The Collaboratory at the Wallingford Public Library.
Event setup in the Community Room of the Wallingford Public Library.
On Saturday, October 15, the Wallingford Public Library’s Collaboratory celebrated its 5+1 Anniversary.
Led by librarian and Head of Emerging and Creative Technologies Ms. Janet Flewelling, the event showcased the various advanced machines available at the library and offered arts and crafts activities. Popular stations included the virtual reality setup, cookie decorating, and plant potting. “We have lots of really high-tech equipment and software for people in the community to use,” said Ms. Flewelling. “We have poster printing, sublimation printing, photo printing, and the Adobe Creative Cloud on our four high-end computers. We have a laser cutter, long arm quilting machine … and lots of great stuff that isn’t accessible to the average citizen. We’re lucky enough to be able to teach people how to use it too.”
The event also included various workshops led by Wallingford Public Library staff and local residents. Ms. Jill Shea, manager of the Connecticut Flower Collective gave presentations on microgreens, young seedlings of edible vegetables and herbs, while Ms. Debbie Jaffe, owner of Kandu Beads in Wallingford, lead a workshop on polymer clay magnets. Local artist Mr. Tim Sway, who has more than 100,000 subscribers on YouTube, displayed his mobile concert hall “Jambulance,” a van renovated with reused material and shared his joy in crafting guitars while Ms. Patricia Dellaripa ran a session on painting notecards.
Founded in September 2014, the Collaboratory encourages visitors to utilize the library for other purposes beyond merely borrowing books. “We’re looking to do more than just have a transaction; libraries used to be very transactional — borrow a book, leave, or go to a program, leave,” said Ms. Jane Fisher, Director of the Wallingford Public Library, “people wanted to stay awhile and make the library feel like their space, which we thought was great.”
In recognition of the time lost to the Covid-19 pandemic, the event was named 5+1 Anniversary, omitting the two years lost. Lasting nearly four hours, the event marked the triumphant return of the library as a space for the local community to gather, enjoy, and learn.
