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Library Meet MeetUp: 3D Printer Style

Written on: February 29th, 2016 by: Sarena Deglin in Archives, Learning

I’m hosting my first MeetUp tonight.

I officially registered the N. Delaware 3D Printing MeetUp with MeetUp.com. I even named the members Enthusiasts. Since Delaware Libraries introduced 3D printing services a couple years ago I’ve met a lot of people in Delaware involved in some way with related technologies. I know them and they know me, but I’ve found they often don’t know of each other. I’m trying to bring them together to, well, meet up.

The first meeting will be at the Newark Free Library. I find it ironic that public libraries have served as places for people to meet others with similar interests for years, yet due to its growing popularity, I’ve been able to gain much more exposure and membership momentum by registering this new group with MeetUp.com.

My hope in gathering Enthusiasts is to increase collaboration across professions and communities, bring interested Delawareans to a neutral location to discuss how 3D printers have changed their lives. What brand of desktop 3D printer do they have at home? What do they use at work? For what purpose do they use it? How is 3D printing being introduced in schools?

Libraries across the world have been impelled to offer 3D printer services. Yet staff have been challenged by the amount of attention and maintenance required to keep our printers working in the libraries. Delaware’s libraries need community support to increase the success of these printers, to keep them running so anyone can place a request and witness their first print made. As more and more people are purchasing personal devices they too will require a community support network to figure out what they really brought into their homes. What is a ‘hot end isolator’ and where can I find one? How often am I supposed to ‘season’ the nozzle?

Hopefully, Enthusiasts from the N. Delaware 3D Printing MeetUp will be able to answer these kinds of questions for each other. Tonight’s meeting will be at a public library. Maybe the next meeting will be at a school, an engineering lab, or a 3D printer shop. Most important are the people coming together to create a community of practice around 3D printing and related technologies.

Delaware libraries that offer 3D printing services can be found on the Unleash Inner Genius LibGuide.

Tags: 3Dprinting, Informal learning, public libraries, Technology