Monday 31 October 2016

Quick Tip: Know Your Screwdrivers (Hint: It’s Not Called a “Flathead!”)

drivers101Knowing proper names for screwdrivers and other tools help you learn and help you not look like a lightweight.

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Punk Those Trick-or-Treaters with a 3D Radar Booby Trap

walabot-haunt-thumbThis Trick-or-Treater Tracker can look right through your front door, track the costumed kids approaching your home, and then automatically accost them with different scary sounds and customized messages.

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Build a NeoPixel Ninja Mask with Particle Photon

supermaskTFW you're a ninja, but you still want to stand out at parties...

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Mechanical Music Boxes Mix MIDI with Marbles

yananatoleAnatole and Yan wanted to create something special for their electronic Music workshops, they created these totally unique MIDI/Mechanical instruments.

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Pro Tip: Techniques to Make Halloween Makeup Last Through the Night

Greasepaint-2No one wants a streaky, greasy painted face for Halloween, but you can protect your look with this easy tip.

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Sunday 30 October 2016

How to Make Beautiful Midori-Style Traveler’s Notebooks

midoribook_7Make your own customized, upgradable notebooks and organizing system in the Midori style.

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This Week in Making: Waterjet Jack-O’-Lanterns and the Truth About Wireless Power

screen-shot-2016-10-28-at-9-51-41-amThis past week the community of YouTube makers show us the meaning of friendship and stopped us from doing something stupid.

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Saturday 29 October 2016

Weekend Watch: Better Woodwoorking with Paosan

screen-shot-2016-10-28-at-11-40-05-amIf you’re a woodworker and what you’d really like to make are things that make it easier for you to be a better woodworker, then Suso Caamanho’s YouTube channel Paoson WoodWorking is for you. The projects and tutorials tend to be utilitarian, focusing on projects that either show you how […]

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Friday 28 October 2016

Maker Pro News: When Appliances Attack, Maker City Shenzhen, and More

ultimaker-3Why you can't ignore security in your next Internet of Things project. Plus, the pros and cons of Shenzhen's fast-moving manufacturers and the new Ultimaker 3.

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5 Halloween Quick Tips

fh7ie01vsmes9j6315-mediumSome useful quick tips and tricks to help make Halloween a real treat.

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Talk to Your Friends Like a Star Wars Droid with Particle Photon

masksHave secret conversations and sound like an adorable droid at the same time!

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3D Print These 12 Last-Minute Halloween Costumes

Auerlia, Warrior of Valhalla (Scale Mail Armor)Okay, maybe a head-to-toe ensemble is out of the question at this point, but you still have time to print a few key accessories to make a phenomenal Halloween costume.

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Kuala Lumpur Hackathon Aims to Reduce Electronics Waste

14543770_629354653903730_4495407929373355750_oMakers in Kuala Lumpur look at turning e-waste into sustainable businesses and products.

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Thursday 27 October 2016

Sneak Peek: Arc Attack Adds Pneumatic Chimes to Their High Voltage Ensemble

14689713_10208729946178741_1467093327_oArc Attack has held a special place in our hearts for a long time. There isn’t much that beats high voltage blasting through the air to make awesome music. Every time I’ve seen them I’ve been blown away, and I’ve learned something. If you’ve only seen their youtube videos, you […]

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Craft Miniature Pallet Drink Coasters from Popsicle Sticks

pallettest-1-onlineDon't leave condensation rings on your furniture. Craft yourself a pallet coaster to do the heavy lifting for you!

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Bandung’s Urban Waste Hackathon Focuses on Hardware Prototyping

winnerteamBandung, Indonesia is an up-and-coming city of makers with an interest in better waste disposal.

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Library Takeover at Madison Public Library: An Introduction

by Laura Damon-Moore

Over the next several months we’ll be sharing a program from the Community Engagement team at Madison Public Library in Madison, Wisconsin. Inspired by an original idea from Apples & Snakes and Half-Moon Theatre (you can read all about that program on the LAIP!), Library Takeover at Madison Public Library is designed to be a platform for community members (in this case, adults rather than teens) to dream up, plan, and host their own events using library resources.

library-takeover-475x294

Library Takeover logo design by Marc Gannon for Madison Public Library.

