Re: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries
One note on this. All of the commercial printers I have seen from the plastic shooters to water cutters that can turn out a great car wheel have been enclosed boxes with safety systems. They are orders of magnitude safer than, say, a bunsen burner. Sure, these can be defeated by someone with intent to do harm to themselves or others, but I have seen some pretty dangerous books, as well, and I am not talking about intellectual content. Cary On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 7:03 PM, Joe Hourcle onei...@grace.nascom.nasa.gov wrote: On Aug 27, 2012, at 9:44 AM, BWS Johnson wrote: Salvete! Can't. Resist. Bait. Batman. Can anyone on the list help clarify for me why, in an academic setting, this kind of equipment and facility isn't part of a laboratory in an academic department? I'd say that I hate to play devil's advocate, but that would be a patent misrepresentation of material fact. Conversely, could you please tell us why you think it *shouldn't* be at the Library? I can think of one reason they shouldn't be *anywhere*: liability. When I was working on my undergrad, in civil engineering, the university's science and engineering school had their own machine shop. Officially, you were only supposed to use it if you were a grad student, or supervised by a grad student. Yet, there were a number of us (the undergrad population) who had more experience than the grad students. (I had done a couple years of shop class during high school, one of the other students had learned from his father who worked in the trade, another was going back to school after having been a professional machinist for years, etc.). So well, I know at least two of us would go down and use the shop without supervision. (and in a few cases, all alone, which is another violation when you're working at 1am and there's no one to call for medical assistance should something go really, really wrong). And in some cases, we'd teach the grad students who were doing stuff wrong (trying to take off too much material in a pass, using the incorrect tools, etc. But I made just as many mistakes. (when you're in a true machine shop, and there's two different blades for the bandsaw with different TPI, it's not that one's for metal and one's for wood ... as they don't do wood cutting there ... but I must've broken and re-welded the blade a half dozen times and gone through a quart of cutting fluid to make only a few cuts, as I didn't realize that I should've been using the lower TPI blade for cutting aluminum) I admit I don't know enough about these 'maker spaces' ... I assume there'd have to be some training / certification before using the equipment. The other option would be to treat it more like a print shop, where someone drops off their item to be printed, and then comes back to pick it up after the job's been run. And it's possible that you're using less dangerous equipment. (eg, when in high school, my senior year we got a new principal who required that all teachers wear ties ... including the shop teachers. Have you ever seen what happens when a tie gets caught in a lathe or a printing press? He's lucky the teachers were experienced, as a simple mistake could've killed them) But even something as simple as a polishing/grinding wheel could be a hazard to both the person using it and anyone around them. (I remember one of my high school shop teachers not happy that I was so aggressive when grinding down some steel, as I was spraying sparks near his desk ... which could've started a fire) ... so the whole issue of making sure that no one gets injured / killed / damages others is one of the liability issues, but I also remember when I worked for the university computer lab, we had a scanner that you could sign up to use. One day, one of the university police saw what one of the students was doing, and insisted that we were allowing students to make fake IDs. (the student in question had scanned in a CD cover, which was a distorted drivers license looking thing ... if he was trying to make a fake ID, you'd think he'd have started from a genuine ID card) As we've now got people who are printing gun receivers, there's a real possibility that people could be printing stuff that might be in violation of the law. (I won't get into the issue of if it's a stupid law or not ... this is something the legal department needs to weigh in on). And conversely, if you're a public institution and you censor what people are allowed to make, then you get into first amendment issues. ... On a completely unrelated note, when I first saw the question about libraries maker spaces, I was thinking in the context of public libraries, and thought the idea was pretty strange. I see a much better fit for academic libraries, but I'm still not 100% sold on it. In part, I know that it's already possible to get a lot of stuff
Re: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries
This has turned into quite a discussion. I think the whole issue of liability is a bit overstated. A 3D printer is somewhere between a toaster oven and a xerox machine in terms of dangerousness. Yes, a student might burn themselves on hot plastic or the printing surface but they might get a worse burn from a latte. I really like Lisa's idea of the library becoming a nexus point where students can access other resources as needed. Maybe a chop saw in the library is a bit much but if a student wants to use one for his or her course work why not? There are already tool libraries. We have a similar issue on our campus where there are 3D printers but only in the Engineering department. Meanwhile we have students in all disciplines doing hobby robotics, our graphic design department is teaching 3D rendering and art students are starting to ask about how they can take a new approach to sculpture. Edward Iglesias On Tue, Aug 28, 2012 at 3:52 AM, Cary Gordon listu...@chillco.com wrote: One note on this. All of the commercial printers I have seen from the plastic shooters to water cutters that can turn out a great car wheel have been enclosed boxes with safety systems. They are orders of magnitude safer than, say, a bunsen burner. Sure, these can be defeated by someone with intent to do harm to themselves or others, but I have seen some pretty dangerous books, as well, and I am not talking about intellectual content. Cary On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 7:03 PM, Joe Hourcle onei...@grace.nascom.nasa.gov wrote: On Aug 27, 2012, at 9:44 AM, BWS Johnson wrote: Salvete! Can't. Resist. Bait. Batman. Can anyone on the list help clarify for me why, in an academic setting, this kind of equipment and facility isn't part of a laboratory in an academic department? I'd say that I hate to play devil's advocate, but that would be a patent misrepresentation of material fact. Conversely, could you please tell us why you think it *shouldn't* be at the Library? I can think of one reason they shouldn't be *anywhere*: liability. When I was working on my undergrad, in civil engineering, the university's science and engineering school had their own machine shop. Officially, you were only supposed to use it if you were a grad student, or supervised by a grad student. Yet, there were a number of us (the undergrad population) who had more experience than the grad students. (I had done a couple years of shop class during high school, one of the other students had learned from his father who worked in the trade, another was going back to school after having been a professional machinist for years, etc.). So well, I know at least two of us would go down and use the shop without supervision. (and in a few cases, all alone, which is another violation when you're working at 1am and there's no one to call for medical assistance