When Youth Librarian Aidan Grego first arrived at the Cortez Public Library, he noticed a certain hole in the floor where an Ethernet cable poked through.
So Grego did what any creative mind with a 3D printer might do, he sketched out a blue plastic cap, hit print.
His same imaginative spirit is driving the library’s latest project: a grant-funded technology program seeking to provide local teens the ability to design, tinker and build.
Cortez Public Library is funneling $10,000 into the program to buy 3D printers, as well as gaming computers and other tech. The expansion, which stems from funds given through the LOR Foundation grant, hopes to bridge a technology gap in Cortez and spark STEM intrigue.
“In our area, we have a lot of people who just don’t have access to that. The high school has their own STEM program, but that’s brand new,” Grego said.
A library/Pueblo Community College partnership hosting 3D-printing classes was “wildly popular” among teens and young adults, said Public Library Director Beth Edson. The success initiated efforts to go after the grant to make the in-house purchases.
“Our Youth Librarian Aidan just took it head-on and learned how to operate the 3D printer and learned about the software Tinkercad,” Edson said. “A lot of the maker space equipment like 3D printers has been around in the library world for about a decade, but it was pretty new to the Cortez library.”
The grant covers purchasing all the equipment, which is two 3D printers, 10-12 laptops, robotic kits and two gaming computers for coding and music, video and photo editing.
New gear, curriculum and program instruction are expected to roll out early next year. The teen area will receive a small redesign to house the gaming computers permanently. The library hopes to eventually develop a dedicated lab space in a future remodel.
To go 3D, the library uses a website where teens tool around with custom designs or tinker with pre-built elements – say, an elephant, alligator or car figurine. Grego says, from there, you edit by “changing the shapes or curves” or whatever else until satisfied. The next steps involve transferring it to the printer, hitting start and then … Well, it takes about four hours for the machine to work its magic.
“It’s kind of a quiet whirring most of the time — sort of like a fan moving in the background,” Grego said.
For head librarian Edson, not only will the new tech fill a void in a rural community, it also brings another tool of engagement and purpose to the library.
“People still think of libraries like how they were 50 years ago — just housing books, shushing librarians — and we’re so different than that now,” she said. “We provide creative programming and creative spaces just to let kids and adults and teens go wild and be creative and explore different information.”
The library hopes to have two 3D-printing sessions for teens once a month, ages 10-17.
“One of my favorite things was being out on the desk when Aidan would get done with a program, and the families coming out and the kids being like, ‘Are you going to do this tomorrow?’
“You know, and it’s like, ‘Oh, I wish we could.’ Just the excitement they have about it — it’s so sweet,” Edson said.
