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Thanks so much for this Eric. Edward Iglesias On Thu, Jun 20, 2013 at 3:24 PM, Eric Lease Morgan <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Here is a pointer to a recent article on policies for 3D printers. FYI: > > A Model for Managing 3D Printing Services in Academic Libraries > by Vincent F. Scalfani in Issues in Science and Technology > Librarianship, Spring 2013 > > The appearance of 3D printers in university libraries opens many > opportunities for advancing outreach, teaching, and research > programs. The University of Alabama (UA) Libraries recently > adopted 3D printing technology and maintains an open access 3D > Printing Studio. The Studio consists of a 3D printer, multiple 3D > design workstations, and other supporting equipment. Training of > new Studio users (students, faculty, and staff) is a two-step > process: an initial workshop followed by an individual training > session. After the individual meeting(s), users may access > equipment in the Studio independently. The 3D Printing Studio > service is popular across campus. During early implementation, 50 > users have attended training workshops. 3D users have > experimented in the Studio with projects for advanced coursework > and independent research. It is expected that the number of > trained users will double in the near future. An evaluation of > our management policies suggests that providing an open access > environment and permitting users to experiment independently in > the 3D Printing Studio contributes greatly to the success of the > service. We also present ideas for future improvements to the 3D > Studio service. > > http://bit.ly/19lo3x9 > > FYI > > -- > ELM >