SPEC Kit 348: Rapid Fabrication/Makerspace Services · 23
This has been in some form of active development since about March 2014 for ETS. We had discussed 3-D printing
before that, but it wasn’t until we began exploring the 36-printer option that we were talking about a true makerspace
service in the library.
We have been seriously looking into 3-D printing since Spring 2014. It is primarily me and another colleague that have
been doing the testing and outreach (because the printer is in our office), and there are four of us that have drafted
a plan for creating a large library service. So, we have been planning for over one year at this point. Since it is just a
proposal, no staff time has been allocated, but the proposal calls for a whole new FTE position.
We are actively investigating these services N=14
1–2 weeks of product research, roughly one month of testing in conjunction with other projects. Approximately two
months of man hours.
20 hrs total so far
6 months planning
A staff interest group was formed. That group met bi-weekly for a semester. An external grant proposal was developed
that took two staff members 10 hours a week for three months. Two internal grants were developed and several (5)
staff members devoted 25 hours per week for two months.
Approximately 2–3 weeks spent investigating technologies and meeting with potential third party vendor.
Four months of planning before opening studio, and now ongoing assessment (over three years) as more services
are considered.
Ongoing, one staff week
Our systems librarian conducted a feasibility study over the course of a month, reviewing literature, contacting other
libraries with makerspaces and connecting with faculties to determine where there may be existing services in place on
campus and to gauge the need for a service in the library.
Research continues/is in progress.
Roughly 6 FTE months, over one year.
The GLID2 project has been in planning for approximately one year.
Very difficult to estimate. Probably 100s of staff hours. Have been considering this to one degree or another, with
considerable research and assessment, for roughly seven years. Plan to implement within the next year. Exact service
details yet to be determined.
We are still in the information gathering stage, and are allotting two months to data gathering and planning prior to
piloting/testing.
We’ve been informally investigating this for 1–2 years, and actively investigating for several months. Library IT also
actively investigated this with us during this same period. We plan to continue investigation over the next several
months, as both IT and the Learning Spaces Program test a new 3-D printer being purchased.
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