Award winners in each age category of the Ellinwood School and Community Library Summer Library program:
3, 4, and 5 year olds: first, Jonathan Dewey; second, Anelle Widener; third, Addisyn Wesner
Kindergarten - first: first, Brendan Schartz; second, Brynn Widener; third, Taegan Robl
Second - third grade: first: Brayden Robl; second, Ethan Robl; third, Regan Wiener
Fourth - sixth grade: first Lily Hoskins; second, Kiley Troyer; third, Tate Martin
Overall Top Readers: first: Brayden Robl; second, Ethan Robl; third Lily Hoskins and Brendan Schartz
Wednesday, July 13, participants in the Ellinwood School/Community Library summer reading program who attended the Summer Library Celebration had the opportunity to see the library’s new 3-D printer in action.
As kids listened to stories read by CKLS Children’s librarians Patty Collins and Diane Bott and participated in song and dance activities, Ellinwood teens who volunteered to help with the Summer reading program were on hand, stuffing goodie bags for each of the kids in attendance.
Ellinwood librarian Sheri Holmes monitored the production of custom medals as they were slowly ‘printed.’ The medals would be awarded to the top three readers in each age category.
3-D printer
The printer is small, quiet depending on the size of the desired object, requires patience. In about two hours, a batch of 12 identical medals could be produced by the printer. The unit, which takes up only about one square foot of table space, was provided to the library through CKLS. A grant from the State Library of Kansas and the Institute of Museum and Library Services provided one Ditto Pro Tinkerine 3-D printer to each service area, and Ellinwood was chosen as the recipient for Barton County, Holmes said.
Julie Blakeslee, technical and public services librarian attended preliminary training, and has recruited a group of teens from Ellinwood High School to assist in training patrons to use the machine. She designed the medals being printed that morning using an internet program. The design is then uploaded to a USB drive to transport it to the library. The program is then uploaded to the printer, and work can begin.
Patrons will be charged $.06 per gram of filament used in their design, Holmes said. A batch of 12 medals used about 25 grams.
Ellinwood High School has one 3D printer also, used by students in the CAD department. The production capabilities of both are similar, the differences being primarily in the types of filaments chosen for use in each particular project. Students who have volunteered to work with Blakeslee are not necessarily CAD students, however. Some simply have an interest in learning how to use the new technology.
Holmes and the other librarians are ready for a rest between the Summer Library program and the start of school in about a month. The Ellinwood School/Community Library will be closed July 26-29 for cleaning and maintenance. It will open again on Aug. 1.
