30 · Survey Results: Survey Questions and Responses
We offered workshops as part of a pilot/soft launch, but once the space was renovated, we transitioned to
production. The transition also included a semester-long speaker series and a redesigned webpage that detailed
makerspace options.
We printed a lot of different designs. Our makerspace manager told us when she was ready to move forward.
We tracked the number of jobs and requests via Google forms and gathered patron feedback. Based on this data, we
were going to move forward with looking at pay services, promotions, and a collection repository.
We will assess based on the use of the service along with cost to the Libraries and staff time.
When the pilot service met the guidelines we had established for a sustainable public service.
8. If your library did not pilot test fabrication/makerspace services prior to offering them, please
briefly describe how you decided to move ahead to provide the production service or product.
N=12
3-D printing services was available in Engineering Department. Lab manager wanted a simple printer to be available in
the library.
Data gathering and consultation with other installations was considered sufficient.
Library staff was trained on the 3-D printer prior to offering it as a service. We received the printer from a not-for-profit
group and they came to help us with the first demonstration. There were a lot of requests for the service so we simply
began offering it from that point.
The campus is investing in a network of design facilities and services the GLID2 and library will be nodes in
this network.
The idea to have a 3-D printing service at the library was already around before I started at the university. My job was
to figure out how to make it happen. I wrote a proposal for a service model, which was approved by the chief librarian. I
then worked with a project manager in the chief financial officer’s office who led me through the implementation of the
project. It was not considered a pilot, as far as I know.
We began to receive feedback from our students that this was a service that they wanted. In order to better understand
their needs, we met with the different departments on campus who were offering 3-D printing and learned that most
students only had access to this technology when they were affiliated with specific courses/programs. Further, there
were many disciplines that did not have any access.
We clearly filled a niche that existed on our campus and was not being met by others. Also, the cost of entry for many of
the technologies is very low, aside from 3-D printers. Weighing the pros and cons of having Raspberry Pis, for example,
can consume more resources than just moving forward.
We did not define the services as a pilot though things rapidly changed in the months after starting the service. We
were fairly confident this would be well received.
We felt that the need was present, had a staff member that was familiar with the technology, and had donor interest in
getting fabrication going so we went right into small scale production.
We had been hearing about the maker movement in the media/literature. We had just hired a new Entrepreneurship
Librarian who suggested the creation of a makerspace, including 3-D printing, in 10/2013. He provided administrators
with an overview of current maker activity on our campus and suggested how the library could best contribute to the
effort in January 2014. After discussing the overview, the Library Executive Committee decided to ask him and the
Previous Page Next Page