The University established its Digital Scholarship Center (DSC) earlier this year thanks to a $700,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Described in the recently released Library and Information Technology Year in Review 2013-2014, the center notably features a 3D printer and Google Glass.

The DSC was established in early 2014 and is located right off the foyer of Bertrand Library. The DSC isn’t just another computer-filled study space–the cutting edge facility is meant for students’ technological exploration.

Not only can professors utilize features of the center in their teaching and assignments, but students can use the center to become more comfortable with technology software. Student technology consultants run the center and are adept in WordPress, Excel, and Microsoft Office, as well as Adobe Creative Suite and Photoshop. They’ve also been working with text encoding as a facet of the Text Encoding Initiative, which enables primarily humanities and social sciences students to encode “machine-readable texts.”

The small, white, sculpture-esque bison figure displayed in the front of the DSC, or any 3D image, can be replicated using the center’s state-of-the-art 3D printer. The DSC also has its own Google Glass, which is essentially a wearable computer in the form of thick, stocky glasses. Unfortunately, the Google Glass isn’t available for student use, but that doesn’t reflect the general accessibility of the center—in fact, every Sunday through Thursday evening from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., students are able to drop by the DSC. Tech-savvy students may also apply to become technology consultants at the center.

“The Student Peer Technology Consultant program is designed to provide in depth support to Bucknell students who want to learn more about software programs. We invite students to stop by and explore a new software with our Technology Consultants,” Instructional Technologist Debra Cook-Balducci said.