JOSH RANNEY
Special to The Leader
As the opening of the television series “The Twilight Zone” goes, “This is the dimension of imagination.”
While Reed Library is not taking us into the Twilight Zone, Fredonia students and community members now get to create and experiment with another dimension — the third dimension.
A 3D printer was unveiled in Reed Library last semester and has been accessible to the campus community since March 5.
Lara Herzellah is a research and information literacy librarian in Reed Library and is heading the new 3D printing service.
According to Herzellah, the printer was roughly a $3,000 investment. An investment that she explained is going to mostly student use and enjoyment.
“For the most part, it’s been students [and] undergraduate students, and they’ve been mostly using it for personal use, but some academic use too,” she said. “It’s funny to see what people are submitting and what kind of stuff they want — and the nerd in me always loves that.”
Currently, the printer is not a self-service station. Those who wish to use the 3D printer must submit a request through an online form that can be found on the Reed Library website. The printer is run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, so prints are limited to that timeframe. Herzellah also said in the interest of sustainability, people are limited to the amount of material they print.
As of now, there is no cost to students for each print they make, as opposed to the regular printers in the library. Herzellah said, though, “In the fall we may be implementing a cost of $0.05 per gram. This would not be taken from their print quota but would have to be paid separately.”
Details are still be still being worked out by Herzellah and other library staff for fall 2018.
Requests must also comply with all university and library policies, meaning no weapons, inappropriate material or anything prohibited by local, state or federal law.
The current state of the 3D printing program is set up as a pilot plan. The library is gauging interest this semester with hopes of having a full-running service in the fall. Herzellah said interest is “definitely there.”
“We haven’t done much promo except for having it out in the library with a little sign on it that indicates how you can submit a request. And we’ve already gotten, I think, fifty requests since March 5,” said Herzellah.
3D printing is innovative technology, but having the capability to utilize it on a college campus is nothing new. Neighboring SUNY schools, University at Buffalo and Buffalo State, have 3D printers.
According to Herzellah, the 3D printer will hopefully be one of the first steps in establishing a “maker area” in the Reed Library — a designated area for creative work through technology and innovation.
The new technology in the library is not only intriguing to students and community members, but also to Herzellah herself.
“I’m just super excited that we have it,” said Herzellah. “And I’m really happy that students are excited about it [and] that people are always stopping and looking to see what’s printing.”
The hope for the printer is something that presents itself as almost a challenge for the minds of Fredonia students. As Herzellah concluded, “I hope it sparks some creativity.”