[LIBRARYDIR] [EXTERNAL] 3-D printers

Fri Jun 2 16:01:01 PDT 2017

Bellevue:

1.       Do any of you have 3D printers in your libraries?  Yes - 1

2.       How did you pay for them? On permanent loan from the Science (Engineering) Department

3.       Who maintains them?  Currently the Science Dept purchases all the supplies and performs all the maintenance.

4.       Who pays for the filament?  Basically the students are charged a per print job fee (5 cents per gram) which covers the filament plus a bit more which is banked to pay for new heads as needed

5.       Who provides instruction or guidance to users?  Currently, the only students using the printer are those registered in science engineering classes which give a 3D print job as a possible way of demonstrating completion of an assignment

6.       How do you manage noise?  We have a separate small room near circulation where our networked printer and copiers live. The 3D printer is there plus the science department paid to have a clear plexiglass cover made – it has some small holes to allow heat to escape. And it has a lock on it to hold down the cover, ensuring no one interrupts the print job or plays around with the printer

7.       Do you have any advice? So far hundreds of students see our printer a day – it sits in the front large window of the print room. And though there is a contact URL listed above the printer, the only students who have used it are those taking the engineering course with the assignment. We are aware that our RISE Institute is creating a makerspace next year outside the library. We hope that may spark some use. I believe like most things, there has to be a trigger to ensure that it gets used. Simply having one won’t “release pent up demand”. Even students who are curious (they love to watch it print, put quickly become bored when they realize it can take 16-24 hrs to print a large item). We post the cad drawing on the window to let people know what is being printed. We’ve had it in place almost an entire year and have taken in about $275 in student funds as payment.

FYI, we had another faculty member in our Business IT department who wanted to “give” us 3 more printers. He wanted to stipulate where they would be placed, he did not want to provide the funds or maintenance, he refused to allow us to put plastic covers over them, AND wanted to stipulate that 2 weeks each quarter, only his students would have access to the printers. Essentially we felt he wanted us to take on his workload to ensure his students had supervised support and access to the printers during the final project creation stage. We declined his offer.

At the moment, we do not feel additional printers would be used. If more faculty give a 3D print job as a possibility of project completion, we would definitely consider more units. Currently our circ staff is managing the print load and accepting funds for print jobs.

Please feel free to ask more questions if needed,

Vivienne
___________________________________________
Vivienne McClendon, Ph.D., MLIS
Dean, Library & eLearning, D260H
Bellevue College  |  425.564.3056  |
Bellevue, WA 98007-6484
vivienne.mcclendon at bellevuecollege.edu<file:///emailto/%20vivienne.mcclendon@bellevuecollege.edu>
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From: LIBRARYDIR <librarydir-bounces at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:librarydir-bounces at lists.ctc.edu>> on behalf of "Bagley, Michelle" <mbagley at clark.edu<mailto:mbagley at clark.edu>>
Reply-To: WACTC Library Directors <librarydir at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:librarydir at lists.ctc.edu>>
Date: Friday, June 2, 2017 at 1:15 PM
To: WACTC Library Directors <librarydir at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:librarydir at lists.ctc.edu>>
Subject: Re: [LIBRARYDIR] [EXTERNAL] 3-D printers

Mindy,

Clark has 3D printers available in the CADD department. None in the library.

Michelle

From: LIBRARYDIR [mailto:librarydir-bounces at lists.ctc.edu] On Behalf Of Mindy Coslor
Sent: Friday, June 2, 2017 1:12 PM
To: an open discussion list for WA CTC Library Directors (librarydir at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:librarydir at lists.ctc.edu>) <librarydir at lists.ctc.edu<mailto:librarydir at lists.ctc.edu>>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] [LIBRARYDIR] 3-D printers

Hi all,

I am sorry if the question of 3D printers has been raised before:

1.       Do any of you have 3D printers in your libraries?

2.       How did you pay for them?

3.       Who maintains them?

4.       Who pays for the filament?

5.       Who provides instruction or guidance to users?

6.       How do you manage noise?

7.       Do you have any advice?

I have a student with a passion and I want to support him.  We are just trying to figure out how to manage it within a limited budget, staffing, and a building that is inadequate for the services we want to offer.

Thank you!
Mindy

Dr. Mindy Coslor, Ph.D.
Director of Library Services
Skagit Valley College
360.416.7761

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