Library Takeover Description:

Library Takeover is designed to encourage the community to TAKEOVER the library by providing space, time, and resources for community members to host their own events, helping to set the stage for future library programming that involves and reflects all of Madison.

How it’s working at MPL:

  • Teams of 3-5 adults in the Madison community submitted event or program ideas during a 5-week period, August-September 2016.
  • A team of library staff and external event planning experts narrowed the pool of applicants (we ended up with 39!) to the final three (read about the final three teams and their ideas here).
  • Once accepted to the program, the teams participate in a 6-week event planning bootcamp with local event planning experts; they have access to an expert mentor who is assigned to guide their team through the process; they can utilize library spaces and marketing resources to host and publicize their event; they have $2,500 to make their event happen; and at the end of it all, they receive a $300 stipend for their time.
  • We’ll be blogging and documenting the process as we go, and sharing updates here too. Check out the Library Takeover page for more details.

Questions? Feel free to send me a note and I’ll respond as quickly as possible! Email: libraryasincubatorproject@gmail.com with a subject of Library Takeover Q.



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Wednesday 26 October 2016

Your Sensor Ideas Can Save the World — and Win You Gear

shutterstock_437098156Cypress Semiconductor is sponsoring a new challenge to help people turn their IoT ideas into realities.

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Maker Spotlight: Mario the Magician

mariomarchese_makerfairedotcom_1Mario is not your average magician — he blends magic and maker innovation to create robotic companions that help him onstage!

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Ferment Honey to Brew Your Own Mead

_h1a0804-copyIt’s easy to brew this ancient elixir from honey and yeast!

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10 Spooky Science Tricks for Kids

rainingbloodCheck out these 10 Halloween science projects for some spooktacularly fun experiments you can do at home.

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Elisa Lee & Adam Hinshaw in Residence at University of Technology Sydney Library

This feature first appeared on the LAIP in October 2015.

We are very pleased to welcome artists Elisa Lee and Adam Hinshaw to the site today. Elisa and Adam were the 2014 artists-in-residence at the University of Technology Sydney Library (check out our writeup on Chris Gaul, UTS Library’s 2012 artist-in-residence), where the duo’s work investigates the Library Retrieval System. ~Laura

From the UTS Library website:

The LRS is UTS Library’s state-of-the-art underground storage system, which stores books, journals and objects in 11,808 steel storage bins, hidden five stories below Alumni Green.

The artists posed some exciting questions. What happens when you visualise the interaction between organic human behaviour and a rigid mechanical storage system? What narratives and patterns are formed or imagined? What behaviours and insights can be deduced? The outcomes are constantly in flux, determined by the users of the LRS and the items contained within it.

Both a visual and an audio work were created.

11-808:
Visualising the Library Retrieval System

11-808 is a playful visualisation of the movements of books and objects requested and returned from the LRS. Each time an item is moved we see its “catalogue card” fly in or out of the bin where it’s located, with the bin adopting the colour of the subject area that the item belongs to. For example, books in the social sciences are blue. The colours are inspired by the Collection Ribbon in the Library Catalogue.

The colours build up on the sides of the display, showing the accumulation and order of all transactions for the time period. Current LRS activity is overlaid in real-time, as items are requested and returned.

Video installation capturing the Library Retrieval System (LRS) at UTS Library.

Video installation capturing the Library Retrieval System (LRS) at UTS Library.

Over sixty minutes, you can witness the LRS activity across the last three hours, twenty-four hours, three days, one week, two weeks and four weeks, with the vantage point shifting every four minutes.

By viewing the title of objects, their subject category and the time in which they are requested, we can build an intriguing picture of how the LRS is being used.

Read and hear more about Elisa and Adam’s works on the UTS Library website.

Questions and Answers with Elisa and Adam:

Library as Incubator Project (LAIP): What initially attracted you to the residency at the UTS Library?

