Mt Laurel Library adds tech programs, native plant book collection
From greenery to circuitry, the Mt Laurel Library is expanding its collections for patrons.
Library Branch Manager Kate Etheredge said the library has recently added five laptops, a handful of tech tools and a collection of native plant and pollinator books. The Friends of the Mt Laurel Library donated the money for these additions, and the funding was raised through proceeds from the Mt Laurel Design Home and the Southern Living Inspired Home.
The technology collection includes a locker and charging cabinet for the laptops, two MaKey MaKey circuit board kits, a Sphero robot controlled via an app, Lego Boost and a stop motion animation program. Etheredge said these tools will allow Mt Laurel Library to offer classes on basic coding and robotics, which are popular for kids and teens at North Shelby Library.
The laptops will also be used for adult programs, Etheredge said, such as a training session on using Ancestry.com, as well as other programs like Minecraft Challenges and Hour of Code. Patrons will be able to design 3-D objects that can be printed at North Shelby Library.
“If there’s demand for it, we can also offer computer classes for adults,” Etheredge said. “We try to be responsive to our patron requests.”
The first coding class was held on April 26, and Etheredge said the library plans to hold at least one tech-themed class per month depending on demand. Having these tools at the library offers kids and adults the ability to explore new skills that they likely couldn’t try at home, Etheredge said.
The native plant collection at Mt Laurel Library is an assortment of 50 books on landscaping and gardening with native plants, wildflowers, trees, ponds and shade and fern gardens, as well as Alabama’s local birds, butterflies and insects.
“Since so much of our wilderness area in Alabama has been cleared for building, it’s important that homeowners plant natives in the hopes of creating a natural corridor in the Dunnavant Valley area for wildlife food and refuge, especially for the bird, bee and pollinator populations. We hope our new books will offer information and inspiration along these lines,” Friends of the Mt Laurel Library Chairman Ann Price said.
The books are housed in the library’s Community Room and are available for checkout. Price said the collection was inspired by the Birmingham Botanical Gardens’ library collection. Along with the 50 books, there is also a community information shelf for in-library use with the Dunnavant Valley Small Area Plan, the Dunnavant Valley Greenway maps and information, Mt Laurel’s landscape and planting codes, copies of past Mt Laurel newsletters, and various cooperative extension publications.
“The library plans to expand its collection as funds come available. Anyone interested contributing to the collection may do so with a designated donation to The Friends of Mt Laurel Library,” Price said.
Learn more about the Mt Laurel Library’s programs and collections at mtlaurellibrary.org.