New System Teen Librarian Promotes Blending Technology and Art

BPL welcomes new System Teen Librarian, Lance Simpson, to its staff. Lance’s areas of interest and expertise are informal learning environments that focus on the blending of technology and art programming for teens. He's an advocate for the connected learning movement, which focuses on providing experiential learning opportunities for teens that are based in 21st century models for education.

Since starting with BPL in December 2014, Lance has worked with a team of BPL staff members to apply for grants that will fund new learning tools and programming that include 3D printing, sound and video editing, the learning of computer coding languages, and more.

Currently, Lance provides a weekly technology program at the Central Library where, on Mondays, teens have disassembled and rebuilt computers, installed new operating systems, and will soon be working as inventors to design new and exciting input devices for computers using anything that will conduct electricity including bananas, aluminum foil, speaker wire, and even each other.

With the need for more Science, Technology, Mathematics, and Engineering (STEM) educational opportunities for teens continuing to rise, Lance hopes to make the library a place where those needs can be met through citywide partnerships with STEM and Maker focused organizations, and by providing unique programs that allow teens to create and explore.

Lance is very excited to be working with the awesome staff and teens at BPL, and is looking forward to an exciting first year!