Boundary County Library awarded funding for technology center

December 11, 2014

by Katie Colson The Boundary County Library has received two grants, an Idaho Department of Commerce Gem Grant, and a USDA Rural Development Grant, to fund a digital technology center that will equip residents of Bonners Ferry with the new technologies that are becoming increasingly necessary in the modern world. "The Library’s goal for this endeavor is to provide people with a toolbox," says Library Director Sandra Ashworth. "This will allow them access to new ideas and technologies that they can use to make Bonners Ferry a more successful place." The Boundary County library is set to receive an Idaho Gem Grant amounting to $35,000. Gem Grants are awarded to “programs designed to help rural Idaho communities implement economic development strategies/projects.” The Library also received a grant from the USDA amounting to $35,000. This grant focused on projects that help develop strategies for improvement in rural areas. The application for the grant was initially submitted at the state level, but was sent on to the national level to hasten funding for what the state saw as an influential project. The national office receives many such grant requests and organizes them under a ranking system. The library project was ranked high because of the poverty level in the community it will benefit. This grant was submitted in early August, and was funded on Sept. 11. The Library has already begun the rearranging to prepare for the new technology space. The staff offices downstairs are being compressed to make room for these new areas. The back offices are being renovated to become the new technology centers. With the size constraints in the downstairs area, the staff is making do, and are determined to make this project work. The new digital technology center will include a multimedia studio, a business tech center, and a Fab Lab. The Fab Lab is an outreach program from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, whose goal is “to develop programmable molecular assemblers” according to MIT’s Fab Lab overview. To that end, the Fab Lab at the library will include a shop bot, 3-D printers, milling machines, and more. Due to size constraints, the library was only able to build the smallest qualified Fab Lab. There will be no welding booths, and the Fab Lab will be geared mostly towards composites like plastic and wood. The remaining funding for this project came from the private sector and the Library itself. The Library used part of it’s own funding to pay for some of the remodel that will have to occur to accommodate the new centers. "The cost of a new furnace alone will be several thousand dollars, but will take up less space and will be more efficient," Ashworth says. Private businesses have also donated to this cause. Avista has donated $2,000 for the furnace and Idaho Forest Group has donated $1,000. When asked what sort of help she had to put these grants together, Ashworth said she did it herself. “It’s a part of my job,” she said simply. Ashworth has observed the new online trend in education and feels the library is well-placed to assist locals in this changing educational climate. In Bonners Ferry, she has seen the need for new technologies to catch the community up with the rest of the world. Ashworth has a vision for this little community as a modern, successful place, where people can live and thrive, and she is determined to see her vision come to fruition.