Johnson County Library is excited to welcome back patrons to the newly renovated Central Resource location. This also includes full in-person services for the Black & Veatch MakerSpace, an environment for discovering creativity and emerging technologies open to visitors of all ages. Visitors will certainly notice some improvements. More than a fresh coat of paint and newly redone concrete floors, the Library is excited to share lots of updates and upgrades to equipment, hours, online reservation system, circulating maker kits and on-demand equipment tutorials.

New equipment:

• Two new Trotec laser cutters that are more powerful, faster, and larger.
• Two new dual extrusion Ultimaker 3d printers, and a Formlabs resin printer that bring industrial quality 3D printing capabilities for patrons.
• A new X-Carve CNC router that is both much faster and larger than the previous CNC machine. This machine is now in the CNC Router room (formerly the Sound Booth) in the MakerSpace.
• Larger and better quality monitors on most of the PCs in the MakerSpace, which is extremely helpful when doing 2D/3D design, video editing, etc.
• Higher quality Hakko induction soldering setup, and a more powerful fume extractor for soldering.
• Two new Janome sewing machines and a BabyLock serger.
• A new US Cutter vinyl cutter with vacuum hold down and optical lens.

Reservations and equipment usage updates: 

• Reservations for MakerSpace equipment can be made same day and up to two weeks in advance.
• New email reminder for equipment reservations 24 hours in advance.
• To avoid overcrowding in the MakerSpace, the Library is limiting patrons with reservations, or walk-ins, to one guest only. 

Temporary hours:

• Monday: Closed
• Tuesday: 11:00 am – 8:00 pm
• Wednesday: Closed
• Thursday: 11:00 am – 8:00 pm
• Friday 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
• Saturday: 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
• Sunday: 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm 

Online tutorials via Library OnDemand: 

• Sewing Machine
• Serger
• CNC Router, Laser Cutter, Vinyl Cutter, and 3D Printer tutorials coming soon

Circulating maker kits: 

• Circuit Playground Express
• Sound Production
• Micro:bit
• Energy Audit and Audio kits coming soon.

These additions will make it possible to tackle more advanced projects as well as learn and experiment with different equipment. The online tutorials are a great way to get familiar with the equipment and can help you get the most out of your project. To learn more about the Black & Veatch MakerSpace, visit jocolibrary.org/makerspace. When you’re ready to get started, be sure to make a reservation—the MakerSpace is very popular and for good reason!

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