All around Suffolk County, public libraries are chipping in to use 3-D printers to make PPE for health care workers on the frontlines of the fight against the novel coronavirus.
Terry Lucas, director of the Shelter Island Public Library, says the library is doing its share. The library is part of the Suffolk Cooperative Library System (SCLS), and in the past has borrowed one of the system’s 3-D printers to demonstrate the technology to kids and adults alike.
It has joined libraries throughout the county in supporting a 3-D printer farm that’s making a component of face shields used by medical personnel as part of their personal protective equipment.
“We’ve asked the SCLS to purchase a 3-D printer on our behalf which will be used as part of the 3-D printer farm and will be returned to the library when we’re up and running again,” Lucas said.
She and members of the library’s board have also donated personal funds to buy filament supplies for the SCLS, which has created a 3-D printer farm at its Bellport headquarters.
See the work that’s being done in this YouTube video:
Creating frames for face shields
The face shields are in great demand at hospitals countywide where personal protective equipment of all sorts is in short supply, the SCLS said in a news release Monday.
“Printers are traditionally used in libraries for hands-on learning in order to fabricate fun trinkets or make replacement parts for a variety of objects, but the possibilities are endless,” the SCLS said.
“During this time, Stony Brook and other medical facilities are in dire need of the face shields necessary for doctors and medical staff on the frontlines to protect themselves and they have called upon the public libraries of Suffolk County for help,” the release said.
The SCLS set up the 3-D printing farm to help further expedite this, using its own printers and supplies, augmented by supplies and donations from throughout the system. It has 58 printers operating in two shifts and averaging 200 printed items per day.
Roger Reyes, Assistant Director Suffolk Cooperative Library System
said, “every public library in Suffolk County has responded and contributed in some way.”
Shelter Island library contributes
“Even though we’re one of the smallest libraries, we wanted to be able to participate in this very important project and to help our community both locally and countywide,” Lucas said.
Like libraries everywhere, the Shelter Island Public Library is closed but is offering online services for cardholders. Find out about those resources at the library’s website, shelterislandpubliclibrary.org.
“Everyone at the Shelter Island Public Library misses seeing our patrons and we hope that everyone is keeping well,” Lucas said. “We can’t wait to see them on the other side of this crisis.”
Disclosure: Julia Brennan, editor and co-publisher of the Shelter Island Gazette is a member of the Shelter Island Public Library board of trustees; Eddie Brennan, co-publisher, is a member of the Friends of the Shelter Island Public Library board.