Elisa Lee and Adam Hinshaw (EL & AH): The opportunity to learn from and to collaborate with library staff, to have the creative space and time to explore a project thoroughly, and finally, to investigate the innovative Library Retrieval System and the context in which it is used.

LAIP: Logistically, how did you go about “investigating” the library retrieval system?

EL & AH: We had great discussions with key library staff about the roles of libraries within universities, why the LRS was introduced and how it was integral to the vision of what a library is and can provide for its ‘clients’.

We asked lots and lots of questions and were taken through in detail how the system worked from a client user experience, operations and technical point of view, how items were chosen to be stored there, how the content was accessed through the online database, how the book was physically located by the robots… All of this informed our understanding of the system and allowed us to imaginatively explore this space.

LAIP: Based on your experience at UTS Library, what do you think libraries offer for artists in residence? What did UTS do to make this a positive experience for you?

EL & AH: 

Libraries are a rich repository of knowledge through the contents they contain and the people who work with and use the collections. It is wonderful for artists to have the chance to play in this area and to give their own insights.

UTS made this a positive experience by being very open to collaboration. For us to complete this project, we needed to liaise with staff members, in particular the IT department who facilitated analysis of the database and then provided us with a data feed of content required.

Learn more about the UTS Library Artist in Residence Program, or visit elisalee.net.



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Tuesday 25 October 2016

YouTube’s Close-Knit Community of Makers

makercommnity_2A growing community of video makers who support, collaborate, and riff off of each other.

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The Netflix Halloween Doorbell Tends to Trick Or Treaters So You Can Relax

make_hero_1200x670Keep watching your movies in peace while Netflix's project handles the candy for you.

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Maker Spotlight: Jesse Stone

14812856_10157682827235046_2073272304_oName: Jesse Stone Home: Springfield, Missouri Day Job: Lewd Linens Facebook | Website | Instagram | Etsy How’d you get started making? Growing up in a very closed off church and a family in poverty were great motivators for creativity! Without television or toys (okay, I had a few), I have been making for as long […]

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Design a Phenakistoscope for a Mesmerizing Spinning Optical Illusion

warmheartedfewhoverfly-size_restrictedPhenakistoscopes are the cousins of zoetropes, and the great grandfather of animation... or so we think. Concept genealogy is more metaphor than science.

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3D Printed Bookmarks

bookmark1

by Michael Cherry, Teen & Youth Librarian Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library

3D printed bookmarks are a fun and easy project for librarians interested in 3D printing. They are a great way to introduce patrons to computer-aided design (CAD) and don’t require as many light years to 3D print. Their quirkiness will appeal to technophobes and gadget enthusiasts alike. Moreover, they are a unique, outside-the-box project that will engage teenagers, while making a fun Teen Read Week or teen book club activity.

bookmark4

To create a 3D printed bookmark your library will obviously have to own or have access to a 3D printer. If your library does not currently own a printer but is shopping around, one of the best resources available is Make Magazine’s annual review of 3D printers.

In addition to the printer, program participants will need to have access to computer-aided design tools. Many of these tools are free and tutorials can be found online. Open source software tools include Autodesk 123D and Sketchup Make.

bookmark3

Autodesk’s Tinkercad provides the best introductory platform for 3D design. Tinkercad is a browser-based 3D design and modeling tool. Users can set-up an account via the Tinkercad website and design online. All of the designs are stored in the user’s Tinkercad account.

Prior to having patrons design in Tinkercad, it is best to screen the “Tinkercad Tutorial Video” by Autodesk Tinkercad. This video can be accessed via YouTube or by following the link here:

In order to design the bookmark, program participants have several options. There is the mashup technique whereby they could search for open source designs using Tinkercad’s search bar. For example, patrons might search for a face that they could then attach to a body which they design. They may also modify open source designs by changing a character’s face or adding additional features. The beauty of the 3D printed heads is that they will pop out the top of the book, while the body remains flat marking the reader’s page.

