SUDBURY — When instructions were given, 8-year-old Ben Donnelly's eyes lit up with excitement. He, along with about 12 other children, scrambled over to the table, clambering over each other to start building.

After months of planning and construction, the Sara Sherman NOW Lab is open at the Goodnow Public Library. The new "makerspace" is on the second floor, previously home to an office for librarians and a teen reading room. Librarians hope the lab will be a space for hands-on learning and collaboration, like Monday's STEAM Club event, which saw children building and racing LEGO cars.

Esme Green, the library director, said the space is new territory for the 1863 library.

"This is the first time we've been able to have a space dedicated to collaborating with the community," said Green. "We feel very lucky."

The lab, which is free to use and open to all ages, houses tools like a 3D printer, a video editing station, and a computer-controlled vinyl cutter. The purpose is to aid in making children comfortable with technology.

It is named after Sherman, a Sudbury native and book lover who died in 2014 at age 40. Her family donated money to the library's foundation for construction of the space.

In the future, Green said the library hopes to use the lab to host everything from sewing to coding classes.

Emily Donnelly, of Sudbury, is grateful for the lab's focus on technology.

"My boys are budding engineers," said Donnelly, watching her sons Ben and Oliver, 6, finish their LEGO creations, "so we appreciate this."

Sarah Schnitzler said the two boys she baby-sits love going to the new space for STEAM Club and other events.

"The boys are so excited any time they can build something with their own hands," she said.

Robert Carter, the teen librarian and the Lab supervisor, said the space adds a new dimension for patrons, stressing adults are welcome.

"There's ways of learning beyond books and beyond school," he said. "This is a place to experiment - it's something I wish I had as a kid."

The NOW Lab can be considered as part of a growing trend of libraries becoming more than just a "warehouse for books," said Green.

"There's an idea that libraries contain all this information and knowledge and people have to come here to get it. The lab flips that notion on its head. We're inviting the community to come and create the content instead," said Green. "Libraries are reinventing themselves to adapt to where people are in our new culture."

The library needs skilled volunteers so the lab can be open as much as possible. Carter said volunteers would be able to use the space for their own projects in exchange for volunteering a few hours a week. Residents can apply on the library's website.

Green said it is ultimately up to the public how the space is used.

"My dream is that I don't dictate what happens in this space; the community does," said Green.

Zane Razzaq can be reached at 508-626-3919 or zrazzaq@wickedlocal.com and on Twitter at @zanerazz.
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