Inventive program coming to Main Library
DOWNTOWN AKRON — Invent-a-Palooza is coming to the City of Invention.
The daylong event, set for May 17 at the Akron-Summit County Main Branch Library, will be the place for inventors and would-be inventors to find out more about the nuts and bolts of taking a concept from idea to market.
Librarian Francie Labriola said she has been planning the event for about eight months.
“In the past, we’ve had people come to the library from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ... but this is the first year we’ve made this a family event,” Labriola said.
Invent-a-Palooza will feature educational presentations and networking opportunities with government officials, local business organizations and area inventors’ groups. There also will be activities for children and teenagers.
Labriola is one of two librarians in Akron who work with local inventors. In 1995, the Akron-Summit County Public Library was designated a Patent and Trademark Depository Library by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. There are about 80 such libraries in the country.
“As part of our mission, we are to disseminate patent and trademark information and support the intellectual property needs of the public,” she said.
The library holds classes twice a month on topics like patent searching, but Labriola hopes this daylong event will let inventors know about the local resources available to them.
As part of the event, Christine Ingemi will appear as keynote speaker from 10:15 to 11:30 a.m. Ingemi, a New Hampshire resident, was a finalist in the 2007 Modern Marvels Invent Now Challenge for her invention of the IHearSafe™ earbuds. The invention, which she sells on her Web site, is meant to keep children from damaging their hearing from too-loud earbuds.
Labriola said Ingemi agreed to appear at the Akron event as soon as she was asked.
“This has all happened pretty fast for her,” Labriola said. “She’s getting a patent and selling (her product). It’s great.”
Ingemi will likely share her story and give advice to attendees who have ideas.
Invent-a-Palooza events will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Exhibit tables featuring local organizations will be staffed throughout the day. Also, the National Inventors Hall of Fame will loan “patent models” to the library for the event. The scale models, crafted out of wood, are what was required of inventors in the 1800s.
“We will have one that’s a canal boat,” Labriola said. “Some of them are widgets. They tried to send the more interesting ones.”
Scheduled activities at Invent-a-Palooza include:
Welcome by Summit County Executive Russ Pry at 10 a.m.;
Keynote speaker Ingemi from 10:15 to 11:30 a.m.;
Invention-themed story hour from 11 a.m. to noon in the Children’s Library;
Presentation on “How to Conduct a Patent Search” by Tom Turner, of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office;
Hands-on interactive program on inventions and inventors in the Children’s Library from 2 to 3 p.m.;
Competition to build the tallest free-standing sculpture out of drinking straws to win a prize in the Teen Area from 2 to 3:30 p.m.; and
Panel discussion on local resources for inventors and entrepreneurs with Heather Barnes, a registered patent attorney with Brouse McDowell; Howard Tolley, public relations and communications counselor with Akron SCORE; and Richard Rebadow Jr., vice president of economic development for the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce.
The Main Library is located at 60 S. High St. For details, call (330) 643-9075 or go to www.akronlibrary.org.
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