A mother and daughter check out the 3D printer in the Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest Makerspace.

The Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest is more than just a place to find a great book to read or to study for an important exam. It’s also a place where people in the community can work with their hands and create new things in the library’s innovative Makerspace lab.

Initially created in 2018, the Makerspace lab is situated in a space toward the rear of the library, once occupied by a cafe. Even at midday on a Wednesday, the Makerspace was busy with activity as its director, Derek Anderson, gave a tour.

“Right now, what this is doing is we're 3D printing a patron submission,” Anderson explained as a 3D printer roughly the size of a microwave oven whirred away, creating what looked like a key fob mold for potential commercial use, although Anderson wasn’t sure what the final piece would be.

"This guy is prototyping some kind of custom part that he's trying to make, and so he's got a bunch of different sizes and shapes of this tool or replacement part,” Anderson said. "This is the kind of thing that people come to us with.”

Anderson said this project is just a part of how the Makerspace supports the community.

Anyone with an idea can either complete a submission form on the library’s Makerspace webpage or bring their idea to the lab in person. The Makerspace team will examine the idea and discuss the proper application process and, finally, the cost to develop the prototype, he said.

Once the process and price are agreed upon, Anderson said they will create the prototype on one of the Makerspace’s machines, including a large-format 3D printer, vinyl cutter, milling machine or heat press engraver, often right in front of the patron’s eyes.

"They can see their item get printed, or they can bring in a 3D model and we'll take a look at it right here in the room," he said. “People bring in a flash drive or something that they want to make, and we'll take a look at it and make the settings in the software and get their projects rolling. That happens a lot of times.”

The Makerspace also offers a photography studio, with seasonal backgrounds and a green screen as well as an array of other tools including tripods, lighting boxes and a DSLR camera for patrons to use.

There are classes for all ages several days per week on a variety of topics, such as Introduction to 3D Printing, Beginner 3D Modeling with Tinkercad (a web-based design platform) and the Open Maker Lab, in which all of the equipment and Makerspace staff are available to help turn ideas into reality.

Additionally, the library staff in September doubled the hours and the number of classes for the Open Maker Lab. Previously, Open Maker Lab classes were only offered on Thursdays from 2 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. Now, the Makerspace offers the class on Monday mornings as well, to try to reach more people and work with their schedules, Anderson said.

To learn more about the Library in the Forest Makerspace, visit vestavialibrary.org/makerspace.

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Library offers hub for creativity and learning