70 · Survey Results: Survey Questions and Responses
of emerging information representation and application or applied information and library sciences and the associated
mission and services of research libraries.
We most likely will be a satellite location for other programs actively using the technology.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
54. Please enter any additional information that may assist others in understanding your library’s
experience managing rapid fabrication technologies and/or makerspaces, or what you would tell
other libraries preparing to offer such services. N=23
3-D printers are not a turnkey device they require “care and feeding.”
Although we are pushing for a large-scale service, we have plans for implementing much smaller services as well. There
is a fear that any small-scale service would get overwhelmed and be very difficult for already-busy staff to manage.
In addition, we believe that a small-scale service would discourage faculty from incorporating 3-D printing into their
curricula, as we would not be able to guarantee access to such a limited resource. Regardless, we hope that we move
forward and, at the very least, demonstrate the need for a large-scale service.
As part of a library renovation project, we hope to investigate the possibility of creating a makerspace or augmenting
an existing capability in the Digital Media Center (which is not part of the library). Our investigation will be based on
current capabilities within the Digital Media Center and within the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA).
Based on our experience in providing makerspace services since September 2014: don’t be afraid to experiment
with workshop topics don’t have to operationalize at the outset don’t feel compelled to fulfill all aspects of such
services work within the context of your library be prepared to be informed by your users enable them and push the
experimental aspects.
Be aware of what departments, schools, and programs are doing in order to understand needs and existing services.
Be inclusive, not exclusive!
Get involved, take some risks. The expense, initially, need not be huge and yet it can have impact.
Have a clear outreach strategy. Have fun showing off what your awesome printer can do!
It is a popular service but many users want projects printed that are for personal use (valentine’s gifts) or are too large
and time consuming for our equipment and staff.
It is definitely worth trying. Don’t get too hung up on the details and start small to see if there is demand in your
local community.
It is not like inkjet or laser printers in that it requires someone tech savvy just to operate it. These require frequent
troubleshooting and maintenance. The time commitment involved is huge.
Make sure you have staff that like working on these types of services and are interested in keeping up with
technology changes.
Marketing new services like 3-D printing is very important. You can’t simply buy a 3-D printer and expect people to flock
to you. Setting up demonstrations around campus and writing articles for the campus newspaper can help get the word
out. Our student employees have become very adept at using software programs like Tinkercad and have been able to
assist with managing the print queue from patrons. Having a dedicated staff member assigned to get this service off the
ground has been essential, though.
Previous Page Next Page