should something go really, really wrong). And in some cases, we'd teach the grad students who were doing stuff wrong (trying to take off too much material in a pass, using the incorrect tools, etc. But I made just as many mistakes. (when you're in a true machine shop, and there's two different blades for the bandsaw with different TPI, it's not that one's for metal and one's for wood ... as they don't do wood cutting there ... but I must've broken and re-welded the blade a half dozen times and gone through a quart of cutting fluid to make only a few cuts, as I didn't realize that I should've been using the lower TPI blade for cutting aluminum) I admit I don't know enough about these 'maker spaces' ... I assume there'd have to be some training / certification before using the equipment. The other option would be to treat it more like a print shop, where someone drops off their item to be printed, and then comes back to pick it up after the job's been run. And it's possible that you're using less dangerous equipment. (eg, when in high school, my senior year we got a new principal who required that all teachers wear ties ... including the shop teachers. Have you ever seen what happens when a tie gets caught in a lathe or a printing press? He's lucky the teachers were experienced, as a simple mistake could've killed them) But even something as simple as a polishing/grinding wheel could be a hazard to both the person using it and anyone around them. (I remember one of my high school shop teachers not happy that I was so aggressive when grinding down some steel, as I was spraying sparks near his desk ... which could've started a fire) ... so the whole issue of making sure that no one gets injured / killed / damages others is one of the liability issues, but I also remember when I worked for the university computer lab, we had a scanner that you could sign up to use. One day, one of the university police saw what one of the students was doing, and insisted that we were allowing
Re: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries
I find this conversation interesting, mostly because the why do it reasons given parallel so closely what we are working on at NC State in our new library building. Except it doesn't have anything to do with makerspaces! Our emphasis is on taking expensive visualization and high performance computing capacity and making it available to students all across our campus. Some would ask why we are building massive visualization walls and working on creating a cloud computing environment where anyone can request temporary access to high performance computing in order to build stuff to render on the visualization walls. And it's just the same as the reason given for doing makerspaces in academic libraries: while faculty on fancy grant projects have access to high performance computing nodes, nowhere on campus is this kind of computing and visualization openly available for undergraduate students to creatively use. It's neat to see the different directions we go with the same underlying reason. -emily Date:Mon, 27 Aug 2012 11:46:19 -0700 From:Lisa H Kurt lk...@unr.edu Subject: Re: Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries I think some folks have already responded to 'why' pretty well, but I figured I would add to the discussion from our perspective on the ground at UNR in the DeLaMare Library and answer Edward's question too. As far as why we are developing a makerspace or why we have 3D printers in the library- I think Jason hit on two really important points - curriculum and research support. In the library we hardly question buying journals that cost upwards of $15K that may only support one department and in some cases just one individual researcher. The 3D printer is already supporting several schools and departments in terms of both research and curriculum. There is a 3D printer in a department on our campus but the problem is- the department keeps it under lock and key and students only get access to that printer if they take a certain class within that specific department. Here in the academic library- we are available to everyone on campus- no lock and key, no special hours...we provide access to a much needed service. Even over the summer- we've had faculty from Engineering, Chemistry, and Art jumping in and working this service into their curriculum even further now that they have access to the production machine- it's a total win. Previously a number of students and faculty has been sending their files out to be printed at a rather high cost and turnaround time. This eliminates that and allows our community to prototype more quickly and more often. Chemistry has really gone far with this- one faculty remarked that this has changed the way he does research now. Rapid prototyping is critical. As for equipment that is more dangerous to use- I've worked closely with the local makerspace here in Reno, Bridgewire, and they've created a student membership. They have and are going to continue to do workshops for us here and they hold all kinds of workshops and events in their own space. Anything that may be considered a liability is done on their property and they have insurance. More recently, we are looking into partnering with the campus machine shop. Again- they are well suited to this kind of thing and take the necessary precautions. I see the library as a bridge between a lot of these resources- we communicate regularly with various groups to make sure students and faculty get whatever resources they need- whether that's an article, a book, a 3D printer, or access to a CNC machine. My interest is in getting what our community needs, so while I keep an eye out for how the laws will change in relation to these technologies, I focus on serving the users and building the community. It's been transformative here from when we were a building full of lots of print books with very few people at all to now where we have open collaborative space, 3D printers, button makers, poster printers, AR Drones, various software, etcand a LOT more users. We've seen the highest numbers of users in this building that we've ever seen here. We have also heard from several professors from different areas in full support of what we are doing and praise the changes we've made here. At one point not too long ago if you asked me what would happen to this library, I probably would have said that it would be closed in the not too distant future; we've totally turned that around because we've embraced our community and given them something irresistible. The students graduating from here will have had experience with technologies and learning in an environment that encourages creating, which many other students across the country don't have access to. I think it gives our students an advantage in a number of industries where companies will be creating new kinds of jobs that we can't yet imagine. Our staff are the
Re: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries
I agree. These are basically the same reasons we built a Digital Design Studio in the Library last year. During the past year, the director of the DDS worked closely with several professors who incorporated multimedia assignments into their coursework. In addition to an instruction session for each class, there are student staff available to assist while they use the high-end multimedia design software on high-resolution screens. As usage expands, we expect that students will start coming to the studio on their own for projects they want to do. I think this may become a trend in academic libraries, moving from where do I get information to participating in the entire information life-cycle, from identifying and selecting information sources to integrating information together, presenting results, and creating new information. Steve McDonald Tufts University steve.mcdon...@tufts.edu -Original Message- From: Code for Libraries [mailto:CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU] On Behalf Of Emily Lynema Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2012 9:07 AM To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries I find this conversation interesting, mostly because the why do it reasons given parallel so closely what we are working on at NC State in our new library building. Except it doesn't have anything to do with makerspaces! Our emphasis is on taking expensive visualization and high performance computing capacity and making it available to students all across our campus. Some would ask why we are building massive visualization walls and working on creating a cloud computing environment where anyone can request temporary access to high performance computing in order to build stuff to render on the visualization walls. And it's just the same as the reason given for doing makerspaces in academic libraries: while faculty on fancy grant projects have access to high performance computing nodes, nowhere on campus is this kind of computing and visualization openly available for undergraduate students to creatively use. It's neat to see the different directions we go with the same underlying reason. -emily
Re: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries
On Aug 28, 2012, at 9:07 AM, Emily Lynema wrote: I find this conversation interesting, mostly because the why do it reasons given parallel so closely what we are working on at NC State in our new library building. Except it doesn't have anything to do with makerspaces! Our emphasis is on taking expensive visualization and high performance computing capacity and making it available to students all across our campus. Some would ask why we are building massive visualization walls and working on creating a cloud computing environment where anyone can request temporary access to high performance computing in order to build stuff to render on the visualization walls. And it's just the same as the reason given for doing makerspaces in academic libraries: while faculty on fancy grant projects have access to high performance computing nodes, nowhere on campus is this kind of computing and visualization openly available for undergraduate students to creatively use. It's neat to see the different directions we go with the same underlying reason. And in that regard, (high performance computing), I heard an interesting story from someone who I think was from JHU Physics dept. a year or so ago -- Basically, all of the professors were building their own personal beowulf clusters (getting the money as either part of their condition on hire, or using grant money to buy them) which caused a number of problems: 1. They weren't experts, so it'd take them a while to set up. 2. They typically didn't secure them properly, so they'd get hacked, and they had to take them down, and often didn't get them back up for many months, up to a year from original purchase 'til it was finally running at full tilt. (ie, it had already depreciated by a year) 3. So many clusters were built, that it overloaded the electrical in the building, and the whole building lost power. ... So there really are some benefits to having a centralized cluster that the faculty can submit jobs to, rather than all of the little ones. The visualization stuff may be even more useful, as they're quite uncommon. Besides some of the 'hiperwall' and 'cave' systems, there was a project from one of the Harvard libraries on using a Microsoft Surface (the table, not the yet-to-be-released table) for working with huge images (telescope data, hi-res scans, etc.) http://projects.iq.harvard.edu/harvardux/ -Joe
Re: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries
Thanks so much for this. One immediate question I have regards staff training. Who did you get to assemble and maintain the 3D printers etc... Is it all enthusiastic self taught staff or did you hire folks especially for these positions? Thanks, Edward On Friday, August 24, 2012, Lisa H Kurt wrote: Hi Edward, Throughout the past year we have been working toward transforming the DeLaMare Science and Engineering Library into a library makerspace at the University of Nevada, Reno. It started with the purchase of a button maker and holding mini maker breaks and has grown with bigger events, workshops, the purchase or repurpose of numerous tools and equipment. We've also made changes to the space to create the kind of environment where our community wants to create. Though we are in name a science and engineering library- we work across many departments and colleges with several faculty and students to bring together computer scientists, designers, engineers, artists, and others to promote a really creative, exploratory learning space. Today, in the DeLaMare Library we have 2 3D printers, a 3D scanner, 2 button makers, about a dozen arduino kits, soldering kits, AR Drones, and more. We've converted a lot of the space that once held books to make room for collaborative space and entire walls painted in whiteboard paint. We've held a lockpicking workshop in partnership with Reno's local makerspace, Bridgewire: http://www.renobridgewire.org/, here in the library where over 80 people attended. We worked with them to offer a student membership as well. Bill Nye is coming to our campus and we're heavily involved in the science fair planned for that day, showcasing all of the great resources we have available and student projects done in the library. We collaborate regularly with both Bridgewire and the local co-working space, The Reno Collective: http://renocollective.com/. We also have been involved with Reno's WordPress group and have hosted WordCamp the past couple of years. We wrote up a post talking more specifically about the 3D printer and the setup here: http://acrl.ala.org/techconnect/?p=1403 You can also see some of the photos of stuff we've done here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dstl_unr We're working on collaborating more with various departments and showcasing all kinds of things here: http://www.kclabs.org There is a lot to say about what we've been busy doing but I hope this glimpse helps- let me know if you have questions or need more information- thanks! Lisa Lisa Kurt Engineering and Emerging Technologies Librarian DeLaMare Science and Engineering Library University of Nevada, Reno phone: 775.682.5706 On 8/24/12 5:03 AM, Edward Iglesias edwardigles...@gmail.comjavascript:; wrote: Thanks Jason! Ab Fab indeed! Edward Iglesias On Thu, Aug 23, 2012 at 2:10 PM, Jason Griffey grif...@gmail.comjavascript:; wrote: In my last Library tech report, I included a chapter on 3D printing (chapter 4, please excuse the title, I had to) that spoke a bit to why libraries needed to be in the space, which certainly overlaps with the Makerspace convo: http://alatechsource.metapress.com/content/rpl5883j3620/?p=5b1da8d73bec46 918808d4fb69a73abepi=2 Full text is available there...the whole work is CC licensed, so feel free to grab a copy. :-) Jason On Thu, Aug 23, 2012 at 1:55 PM, David Brightbill dbrightb...@cclaflorida.org javascript:; wrote: I'm leading the effort to build a makerspace in my local community and have some thoughts around the role of established institutions (libraries, EDC's, government, etc.) in making this happen. I'd be happy to have a telephone or G+ chat with you about this if you wish. Cheers, Dave Brightbill Manager of Research and Development Florida Virtual Campus -Original Message- From: Code for Libraries [mailto:CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDUjavascript:;] On Behalf Of Edward Iglesias Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2012 12:11 PM To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU javascript:; Subject: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries Hello All, A colleague and I are going to be presenting at code4lib NE on the subject of makerspaces in academic libraries. Are any of you doing this? If so I would love to pick your brains a little. Edward Iglesias -- Edward Iglesias
