Case Study: Adelaide City Libraries

The Adelaide City Libraries began working with the Brainary in 2018. Adelaide City Libraries were looking to engage with and tap into their community’s growing interest in Robotics and STEM. Since then, the Library has successfully rolled out a number of robotics and STEM initiatives.

One of their successful initiatives was to purchase and implement a NAO humanoid robot. NAO is a 60cm tall humanoid robot that can be programmed to walk, talk, listen and dance. Its design gives it a cute appearance and its autonomous software encourages human robot engagement. The Library’s NAO is affectionately named Nosco and speaks both English and Chinese. Nosco has been the inspiration for numerous library programs including coding workshops with The Brainary, a residency program and The South Australian Everybody Dance NAO competition.

One of the central themes within the Library’s initiatives was for them to be community driven, along with providing experimental learning opportunities and equitable access to technology. This is especially evident in the programs they deliver and the physical space and resources within the Library. The Library’s Innovation Lab is a good example of this. The Innovation Lab is the City Library’s Makerspace. The makerspace provides access to a variety of emerging technologies. For example, 3D printing, robotics, virtual reality and more. It has a strong focus on the community driving the use of the space and deciding on what projects they want to work on and what skills they want to learn. The role of the Library and its talented staff is to support and facilitate the use of the technology and physical space.

Alongside the Innovation Lab, the City Library has been delivering a wonderful program called Roaming Robots. This program was designed to break down barriers to robotics and AI and give everyone who visits the Library an opportunity to meet different robots in a fun and friendly way. Nosco is a strong feature in this program and gives visitors a positive robotics experience.

One of the keys to success has been Adelaide City Libraries’ people. The team at the City Library has the support of leadership to invest in and deliver innovative programs within their library and likewise, the team have had the opportunity to develop their technology skills to support their community’s use of the Library’s cutting edge technology.

If you would like to learn more about Adelaide City Libraries’ programs, please visit their website here.