2021-10-08 SPLAT Curiosity Report: Volume 9, Issue 8
Featured Story
Rediscovering 3D Printing
We’ve been 3D printing a ton for years. It was once a crazy new idea, cutting edge technology that seemed out of reach for most people. Now it’s not uncommon for patrons to tell us about their 3D printers because they too discovered the fun of 3D printing. While most of us tech type people will always find joy in it, 3D printing seems to have lost it’s shine factor in our community. We have printers, schools have printers, people have printers…Then one patron came in and inquired about 3D printing a prototype he was designing.
Our tech staff was excited as he explained his model – a self powering generator for off-grid systems using 3D printed parts and magnets.
The details went way over most of our heads but we were very excited that a rural patron had discovered how 3D printing could help him with his dream of inventing this generator. We’ve been working with him for a few months now and it seems that things are coming along nicely. Every time there’s an email, we’re excited by the news and what he has designed. There have been some disappointments and redesigns but there has always been gratitude and discovery.
While we all knew that 3D printing had real world applications, I mean, that’s what we tell people all the time, right? But most of the time we’re printing toys and gadgets Baby Yodas and rainbow colored articulated octopi. It’s great to actually be part of the process that 3D printed a cool new power generator that could help so many in our community. The real world application is actually there and it’s great to rediscover that!
– Vanessa Thiele
Fail Forward
We’ve all been there. You pour your heart into a program, and no one shows up. You try something new, and you fall on your face. Sound familiar? Fail Forward is the place to share your failures, and give you the opportunity to share what you learned from them. Did you promote your program in a different way after no one showed up? Maybe you took a new approach to the new thing you were excited about? Awesome! Share your story via our online form so others can learn, and realize that failure is often part of the process.
Rushing Back to Normal
I recently learned the importance of not rushing back to normal. In our circulation area as part of our first reopening stage, we blocked off the sides of the desk to help encourage social distancing. Recently we decided to remove the side barriers as patrons had been great about staying in the service area in front of the circulation desk. Encouraged by this, I removed the barrier right before we opened and went to lunch shortly after that. Within the hour, I had several calls requesting the barriers to be returned! As it turns out, while we were ready for the area to start looking normal again, some patrons were a little too ready for everything to be back to normal! We returned the barriers and came up with a different solution for the desk that created a new normal with a transparent (and more permanent) barrier in place, instead of returning to the old normal.
– Mike Sloan
Crush Corner
Is there a library you follow on social media who is always doing new and exciting things? How about a blog you follow that inspires you? What about a new idea, book, or resource that you want to share? Library Crush Corner is a place for those working in Idaho libraries to share what inspires them, and who or what they’re crushing on… in a professional sense. Share your story via our online form so we can publish it in a future issue!
Northwest Digital Heritage
This past summer I was crushin’ on Northwest Digital Heritage, a partnership between organizations in Washington and Oregon that bring local digital collections to a broader audience through the Digital Public Library of America.
– Jessica Martinez
SPLAT explores the ever-evolving library world and supports library folks as they adapt to meet the needs of their communities. Library folk throughout the state of Idaho volunteer to serve on the Special Projects Library Action Team (SPLAT). Learn more about SPLAT at splat.lili.org
SPLAT is brought to you by the Idaho Commission for Libraries and was made possible, in part, by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (LS-246156-OLS-20). The views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.