Re: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries
Hi All, Yes, this Fall we are opening the Think Lab here at UMW Libraries. While we have been part of the planning process for the space, I would say thus far the library has played the role of landlord more than anything else. I see this partnership developing as time progresses. (I have a few projects planned myself.) A colleague, Tim Owens, is blogging about the Think Lab here: http://www.makerbot.com/blog/2012/07/26/help-tim-owens-build-an-awesome-makerspace/ Cheers, Paul +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Paul R Butler Assistant Systems Librarian Simpson Library University of Mary Washington 1801 College Avenue Fredericksburg, VA 22401 540.654.1756 libraries.umw.edu Sent from the mighty Dell Vostro 230. -Original Message- From: Code for Libraries [mailto:CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU] On Behalf Of Edward Iglesias Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2012 12:11 PM To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU Subject: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries Hello All, A colleague and I are going to be presenting at code4lib NE on the subject of makerspaces in academic libraries. Are any of you doing this? If so I would love to pick your brains a little. Edward Iglesias
Re: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries
Nate, That's a great question. Here's one take -- fast, loose, not re-read, nor the opinion of my employer, Harvard University, but is based on my observations here First off, we don't have maker spaces in the library, but I could see them being very useful here. I think one advantage shops like these would have sitting under the umbrella of the library is access. The Departmental/Professional School shops here seem quite siloed. If you're not a part of that school/community, access is much more complicated. Particularly access to the more expensive machines. If a space was under the shelter of the library, it could feel MUCH more welcoming and readily available I think. One thing that they have at MIT, a place obviously with a great maker ethic, is the hobby shop. http://studentlife.mit.edu/hobbyshop If you clcik to the membership tab, you'll see it's open to everybody with an affiliation with the Institute. Spouses, staff -- ALUMNI! I spent a lot of time there, learning some basic craft knowledge cause there would always be people working there, unlike my school shop where attendance was much more spikey and I generally would figure things out for myself. Anyhow, I learned the most from alumni who purchased memberships it seemed like. It was casual, open envrionment, and I think the term pre-fix Hobby to Hobby Shop really made a difference. A subtext of fun. Anyhow, that was a great learning environment, outside of any departmental or school umbrella. It's listsed as a under division of student life. From my own POV, I'd like to see the library at Harvard, but any higher ed envrionment for that matter, get more into the business of student life. But also make general access to specialized things easy, friendly, etc. Zero grade on-ramp to laser cutting can only be a good thing... Jeff Harvard Library Innovation Lab From: Code for Libraries [CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU] on behalf of Nate Hill [nathanielh...@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, August 27, 2012 9:05 AM To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries Can anyone on the list help clarify for me why, in an academic setting, this kind of equipment and facility isn't part of a laboratory in an academic department? Don't get me wrong I am *way* into access to tools, but I remember when I went to art school that the building had a shop in it. The shop had a woodshop, welders, metal lathes, etc. And it belonged there, not in the library- because it supported what that department was all about. Are makerspaces in academic libraries examples of libraries picking up slack that academic departments should be dealing with? I ask this with zero snark, I genuinely want to hear some thoughts on this... Nate On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 8:54 AM, Paul Butler (pbutler3) pbutl...@umw.eduwrote: Hi All, Yes, this Fall we are opening the Think Lab here at UMW Libraries. While we have been part of the planning process for the space, I would say thus far the library has played the role of landlord more than anything else. I see this partnership developing as time progresses. (I have a few projects planned myself.) A colleague, Tim Owens, is blogging about the Think Lab here: http://www.makerbot.com/blog/2012/07/26/help-tim-owens-build-an-awesome-makerspace/ Cheers, Paul +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Paul R Butler Assistant Systems Librarian Simpson Library University of Mary Washington 1801 College Avenue Fredericksburg, VA 22401 540.654.1756 libraries.umw.edu Sent from the mighty Dell Vostro 230. -Original Message- From: Code for Libraries [mailto:CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU] On Behalf Of Edward Iglesias Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2012 12:11 PM To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU Subject: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries Hello All, A colleague and I are going to be presenting at code4lib NE on the subject of makerspaces in academic libraries. Are any of you doing this? If so I would love to pick your brains a little. Edward Iglesias -- Nate Hill nathanielh...@gmail.com http://www.natehill.net
Re: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries
Salvete! Can't. Resist. Bait. Batman. Can anyone on the list help clarify for me why, in an academic setting, this kind of equipment and facility isn't part of a laboratory in an academic department? I'd say that I hate to play devil's advocate, but that would be a patent misrepresentation of material fact. Conversely, could you please tell us why you think it *shouldn't* be at the Library? I can think of several reasons why it *ought* to be: 1) Having this space exist at the Library and not in a given department might well extend the hours of use beyond what a given faculty could afford on its own better serving students and faculty. 2) Having this space exist at the Library promotes interdisciplinary interaction which could serve as a catalyst for research. This might not happen as readily within the bubble of one's academic department. Both students and staff would benefit from keeping an eye on one's neighbour as Steven Johnson outlines in Emergence. (No relationship) 3) Having the equipment at the Library would save the University money since each department wouldn't have to buy their own $1400 makerbot replicator, et cetera. 4) Given an academic setting that is also in itself a laboratory, such as an engineering or technical school, wouldn't this be the natural spot for it? 5) Given that some academic libraries are often cited on poor customer service, defaulting to yes is preferable to defaulting to no. Don't get me wrong I am *way* into access to tools, but I remember when I went to art school that the building had a shop in it. The shop had a woodshop, welders, metal lathes, etc. And it belonged there, not in the library- because it supported what that department was all about. Are we to drop our duties as soon as hands enter the picture? I don't like the idea that work with one's mind is valued more highly than work with one's hands. I can see how this is easier to frame in a public setting: Anyone can learn anything at anytime. However I fail to see how it _wouldn't_ further learning in an academic setting. While mission statements vary, it's not unusual as a consultant for me to spot summat like fosters collaboration or performs outreach or assists in learning for an academic library. Your mileage may vary, since all mission statements are equal, but some are more equal than others. Are makerspaces in academic libraries examples of libraries picking up slack that academic departments should be dealing with? Again, I tend to think of this as cost savings for the University on the whole. It also seems like a great idea in terms of fundraising and long term gain. For folks that aren't keen on accepting the costs, perhaps they can sit down with department chairs and divide things up. Extra points for collaboration with vocational schools in the area. I ask this with zero snark, I genuinely want to hear some thoughts on this... Respect was intended in my reply. Cheers, Brooke
