Makerspaces and 3D printing
What have you read about 3D printers? I often see them mentioned in conjunction with libraries and makerspaces (and Jay Leno's garage).
Libraries have long served as community gathering centers and learning spaces, and have helped patrons to create through programming and the loaning of equipment, gadgets, gadgets, and tools.
There's been some buzz in the past year or two about how libraries could become places for digital content creation and makerspaces (locations where people with common interests can share resources and knowledge to create and build things). In the future, they could even be people's first exposure and access to new technologies like 3D printing! One library that has put this idea into action is Fayetteville Public Library. Check out this 10 1/2 minute video describing 3D printing and the proposal to create Fayetteville Public Library's "FabLab."
Here are a few other libraries who have added makerspaces or digital labs:
- Westport Public Library's upcoming Maker Space
- Skokie Public Library's Digital Media Lab
- Barrington Area Library's one-computer digital media lab
- Cleveland Public Library's TechCentral
Interested in more about libraries as makerspaces? Try these:
- The Unquiet Librarian: Makerspaces, Participatory Learning, and Libraries
- NPR: Libraries Make Room For High-Tech 'Hackerspaces'
- American Libraries: Create a Library "Tech Shop"
- American Libraries: Providing the Tools
Want more info on 3D printing? (I do... I'm fascinated by the idea of printing my own creations!) Try Gadgets and gizmos : libraries and the post-PC era. It's a fanstastic overview of tablets, ereaders, 3D printers, and health gadgets (like the fitbit), and it's only 31 pages! I'd highly recommend it!
This 3D printer prints in chocolate. How do we get some of these into libraries? :)
What do you think about libraries as makerspaces? How psyched would you be about a printer that could potentially print its own replacement parts?