Hamilton Wenham Library gets 3D printer donated by Friends of Hamilton Wenham Library

Ever think you could make something from thin air?  Impossible.  How about being able to hold an object you just printed from your computer screen? Now, we are talking. This is happening at the Hamilton Wenham Library.

The Friends of the Hamilton Wenham Library recently donated $2500 to purchase a 3D printer for the library.  The printer replicates images to 3D objects that are downloaded into its memory. Hamilton resident Rose Wosepka, age 12 and Emma Contois, age 12, along with Gordon College Physics major Nathan Calandra programmed the 3D printer to make a comb, a stretchy bracelet and a statue of a sleeping cat from computer images. 

Jan Dempsey, Head Librarian, at Hamilton Wenham Library is moving the library from the age of checking out books to something that looks more like an episode of the futuristic Jetson’s cartoon.  Ms. Dempsey is using an initiative called the “Maker Space” as her guide. Modeled after the Westport Connecticut library, the Maker Space is an attempt to create a library environment where people can express their personal interests.  That could be anything from knitting to science or even making a movie.  A signature part of this initiative is the 3D printer.  Currently, the Hamilton Wenham Library is the only library in the Merrimack Valley Consortium of Libraries to own one.

The 3D printer is made by a company called MakerBot.  It replicates computer images using plastic filament, usually in about fifteen minutes.  A similar 3D printer is currently being used in the Gordon College Physics lab to create customized parts for use in experiments.

The library printer was set up by volunteers from the Gordon College Physics club, including Senior Physics major, Nathan Calandra.  Over the next few weeks, Calandra will train library staff on how to use the printer.  Ms. Dempsey states that the printer will be available for the public to use soon.  She plans to have times when library patrons can sign up to use the printer with a trained staff person.  A small “printing” fee will be charged with each object that is printed.

Come and see how the Hamilton Wenham Library is evolving from just a place where Museum Passes and checked books to step into the future.