Re: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries
There have been two very fine answers already (Go Brooke and Jeff!) but I'll add one more data point. The purpose of an academic library (at least every academic library that I've been associated with) can be boiled down to, pretty much, two things: 1. Support the curriculum of the school 2. Support the research of the faculty, students, and staff when it extends beyond the curriculum The second is necessary for the growth of the first. While Ross is correct that eventually, whether implicit or explicit, some lines are likely to be drawn (we are very interested in Maker culture and spaces, we probably aren't going to be putting in CNC routers...just because we don't have the environment). But whatever tools I can put in front of the students and faculty that are available for _everyone_ and not siloed away in an engineering lab that you have to be part of the grant team to use...well, that's good for my University. And the tools are, frankly, way more interesting when they get used by non-obvious groups...I can't wait to see what a History student might do with a 3D printer, for instance. Jason On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 9:05 AM, Nate Hill nathanielh...@gmail.com wrote: Can anyone on the list help clarify for me why, in an academic setting, this kind of equipment and facility isn't part of a laboratory in an academic department? Don't get me wrong I am *way* into access to tools, but I remember when I went to art school that the building had a shop in it. The shop had a woodshop, welders, metal lathes, etc. And it belonged there, not in the library- because it supported what that department was all about. Are makerspaces in academic libraries examples of libraries picking up slack that academic departments should be dealing with? I ask this with zero snark, I genuinely want to hear some thoughts on this... Nate On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 8:54 AM, Paul Butler (pbutler3) pbutl...@umw.eduwrote: Hi All, Yes, this Fall we are opening the Think Lab here at UMW Libraries. While we have been part of the planning process for the space, I would say thus far the library has played the role of landlord more than anything else. I see this partnership developing as time progresses. (I have a few projects planned myself.) A colleague, Tim Owens, is blogging about the Think Lab here: http://www.makerbot.com/blog/2012/07/26/help-tim-owens-build-an-awesome-makerspace/ Cheers, Paul +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Paul R Butler Assistant Systems Librarian Simpson Library University of Mary Washington 1801 College Avenue Fredericksburg, VA 22401 540.654.1756 libraries.umw.edu Sent from the mighty Dell Vostro 230. -Original Message- From: Code for Libraries [mailto:CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU] On Behalf Of Edward Iglesias Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2012 12:11 PM To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU Subject: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries Hello All, A colleague and I are going to be presenting at code4lib NE on the subject of makerspaces in academic libraries. Are any of you doing this? If so I would love to pick your brains a little. Edward Iglesias -- Nate Hill nathanielh...@gmail.com http://www.natehill.net
Re: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries
Just to be clear, I was not suggesting that it is a bad idea to have these spaces in academic libraries. Quite the contrary. I'm not sure I've heard anyone state these arguments this clearly... and it is good to hear them. As a public librarian I always keep an eye on what happens in academic libraries; frequently public libraries are able to adapt then adopt functions and innovations a little after academic libraries implement them. I'm asking these questions because I sometimes covet the academic library's clearly defined, targeted market (the students) and see this as an opportunity to learn before designing similar services to a bigger, harder to pin down market (the public). I'm particularly fond of two responses: 1) why repeat things in multiple departments when you can save $ by doing something once and 2) the notion that cross-disciplinary cross-pollination comes from hosting services this way. Does anyone have a space running at their academic library that interacts directly with similar but perhaps advanced equipment features in different departments? For example, are there instances where the library offers the CAD software but then cutting/building/printing happens in different departmental labs around campus? The idea of a clearly defined scope of what the library can and will support and the factors that might determine that scope are interesting to me. On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 10:20 AM, Jason Griffey grif...@gmail.com wrote: There have been two very fine answers already (Go Brooke and Jeff!) but I'll add one more data point. The purpose of an academic library (at least every academic library that I've been associated with) can be boiled down to, pretty much, two things: 1. Support the curriculum of the school 2. Support the research of the faculty, students, and staff when it extends beyond the curriculum The second is necessary for the growth of the first. While Ross is correct that eventually, whether implicit or explicit, some lines are likely to be drawn (we are very interested in Maker culture and spaces, we probably aren't going to be putting in CNC routers...just because we don't have the environment). But whatever tools I can put in front of the students and faculty that are available for _everyone_ and not siloed away in an engineering lab that you have to be part of the grant team to use...well, that's good for my University. And the tools are, frankly, way more interesting when they get used by non-obvious groups...I can't wait to see what a History student might do with a 3D printer, for instance. Jason On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 9:05 AM, Nate Hill nathanielh...@gmail.com wrote: Can anyone on the list help clarify for me why, in an academic setting, this kind of equipment and facility isn't part of a laboratory in an academic department? Don't get me wrong I am *way* into access to tools, but I remember when I went to art school that the building had a shop in it. The shop had a woodshop, welders, metal lathes, etc. And it belonged there, not in the library- because it supported what that department was all about. Are makerspaces in academic libraries examples of libraries picking up slack that academic departments should be dealing with? I ask this with zero snark, I genuinely want to hear some thoughts on this... Nate On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 8:54 AM, Paul Butler (pbutler3) pbutl...