Best Local Organization- Queen Anne’s County Library

We’re celebrating some of the local businesses and organizations that you voted the best! This issue we’re highlighting Queen Anne’s County Library, an organization that you voted “An Organization that Makes Our Community a Better Place.” Beyond books, our local library has unique services that help make it the “The Best of the Best.” We talked to Allison Wood at the library to learn more about some of the new and interesting resources our local community has available through the library.

One of the most impressive of the library’s newest additions is their collection of 3D printers. They have two Prusa Mini printers that can create 3D objects up to 7”x7”x7”. They also have a smaller Toybox 3D Printer designed as a learning experience for kids, but also for any age as a wau to learn how 3D printing works. If you are a beginner interested in learning 3D printing, the library recommends you try the free 3D printing program called Tinkercad to help understand all you can do with 3D printing. You can download the program or learn more online here: https://www.tinkercad.com/.

Another very modern addition to Queen Anne’s County Library is their podcast. “We started thinking about it with the rise of interest in podcasts. It seemed like a great way to get the word out about our books,” Allison told me. Each month two librarians pick a theme and discuss books that you can check out from the library that fit the monthly theme. Their most recent episode was on poetry. You can find the episodes on Spotify by searching “Queen Anne’s County Library.”

While many of the library’s newer offerings are very forward thinking, one in particular is available to help preserve the past. The Queen Anne’s County Library’s “Memory Center” helps patrons convert old home videos into MP4s, which can be stored on hard drives or DVDs. They also can transfer VHS, Mini DV, Video8, Hi8 and Digitial8. Some of the mediums, such as VHS, decompose over time, meaning that digitization is the only way to save the footage.

The last unique QAC Library feature we’re highlighting is the “Library of Things.” The library functions like a normal library, but instead of checking out books, you can check out a variety of different objects. Allison told me they have, among other items, CD Players, fishing poles, Legos®, DVD players, and ukuleles. Some of the items in the library are donated items from the community, while others were bought for patrons due to popular demand.

If you would like to learn more about Queen Anne’s County Library you can go to their website at https://www.qaclibrary.org/. There you can learn about some of the unique services we mentioned in the article as well as others such as Notary and testing services. With 3D printing, podcasts, books and more, it is no wonder you named Queen Anne’s County Library “The organization that makes our community a better place.”