Antonia Celeste Lucas-Ruppert, a self-described gospel blues singer, is recording her debut album inside the Oak Park Public Library.

Lucas-Ruppert is one of more than 300 trained users of the Audio Booth, a free recording space on the third floor of the Main Library at 834 Lake St. The acoustically treated, 8-by-12-foot room sits inside the library's Creative Studio and comes loaded with four microphones, an electric guitar, effect pedals, a drum machine and a MIDI keyboard.

She trained on the equipment during the summer and has been laying down tracks for Devotions, an album she hopes to release in October.

"I've tried so many times to get my music produced," Lucas-Ruppert said in a profile on the library's website. "This is a gift. I didn't see it coming."

Lucas-Ruppert grew up singing in church choir and taking piano lessons. She inherited her love of the blues from her grandfather. In the year before her father died in 2014, she sent him phone recordings of herself singing to encourage him. After he died, she kept making music.

Among the songs on Devotions: "Lawd," which she said came to her in the shower; a track harmonizing with a voice recording of her aunt singing "Pray On My Child"; and a re-recording of "Holding On to Our Love," a song she wrote in 2023 when her youngest child left for college. She is re-recording it to mark her 25th wedding anniversary.

Booth removes barriers for local musicians

Reggae artist Robert Lewis also uses the Audio Booth as his primary studio. Lewis said in the library profile that the space removes barriers that keep many musicians from producing professional-quality work.

"You walk in and immediately have access to professional tools," Lewis said. "All without needing a home studio or expensive gear."

The booth's computer runs three digital audio workstations, or DAWs: REAPER, Ableton Live and Pro Tools Studio. John Gargiulo, the library's Supervising Librarian of Creative Technology and a guitarist himself, said those subscriptions can be expensive for individuals.

"DAW subscriptions can often be cost prohibitive for individuals … so the fact that we have access to industry-standard tools at the library for free is kind of sweet," Gargiulo said.

Gargiulo noted the booth gets heavy use for podcasts but said many residents do not realize how much music-making equipment is available.

How to book time

Patrons 14 and older can use the Audio Booth after completing one staff-led training session, arranged through a Learning Lab appointment at the library. Children 13 and under need an adult caregiver present. Once trained, users can reserve the booth once a week for up to three hours.

The library celebrated reaching 300 trained Audio Booth users, according to a post on its Facebook page.

The Main Library is open 9 a.m.–9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m.–6 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturday and noon–5 p.m. Sunday.