Another option is to have participants create the entire bookmark from scratch. The shape of the bookmark can be made by stretching and flattening a few solids. The head can introduce beginning users to negative shapes, such as an eye or mouth cavity, as well as grouping and stacking objects. The latter technique will require repositioning the picture plane as one builds upwards. This technique is demonstrated with the boat example in the “Tinkercad Tutorial Video.”

bookmark2

Lastly, participants do not have to design a face but could try other shapes, figures, and symbols to their delight. When patrons are finished with their bookmarks it is wise to have them set their creations to “public” under the properties setting. This will make their design open source so that it can later be retrieved.  Staff can search for it by title and copy the design into a staff account before printing. Otherwise, it would require knowing the username and password of each individual account.

Additional resources about this fun and simple 3D design project can be found in the library program toolkit below. Happy making!

Download the a How-To Kit with instructions, materials lists, and ideas for enhancing the program and tailoring it to your community.

 

MikeMichael Cherry  is the Teen and Youth Librarian at Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library in Evansville Indiana. 



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Bangkok Makers Use IoT for Sustainability Solutions

img_3067The Southeast Asia Makerthon 2016 continues in Bangkok where teams look at ways logistics and IoT can prevent needless waste.

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Monday 24 October 2016

Get to Know Your CNC: How to Read G-Code

cncgcode-19Understanding the commands lets you read a file and figure out what’s going on.

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Fake Blood: When to Make vs. When to Buy

blood-openerThere's a lot of blood options out there, so find the one that works best for you.

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Sunday 23 October 2016

This Week in Making: Codebender Closes, Copycat Factories, and Upright CNCs

2017-01-0303-52-17This past week we learned some bad news about codebender, more about the economics of copycat factories, and discovered a new way to CNC.

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Saturday 22 October 2016

Weekend Watch: Spooky Kids Crafts with Crafty Carol

carolsnoopyRoll up your sleeves and get ready to make some kid-friendly, last-minute Halloween crafts with Crafty Carol from Cool School.

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Live Blog: Maker Faire Orlando

dsc01738See what is happening at Maker Faire Orlando throughout the weekend! Check back often.

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Friday 21 October 2016

Linkubator Roundup: Week of October 16, 2016

Hello, friends!

It’s time to do the roundup of the best of the web this week at the intersection of libraries + creativity.  As always, we’re glad you’re here!

If you’re an artist, maker or other creative person who uses the library to further your creative goals, or if you work in a library that supports creative practice, we’d love to hear from you.

Cheers!

Erinn

Top Features

  • This week, we heard from the folks at Vanderbilt University Library, where they’ve created a comprehensive, curriculum-supporting program where students curate exhibits in their gallery space. The Campus Curates at Vanderbilt University Library.
  • RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia gets serious bonus points for on the name of their fabulous arts festival, which is deliciously library-nerdy: the 700s Arts Festival! 
  • We also shared grants resources on behalf of the NEA Big Read, a program through Arts Midwest. This continues to be a great platform for engaging communities around a common read (p.s.–check out the NEA Big Read’s teacher resources to find some hands-on creative projects to incorporate into your Big Read programming!)

hemmelig-rom-library-house-4-768x960

Around the Web

city-of-women



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Maker Pro News: Manufacturing Meets VR and More

make-works-floorLike a manufacturing match maker, Make Works looks to connect Scotland-based makers and hardware startups. Plus, hackers still drive VR innovation.

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Over the Top Home Decorations for Halloween

halloween-pirate-shipwreck-display-1Some of the most elaborate, jaw-dropping, and just plain out of control decorations we've featured on Make:.

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Thursday 20 October 2016

Make a Computer-Controlled Mad Scientist Test Tube Rack

testtubes_1Light up your Halloween night with a rack of flickering, glowing test tubes o' doom.

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Maker Faire Shenzhen Delayed Two Days Due to Typhoon Haima

14670837_614461305407990_2927289309353034656_nTyphoon Haima has caused some delays, but can't stop Maker Faire!

