Comments on: Could the 3D Printer save the public library service?

By: ErisGuy

ErisGuy — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 12:50:06 +0000

No doubt 3D printers will be used for many purposes for which governments do not approve, including printing weapons. So: will the EU/GB ban or restrict their use as the USSR restricted copy machines, or will the EU/GB freely allow its citizens use of advanced tools? The question almost answers itself.

For the USA, my guess is that between the 1st Amendment protecting ownership and use of presses and the 2nd Amendment protecting ownership and use of weapons, 3D printers will be common and cheap, just as copy machines, computers, and weapons are.

To each his own Utopia.

By: Steve Truffer

Steve Truffer — Tue, 07 May 2013 01:18:26 +0000

In reply to Ian Anstice.

Ian, while the wiki weapon has now come to fruition, there has been an even cheaper alternative around for quite some time … [The comment then goes into details about how make such a weapon which I feel uncomfortable about publishing – Ian]

By: Ian Anstice

Ian Anstice — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 14:35:42 +0000

In reply to Mike Groenendyk.

Thanks for commenting on this piece. I am glad you found it and that you are looking at future directions for libraries.

I think printing guns a big issue in this article because I am writing from the UK. We’re not as accepting of guns here as in the US: they’re generally illegal and an owner of one (who is not a farmer) needs to, normally, have a good explanation. There’s also a world of difference between potentially being able to potentially just download a file and (at some point in the future, we’re not there yet) press a button to print off a gun at home and needing to machine the parts. In this country, a simple way to print off a gun at home would very much be a crisis.

I completely agree that Makerspaces may be a viable direction for libraries to go and the article does not disagree with this, it just states that the time where there is a need for libraries to be a space for this (due to the expense and difficulty of the equipment) may already have passed. If Makerspaces do become common in libraries, it will be because library services have been successful in creating added value to having them in their buildings: expertise, pleasant surroundings etc. This is deeply challenging for UK libraries due to a dire lack of necessary training and investment.

By: Mike Groenendyk

Mike Groenendyk — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 16:56:25 +0000

Why is 3D printing guns made into such a big issue here? If people are able to 3D print guns in the future they will not have to rely on libraries to do this, as most people seriously commited to doing this could easily find the neccessary resources elsewhere. Even now, equipment to machine metal gun parts is fairly accessible. Nothing is stopping anyone from downloading the schematics for an assault rifle from a public library computer and getting the parts machined, or else just walking a few blocks down the street and buying one the old fashioned way. But is this a crisis? No.

Librarians as a whole are extremely reactionary to change, and this is what is making libraries irrelevant. Makerspaces aren’t just about 3D printing. They represent a turn around in librarian logic. Librarians are realizing that libraries cannot exist only to store and provide access to information, but that they need to help facilititae their patrons in creating new information as well.

Content is key for 3D printing. If libraries don’t start generating their own unique content there will be no reason for them to exist outside of ‘The Cloud’.