@umw.eduwrote: Hi All, Yes, this Fall we are opening the Think Lab here at UMW Libraries. While we have been part of the planning process for the space, I would say thus far the library has played the role of landlord more than anything else. I see this partnership developing as time progresses. (I have a few projects planned myself.) A colleague, Tim Owens, is blogging about the Think Lab here: http://www.makerbot.com/blog/2012/07/26/help-tim-owens-build-an-awesome-makerspace/ Cheers, Paul +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Paul R Butler Assistant Systems Librarian Simpson Library University of Mary Washington 1801 College Avenue Fredericksburg, VA 22401 540.654.1756 libraries.umw.edu Sent from the mighty Dell Vostro 230. -Original Message- From: Code for Libraries [mailto:CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU] On Behalf Of Edward Iglesias Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2012 12:11 PM To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU Subject: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries Hello All, A colleague and I are going to be presenting at code4lib NE on the subject of makerspaces in academic libraries. Are any of you doing this? If so I would love to pick your brains a little. Edward Iglesias -- Nate Hill nathanielh...@gmail.com http://www.natehill.net -- Nate Hill nathanielh...@gmail.com http://www.natehill.net
Re: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries
On Aug 27, 2012, at 9:44 AM, BWS Johnson wrote: Salvete! Can't. Resist. Bait. Batman. Can anyone on the list help clarify for me why, in an academic setting, this kind of equipment and facility isn't part of a laboratory in an academic department? I'd say that I hate to play devil's advocate, but that would be a patent misrepresentation of material fact. Conversely, could you please tell us why you think it *shouldn't* be at the Library? I can think of one reason they shouldn't be *anywhere*: liability. When I was working on my undergrad, in civil engineering, the university's science and engineering school had their own machine shop. Officially, you were only supposed to use it if you were a grad student, or supervised by a grad student. Yet, there were a number of us (the undergrad population) who had more experience than the grad students. (I had done a couple years of shop class during high school, one of the other students had learned from his father who worked in the trade, another was going back to school after having been a professional machinist for years, etc.). So well, I know at least two of us would go down and use the shop without supervision. (and in a few cases, all alone, which is another violation when you're working at 1am and there's no one to call for medical assistance should something go really, really wrong). And in some cases, we'd teach the grad students who were doing stuff wrong (trying to take off too much material in a pass, using the incorrect tools, etc. But I made just as many mistakes. (when you're in a true machine shop, and there's two different blades for the bandsaw with different TPI, it's not that one's for metal and one's for wood ... as they don't do wood cutting there ... but I must've broken and re-welded the blade a half dozen times and gone through a quart of cutting fluid to make only a few cuts, as I didn't realize that I should've been using the lower TPI blade for cutting aluminum) I admit I don't know enough about these 'maker spaces' ... I assume there'd have to be some training / certification before using the equipment. The other option would be to treat it more like a print shop, where someone drops off their item to be printed, and then comes back to pick it up after the job's been run. And it's possible that you're using less dangerous equipment. (eg, when in high school, my senior year we got a new principal who required that all teachers wear ties ... including the shop teachers. Have you ever seen what happens when a tie gets caught in a lathe or a printing press? He's lucky the teachers were experienced, as a simple mistake could've killed them) But even something as simple as a polishing/grinding wheel could be a hazard to both the person using it and anyone around them. (I remember one of my high school shop teachers not happy that I was so aggressive when grinding down some steel, as I was spraying sparks near his desk ... which could've started a fire) ... so the whole issue of making sure that no one gets injured / killed / damages others is one of the liability issues, but I also remember when I worked for the university computer lab, we had a scanner that you could sign up to use. One day, one of the university police saw what one of the students was doing, and insisted that we were allowing students to make fake IDs. (the student in question had scanned in a CD cover, which was a distorted drivers license looking thing ... if he was trying to make a fake ID, you'd think he'd have started from a genuine ID card) As we've now got people who are printing gun receivers, there's a real possibility that people could be printing stuff that might be in violation of the law. (I won't get into the issue of if it's a stupid law or not ... this is something the legal department needs to weigh in on). And conversely, if you're a public institution and you censor what people are allowed to make, then you get into first amendment issues. ... On a completely unrelated note, when I first saw the question about libraries maker spaces, I was thinking in the context of public libraries, and thought the idea was pretty strange. I see a much better fit for academic libraries, but I'm still not 100% sold on it. In part, I know that it's already possible to get a lot of stuff 'made' at most universities, but you risk treading on certain trade's toes, which could piss off the unions. Eg, we had a sign shop who had some CNC cutters for sheet goods (this was the mid 1990s), carpenters and such under the building maintenance, large scale printing and book binding through the university graphics department (they later outsourced the larger jobs, got rid of the binding equipment). I could see the equipment being of use to these groups, but I don't know that they'd be happy if their lack of control over being able to make money by charging for
Re: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries
Joe, and really everyone, I think this is all a question of scope, scale and community needs/demands. I absolutely think creative/generative/participatory spaces belong in public libraries. I firmly believe that the public library of the future is as much about access to tools as it about access to media, especially as we read about the creative economy and watch art, music, and shop programs get dropped in public schools. That said, I have no intention of bringing welders into the library for the liability reasons you cite. I seek to partner with other community organizations that can provide these services this is why I was asking if academic libraries might have similar partnerships with academic departments. And that said, There are many, many 'maker' activities public libraries already support and more we can expand to support. (think craft time in the kids room) Whether it is soldering, graphic design software, or making sock puppets, the public library is as much about these informal learning experiences as it is about access to Grisham, Shakespeare and JK Rowling. On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 1:03 PM, Joe Hourcle onei...