Taming the 3D Printer in your #learningcommons

In an ideal world, students would be able to get access to whatever resources they needed within the Learning Commons or School Library and they would leave the equipment as they would found it ready for the next student to use.

But even with staplers and guillotines, students will generally not tidy up after themselves. So processes are put in place to ensure that the equipment is ready for the next student.

Things are a bit different when you incorporate a 3D printer into the mix. It isn't as easy to get the equipment ready for the next student and often when someone us using it, it might be hours before the next student can use it.

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So here are some thoughts on managing a 3D printer in our Learning Commons from the operations point-of-view.

#freebookmarks for your #schoollibrary 5 Literary Halloween Bookmarks

What do you think of my Halloween bookmarks?

I love to promote literature and when I talk to students about the Horror Genre, they are surprised to hear that there is more than Twilight that they can read.

So I knocked up some literary bookmarks using my favourite program, Canva. 

If you don't have time to read the books, why not listen to the audiobooks? They are in the public domain, along with the books which are out of copyright.

• Frankenstein
• Dracula
• The Raven (read by Christopher Lee), or perhaps the Simpson's version. If you love Poe, listen to the Alan Parson's Project concept album, Tales of Mystery and Imagination.
• The Strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
• The picture of Dorian Gray

If you love audiobooks, here is a list of a few hundred that you might like. Or you might like to subscribe to a podcast that pushes out classic books in audiobook format to your device.

enjoy!