Bet you didn’t know you could learn podcast production at a library.

Later this week, Sam, Beth and I are picking up some pumpkins (where to get yours ➡️ in your inbox Wednesday) and heading to the library. What? Yep – we’re going to learn Pumpkin Drilling. 🎃

This is just one of tons of Maker classes held at Richland Library – usually free and led by library staffers, artists or volunteers – in the library branches’ super cool maker spaces, labs + studios.

Both Pumpkin Drilling classes (Oct. 17 + 21) are full, but no stress – COLAtoday + Richland Library are partnering to create DIY skillshare videos that are quick + fun to watch; the first one on how to carve a pumpkin with a drill at home. 🎥 Maybe you’ll learn something new. Or you can just watch and laugh as we attempt to learn to play the ukulele.

Here are 5 other skills you can pick up at Richland Library for free in the next few months:

Record your own music or podcast.

⚙️ Songwriter’s Workshop | Oct. 31, 6-8 p.m. Richland Library Main, Studio 221 | for adults | Artist-in-Residence + singer/songwriter Wendell Culbreath (a.k.a. THE Dubber) will give songwriting tips + lyric writing techniques in a weekly workshop (starting today) | Register

Conserve old photos.

Learn to keep a plant alive.

Release your inner basic betch.

Try your hand at playing the ukulele.

I’ve been a huge fan of our library system here in Cola ever since I wandered into the Main branch in 2011 and discovered rows on rows of free rentals of books, music (throwback to when I rented 7 Wilco CDs on one visit, and fast forward to now with my 10 free weekly downloads currently filling iTunes with Younger Now), movies + TV shows (a.k.a. how I fell in love with Downton Abbey w/o cable).

But it was just last year that I learned about these Maker Spaces and the mad skills you can learn (for free) in the classes or open labs there. Shoutout to the volunteers, artists + library staffers that keep these things running.

Seriously, if you’re a Rich Co resident and don’t utilize RL, you’re literally losing money. Plus, it’s a fact that they’re one of the best libraries in the country. They won an award and everything.

See you at Harry Potter week (ISO a child to stand in as my “babysittee”),

–Chloe