A new technology center is open at the Tippecanoe County Public Library in downtown Lafayette.
It’s called The Portal, and includes language learning tools, a video conferencing suite, and a family computing center.
County Librarian Jos Holman says the project was funded in part by donations, with the remainder coming from unused tax revenues.
"It was money that we saved up over the past, I would say, six to eight years, called the 'LIRF Fund' -- Library Improvement Reserve Fund. And so we set aside money and saved that up for the eventual building of this."
He says equipment for The Portal cost roughly $90,000. The center is available for use by any library card holder, and some of the resources can be reserved in advance online.
Holman says it is important to promote creativity in the community, and he believes The Portal will be able to help do that.
"How is that ever either going to be organized, and if not organized, what do you also do about people who can't afford to have the equipment to do that? So, a public library has, traditionally, sort of made everything equal for everybody. And that's what we've done with this as well."
The space has a number of desktop and laptop computers, as well as a digital arts suite with resources for audio and video recording.
You can find more information on available services and operating hours HERE.