@grace.nascom.nasa.govwrote: On Aug 27, 2012, at 9:44 AM, BWS Johnson wrote: Salvete! Can't. Resist. Bait. Batman. Can anyone on the list help clarify for me why, in an academic setting, this kind of equipment and facility isn't part of a laboratory in an academic department? I'd say that I hate to play devil's advocate, but that would be a patent misrepresentation of material fact. Conversely, could you please tell us why you think it *shouldn't* be at the Library? I can think of one reason they shouldn't be *anywhere*: liability. When I was working on my undergrad, in civil engineering, the university's science and engineering school had their own machine shop. Officially, you were only supposed to use it if you were a grad student, or supervised by a grad student. Yet, there were a number of us (the undergrad population) who had more experience than the grad students. (I had done a couple years of shop class during high school, one of the other students had learned from his father who worked in the trade, another was going back to school after having been a professional machinist for years, etc.). So well, I know at least two of us would go down and use the shop without supervision. (and in a few cases, all alone, which is another violation when you're working at 1am and there's no one to call for medical assistance should something go really, really wrong). And in some cases, we'd teach the grad students who were doing stuff wrong (trying to take off too much material in a pass, using the incorrect tools, etc. But I made just as many mistakes. (when you're in a true machine shop, and there's two different blades for the bandsaw with different TPI, it's not that one's for metal and one's for wood ... as they don't do wood cutting there ... but I must've broken and re-welded the blade a half dozen times and gone through a quart of cutting fluid to make only a few cuts, as I didn't realize that I should've been using the lower TPI blade for cutting aluminum) I admit I don't know enough about these 'maker spaces' ... I assume there'd have to be some training / certification before using the equipment. The other option would be to treat it more like a print shop, where someone drops off their item to be printed, and then comes back to pick it up after the job's been run. And it's possible that you're using less dangerous equipment. (eg, when in high school, my senior year we got a new principal who required that all teachers wear ties ... including the shop teachers. Have you ever seen what happens when a tie gets caught in a lathe or a printing press? He's lucky the teachers were experienced, as a simple mistake could've killed them) But even something as simple as a polishing/grinding wheel could be a hazard to both the person using it and anyone around them. (I remember one of my high school shop teachers not happy that I was so aggressive when grinding down some steel, as I was spraying sparks near his desk ... which could've started a fire) ... so the whole issue of making sure that no one gets injured / killed / damages others is one of the liability issues, but I also remember when I worked for the university computer lab, we had a scanner that you could sign up to use. One day, one of the university police saw what one of the students was doing, and insisted that we were allowing students to make fake IDs. (the student in question had scanned in a CD cover, which was a distorted drivers license looking thing ... if he was trying to make a fake ID, you'd think he'd have started from a genuine ID card) As we've now got people who are printing gun receivers, there's a real possibility that people could be printing stuff that might be in violation of the
Re: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries
I think some folks have already responded to 'why' pretty well, but I figured I would add to the discussion from our perspective on the ground at UNR in the DeLaMare Library and answer Edward's question too. As far as why we are developing a makerspace or why we have 3D printers in the library- I think Jason hit on two really important points - curriculum and research support. In the library we hardly question buying journals that cost upwards of $15K that may only support one department and in some cases just one individual researcher. The 3D printer is already supporting several schools and departments in terms of both research and curriculum. There is a 3D printer in a department on our campus but the problem is- the department keeps it under lock and key and students only get access to that printer if they take a certain class within that specific department. Here in the academic library- we are available to everyone on campus- no lock and key, no special hours...we provide access to a much needed service. Even over the summer- we've had faculty from Engineering, Chemistry, and Art jumping in and working this service into their curriculum even further now that they have access to the production machine- it's a total win. Previously a number of students and faculty has been sending their files out to be printed at a rather high cost and turnaround time. This eliminates that and allows our community to prototype more quickly and more often. Chemistry has really gone far with this- one faculty remarked that this has changed the way he does research now. Rapid prototyping is critical. As for equipment that is more dangerous to use- I've worked closely with the local makerspace here in Reno, Bridgewire, and they've created a student membership. They have and are going to continue to do workshops for us here and they hold all kinds of workshops and events in their own space. Anything that may be considered a liability is done on their property and they have insurance. More recently, we are looking into partnering with the campus machine shop. Again- they are well suited to this kind of thing and take the necessary precautions. I see the library as a bridge between a lot of these resources- we communicate regularly with various groups to make sure students and faculty get whatever resources they need- whether that's an article, a book, a 3D printer, or access to a CNC machine. My interest is in getting what our community needs, so while I keep an eye out for how the laws will change in relation to these technologies, I focus on serving the users and building the community. It's been transformative here from when we were a building full of lots of print books with very few people at all to now where we have open collaborative space, 3D printers, button makers, poster printers, AR Drones, various software, etcand a LOT more users. We've seen the highest numbers of users in this building that we've ever seen here. We have also heard from several professors from different areas in full support of what we are doing and praise the changes we've made here. At one point not too long ago if you asked me what would happen to this library, I probably would have said that it would be closed in the not too distant future; we've totally turned that around because we've embraced our community and given them something irresistible. The students graduating from here will have had experience with technologies and learning in an environment that encourages creating, which many other students across the country don't have access to. I think it gives our students an advantage in a number of industries where companies will be creating new kinds of jobs that we can't yet imagine. Our staff are the same existing staff that were here previously. No one is specially trained- everyone has printed on the 3D printer- including all of our student workers. It's fun, so it hasn't been a hard sell to anyone to make something and learn...which is pretty cool. We set up the 3D Touch printer ourselves- in fact the students busted open the box the second it arrived, set it up and started printing. I wasn't even in the building when that all happened- they took it on and I'm happy about that. The production machine we have - the Uprint SE needed setup from the vendor. He did a fairly quick rundown of how it all works and did the machine setup for us. Since then it's been going non-stop without much maintenance. Out of both of the machines, the hobbyist machine has needed more maintenance from us in terms of keeping it going well. The higher end machine has been invaluable in that it runs without lots of care and feeding. We have a couple of different options available for 3D software and we have a number of students and student workers who are already well-versed in creating with these tools. We are asking them to teach others and give workshops- this works well as most of our students prefer to learn from other students in a
