that's just the beginning!
Creative teens of all skill levels are welcome in our fully equipped spaces, where they can just hang out, learn something new, or perfect their craft during weekly sessions. Both group and individual projects are encouraged, and Labs mentors are available to provide direction and expertise as teens work on their projects.
At the end of each month, Labs mentors award badges to teens who complete a project, which indicates that a teen has strengthened his or her creative skills in our workshops. Badges are also a sign that mentors can allow teens more independence in the Labs and as they become more familiar with the equipment and software and require less supervision.
Every month brings a new theme, so there's bound to be something to interest anyone looking for creative things to do! Keep an eye out on our Facebook and YouTube pages to see what the Labs are up to today.
HEAR ME
HEAR ME is your chance to share a story. HEAR ME amplifies your voices using MEDIA and TECHNOLOGY to CREATE a world where you are heard, acknowledged and understood, giving you the power to INSPIRE social change.
Hip-Hop on L.O.C.K.
Think you have what it takes to make it in the music industry? This
free workshop will feature:
a DJ session, a writing session and training on top-of-the-line studio equipment to help you create professional sounding music.
Labs Equipment:
The Labs have all the tools you need to get started on film, graphic design, and music projects. Check out some of the equipment available to use in each of The Labs locations:
Mentors
Need help getting started? Let one of our knowledgeable mentors assist you! Whether you're new to digital media or a burgeoning expert, mentors can help you create or just find what you're looking for. Mentors lead weekly workshops at each Labs space, but will also be available to help you learn how to use The Labs' software and equipment for projects big or small, from school assignments to your own works of art. Just ask!
Nicole Antonuccio: When I was eight my brother and I made a movie about pirates using a miniature sailboat, an army man, and diamond shaped paperweight that we filmed on our dad’s ancient over-the-shoulder VHS video camera. My brother composed a score on his guitar, and I created the story. It was my first movie, and it taught me that with a strong vision, some basic equipment and a creative spirit anything is possible.
More recently I minored in Visual Studies at Cornell University, taking as many film and design classes as I could find. The classes I took emphasized a critical analysis of film and design, and while I enjoyed learning about these art forms I realized I was much more interested in creating than in analyzing art. I currently work as an independent graphic designer, filmmaker, and improviser (non-digital art counts too!).
As a Pittsburgh native, I have been enjoying programs hosted by the Carnegie Library my whole life, and I am now super excited to be a part of The Labs team!
Chris Beauregard: One of the earliest artistic joys that I can remember was the chance to share the experience of creating something new and unexpected with others. And whether my practice has grown through drawing, sculpting, or filmmaking; it has always been motivated out of a desire to communicate.
In 2005 I moved to Pittsburgh to attend the MFA program at Carnegie Mellon University. While there my focus in sculpture expanded to include other models for art making, including digital media. And now nearly everything I do involves digital media in one fashion or another. I think it’s incredible that we engage digital media in creative and challenging ways every day and just as often we are not even aware that we are doing it! We create identities for ourselves, communicate with friends and form meaningful connections with collaborators that we have never met IRL. To both learn about the potential of new technologies and to find out that we have been active participants in it already, can really be an empowering thing.
I am excited to share the many ways that digital media has shaped the things that I make. And just as excitingly, I look forward to learning and sharing as a new addition to The Labs team.
Andre Costello: I've always been artistically minded, first drawing with a mechanical pencil ca. 1994; now I prefer using Illustrator and Photoshop. I began playing acoustic guitar ca. 2000. These days, I use those skills to make music in GarageBand. Throughout the majority of my conscious existence, I've always been creating in some form. In high school, I was voted most artistic, and in college I studied graphic design at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh.
While learning the ins and outs of design in school, I was exploring music and recording on my own time. My college band, The Slant, wrote and recorded three full-length albums. Since the break-up of that group, I've been writing, recording, and promoting my own music. Performing under the name Costello and the Cool Minors (and as myself Andre Costello), I've shared the stage with the likes of Kelley Deal, La Sera, Atlas Sound, Hotel Lights, and Nat Baldwin (of Dirty Projectors). There are a multitude of parallels that can be drawn between music and visual art.
I am excited to share what I know and help you learn and create in The Labs!
Molly Dickerson: Art has been an integral part of my life for as long as I can remember; from playwriting to poetry, dance to film criticism, I've always been passionate about creative endeavors. As a teen, I began to channel my interests into coursework, taking studio art, film, and writing electives in high school. In 2006, I was awarded a Silver Key at the Scholastic Art Awards for digital photography.
As a student at The College of Wooster, I designed a major in Film Studies and paired it with a minor in Studio Art. My curriculum emphasized an analytical approach to film, along with coursework in art history, drawing, painting, and digital imaging. During this time, I began using Final Cut Pro to edit short films, including a music video submission to a 48-hour film festival.
In 2011, I moved to Pittsburgh to enter the Master of Library and Information Science program at the University of Pittsburgh, which I completed in August 2012. Now that I'm part of The Labs team, I look forward to working with teens in a library setting as we explore, create, and learn from digital media together.
Corey Wittig: I think of myself as more of a consumer than a creator of digital media, but, looking back, I was always tinkering with video projects for school or blogging on my prehistoric webpage (before the term "blog" existed, I might add).
I've worked for Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh for six years, the majority of that time in Teen Services. During my time at CLP, I graduated from the University of Pittsburgh's School of Information Sciences with a Masters' of Library and Information Science. I also attended Pitt for my Bachelor's Degree in English Literature. During that time I was also Music Director and DJ at the awesome student-run radio station WPTS.
As Digital Learning Librarian for Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, my main focus is The Labs. I see the program as an opportunity for teens to follow their interests, developing them into true talent. Digital media is a great tool for expression--whether you're putting a cool tech spin on a school project or just working on something that makes you happy.
I'll mostly be hanging out in The Lab at Main on Mondays and Tuesdays so stop by and say hello!
The Labs@ CLP is made possible through funding from The Grable Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation, The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and The Laurel Foundation.
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