If your image of the public library is of a woman with her hair in a bun shushing people for talking, you haven't been to the Chattanooga Public Library in awhile.
Drop by Saturday, July 1, at the open house from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the opening of The Studio at the Chattanooga Public Library. The downtown branch is located at 1001 Broad St.
Visitors will get to see the new, fully operational, multiroom studio complete with a 24-channel mixing board, two dozen microphones, drum kit, video and sound monitors. Tours will be offered from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
From 2 to 3 p.m. Dynamo Studios, a local nonprofit that is helping to man the space and teach workshops, will host Drop In and Drop a Beat. From 3 to 5 p.m., local musicians will do some live recording.
There is no admission charge for the open house.
"This is an exciting space that is well thought out and planned," says Meredith Levine, head of youth services and The Studio manager.
The space was created with $75,000 from Benwood Foundation and $90,000 from Lyndhurst Foundation. Levine says the space will be available to library members and will be used for workshops and classes.
"We want to teach kids how to be a producer or an engineer," Levine said. "We want to inspire them."
The Melrose Center in Orlando, Fla., has a similar studio. Levine said she has been able to learn from it how to utilize The Studio. It is being targeted initially to teenagers, but will be available for adults as well in hourly blocks. While the space is designed to be a working studio, it is more of a teaching tool than a professional studio.
"It is not our goal to put anyone out of business. You are not going to record an entire album in here. Honestly, this is our first year, and there aren't others out there, so we will be figuring out what people want," Levine said.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.