Re: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries
Hi Edward, Throughout the past year we have been working toward transforming the DeLaMare Science and Engineering Library into a library makerspace at the University of Nevada, Reno. It started with the purchase of a button maker and holding mini maker breaks and has grown with bigger events, workshops, the purchase or repurpose of numerous tools and equipment. We've also made changes to the space to create the kind of environment where our community wants to create. Though we are in name a science and engineering library- we work across many departments and colleges with several faculty and students to bring together computer scientists, designers, engineers, artists, and others to promote a really creative, exploratory learning space. Today, in the DeLaMare Library we have 2 3D printers, a 3D scanner, 2 button makers, about a dozen arduino kits, soldering kits, AR Drones, and more. We've converted a lot of the space that once held books to make room for collaborative space and entire walls painted in whiteboard paint. We've held a lockpicking workshop in partnership with Reno's local makerspace, Bridgewire: http://www.renobridgewire.org/, here in the library where over 80 people attended. We worked with them to offer a student membership as well. Bill Nye is coming to our campus and we're heavily involved in the science fair planned for that day, showcasing all of the great resources we have available and student projects done in the library. We collaborate regularly with both Bridgewire and the local co-working space, The Reno Collective: http://renocollective.com/. We also have been involved with Reno's WordPress group and have hosted WordCamp the past couple of years. We wrote up a post talking more specifically about the 3D printer and the setup here: http://acrl.ala.org/techconnect/?p=1403 You can also see some of the photos of stuff we've done here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dstl_unr We're working on collaborating more with various departments and showcasing all kinds of things here: http://www.kclabs.org There is a lot to say about what we've been busy doing but I hope this glimpse helps- let me know if you have questions or need more information- thanks! Lisa Lisa Kurt Engineering and Emerging Technologies Librarian DeLaMare Science and Engineering Library University of Nevada, Reno phone: 775.682.5706 On 8/24/12 5:03 AM, Edward Iglesias edwardigles...@gmail.com wrote: Thanks Jason! Ab Fab indeed! Edward Iglesias On Thu, Aug 23, 2012 at 2:10 PM, Jason Griffey grif...@gmail.com wrote: In my last Library tech report, I included a chapter on 3D printing (chapter 4, please excuse the title, I had to) that spoke a bit to why libraries needed to be in the space, which certainly overlaps with the Makerspace convo: http://alatechsource.metapress.com/content/rpl5883j3620/?p=5b1da8d73bec46 918808d4fb69a73abepi=2 Full text is available there...the whole work is CC licensed, so feel free to grab a copy. :-) Jason On Thu, Aug 23, 2012 at 1:55 PM, David Brightbill dbrightb...@cclaflorida.org wrote: I'm leading the effort to build a makerspace in my local community and have some thoughts around the role of established institutions (libraries, EDC's, government, etc.) in making this happen. I'd be happy to have a telephone or G+ chat with you about this if you wish. Cheers, Dave Brightbill Manager of Research and Development Florida Virtual Campus -Original Message- From: Code for Libraries [mailto:CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU] On Behalf Of Edward Iglesias Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2012 12:11 PM To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU Subject: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries Hello All, A colleague and I are going to be presenting at code4lib NE on the subject of makerspaces in academic libraries. Are any of you doing this? If so I would love to pick your brains a little. Edward Iglesias
Re: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries
If anyone is, would you post back to the list (rather than respond privately to Edward)? I'd be interested in hearing too. Thanks, Kevin On Thu, Aug 23, 2012 at 12:10 PM, Edward Iglesias edwardigles...@gmail.com wrote: Hello All, A colleague and I are going to be presenting at code4lib NE on the subject of makerspaces in academic libraries. Are any of you doing this? If so I would love to pick your brains a little. Edward Iglesias
Re: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries
I'm leading the effort to build a makerspace in my local community and have some thoughts around the role of established institutions (libraries, EDC's, government, etc.) in making this happen. I'd be happy to have a telephone or G+ chat with you about this if you wish. Cheers, Dave Brightbill Manager of Research and Development Florida Virtual Campus -Original Message- From: Code for Libraries [mailto:CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU] On Behalf Of Edward Iglesias Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2012 12:11 PM To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU Subject: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries Hello All, A colleague and I are going to be presenting at code4lib NE on the subject of makerspaces in academic libraries. Are any of you doing this? If so I would love to pick your brains a little. Edward Iglesias
Re: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries
In my last Library tech report, I included a chapter on 3D printing (chapter 4, please excuse the title, I had to) that spoke a bit to why libraries needed to be in the space, which certainly overlaps with the Makerspace convo: http://alatechsource.metapress.com/content/rpl5883j3620/?p=5b1da8d73bec46918808d4fb69a73abepi=2 Full text is available there...the whole work is CC licensed, so feel free to grab a copy. :-) Jason On Thu, Aug 23, 2012 at 1:55 PM, David Brightbill dbrightb...@cclaflorida.org wrote: I'm leading the effort to build a makerspace in my local community and have some thoughts around the role of established institutions (libraries, EDC's, government, etc.) in making this happen. I'd be happy to have a telephone or G+ chat with you about this if you wish. Cheers, Dave Brightbill Manager of Research and Development Florida Virtual Campus -Original Message- From: Code for Libraries [mailto:CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU] On Behalf Of Edward Iglesias Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2012 12:11 PM To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU Subject: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries Hello All, A colleague and I are going to be presenting at code4lib NE on the subject of makerspaces in academic libraries. Are any of you doing this? If so I would love to pick your brains a little. Edward Iglesias
