FORT WAYNE, Ind. — One year ago, the Allen County Public Library flipped the switch on The Studio at Main, and the creative explosion that followed has been nothing short of remarkable.
More than 23,000 people have walked through its doors since February 2025. Nearly 100 programs drew around 600 participants. And now the library is marking the milestone by rolling out brand-new Studio STEM Kits for hands-on discovery.
The numbers tell only part of the story. The real magic is happening inside.
A Creative Playground That Actually Gets Used
Walk into The Studio on any given weekend and you’ll see teenagers recording their first podcast, seniors learning to digitize old family photos, and kids turning cardboard and code into glowing robots.
The space operates roughly 200 hours every month and offers 15 different categories of equipment, all free with a library card.
Visitors can book:
- Professional-grade audio and video recording studios
- 3D printers and a Glowforge laser cutter
- Sewing and embroidery machines
- Vinyl cutters, sublimation printers, and Cricut stations
- Button makers, laminators, and large-format printers
- Mac and PC workstations loaded with Adobe Creative Cloud and specialty software
“People told us they wanted a place to create without spending hundreds of dollars on tools they’d only use once,” said The Studio manager Adam Goldsmith in an interview last week. “We listened.”
Real People, Real Projects
Fort Wayne musician Caleb Davis used the recording booth to cut his debut EP “North Side Lights” entirely at the library. The project has already surpassed 40,000 streams on Spotify.
A local Girl Scout troop designed and laser-cut acrylic jewelry that raised $2,300 for their community service project.
Retiree Linda Schwartz, 72, learned Adobe Photoshop in a Tuesday evening class and surprised her grandchildren with restored photos from the 1960s for Christmas.
“I thought technology had passed me by,” Schwartz said with a laugh. “Turns out it was just waiting for me at the library.”
The Big Anniversary Gift: Studio STEM Kits
To celebrate the first year, ACPL is launching take-home Studio STEM Kits this month.
The first wave includes:
- littleBits electronic building blocks
- Makey Makey invention kits
- Snap Circuits sets
- Ozobot coding robots
- Virtual reality headsets with educational content
Unlike regular library materials, these kits are meant to be used inside The Studio so patrons can get staff help when they get stuck.
“We saw people wanted to experiment with STEM but felt intimidated,” Goldsmith explained. “These kits lower the barrier. You check one out, sit down at a table, and we’re right there if you need us.”
More Than a Makerspace, It’s a Community Hub
The Studio has quietly become one of the busiest spots in downtown Fort Wayne on Saturday afternoons, rivaling even the popular children’s area in foot traffic.
Library director Susan Baier calls it “the people’s production company.”
“Other cities spend millions building separate makerspaces,” Baier said. “We just transformed under-used areas on our second floor and let the community tell us what they needed. A year later, they’re still telling us, and we’re still adding.”
The next additions already in the works: a professional green screen wall upgrade and a dedicated fiber arts corner with a large-format knitting machine.
The Studio at Main is open seven days a week with extended evening hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Anyone with an ACPL card can reserve equipment online or just walk in.
One year down, and Fort Wayne’s creative heartbeat is clearly beating stronger than ever inside its public library.
Drop a comment below and tell us: What would you make if you had free access to all these tools? Have you visited The Studio yet? Let us know, Fort Wayne still has plenty of stories left to create.