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Handcrafted America Is Back!

hca203-still033They're back with new fantastic episodes and wonderful craftspeople

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Get your community on the same page! NEA Big Read grants available

We’re posting this on behalf of the NEA Big Read, a program through Arts Midwest. This continues to be a great platform for engaging communities around a common read (p.s.–check out the NEA Big Read’s teacher resources to find some hands-on creative projects to incorporate into your Big Read programming!). ~Laura

 

applicationcarouselimage

Application deadline: January 26, 2017

NEA Big Read is accepting applications from non-profit organizations to develop community-wide reading programs between September 2017 and June 2018. NEA Big Read is a national program that broadens our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book.

A Big Read is a month-long series of programs centered around one NEA Big Read book. Programs should include a kickoff, a keynote, book discussions, and other artistic events to foster engagement with the selected title and encourage reading.

Organizations selected to participate in the program receive a grant, educational and promotional materials, and access to online training resources and opportunities. Approximately 75 organizations from across the country will be selected.

Funding ranges from $5,000 to $20,000

We are proud to announce the addition of 13 new titles to the Big Read list this year!

Visit http://ift.tt/1sL5J7o for more information.

Questions? Call Arts Midwest at 612.238.8010 or email neabigread@artsmidwest.org.



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Oakland Shows How It’s Done at East Bay Mini Maker Faire

ebmmf-caminoThe 7th year for Oakland's Mini Maker faire is looking fantastic!

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OpenFixture Aims To Ease Testing and Programming

openfixture_assembledOpenFixture is a parametric fixturing tool designed to ease the rigors of PCB testing.

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Wednesday 19 October 2016

Shenzhen Prepares for Largest Maker Faire in Asia

mfs-signShenzhen Maker Faire is this weekend with lots of cool events and exciting speakers.

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Maker Spotlight: Tracy Gray

fullsizerenderName: Tracy Gray Home: Brooklyn, New York Makerspace: Sankofa Global Brings S.T.E.A.M. Makerspaces to YOU! Day Job: Education Consultant How’d you get started making? I became a Maker when I was a classroom teacher. Inquiry and project based learning was integral to all curricula. Whether we were studying butterflies, birds, the […]

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Animate Your Jack-O’-Lantern with an App

imageThis easy pumpkin hack takes your jack-o-lantern and turns it into an animated cyclops using a free app and a cling-wrapped cell phone.

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Carve A Jack-O’-Lantern Zoetrope

jackotropeGive your jack o'lantern the ability to express a multitude of emotions by bringing it to life as a zoetrope animation!

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700s Arts Festival at RMIT University Library

This post originally appeared on the LAIP in October 2015.

RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia gets serious bonus points from the LAIP on the name of their fabulous arts festival, which is deliciously library-nerdy: the 700s Arts Festival! This late night kickoff event and ongoing celebration of the arts in the library is an inspiration for academic and public libraries alike, and reveals how one can make the most of the “temporary spaces” generated during a library renovation. ~Laura

By Adam Browne and Doreen Sullivan

On 13 August this year, RMIT University Library wasn’t as quiet as you’d expect a library to be – and strangely, the librarians weren’t doing anything to keep the noise down. In fact, they were contributing to it.

It was the launch of the 700s Arts Festival.

The party was an extravagant night to open an extravagant event. It was a spectacle, a hoot. The Library almost didn’t recognise itself. A crowd of 300 filled the normally hushed spaces, sampling vegan canapés and cheerful tipples, enjoying performances and chuckling at the witty talk on “The Art of Browsing (and the Browsing of Art)’ from Professor Paul Gough–all of this presided over by a giant dewy-eyed mural of Melvil Dewey.

"Dewey" by Simon Mazzei.

“Dewey” by Simon Mazzei.

The celebration was well-deserved. The Festival was characterised as a sort of pop-up event, and was the result of a short period of intensive organisation and labour, where talented and passionate people around the University had rolled up their sleeves to create something both beautiful and inspiring.

As the name suggests, the 700s Arts Festival was a celebration of the 700s of the Dewey Decimal System–the largest part of the collection at RMIT Swanston Library, a fascinating place to browse–and our way of embracing the temporary spaces made available through preparations for the current renovations, known as the Swanston Library Transformation.

There were art exhibitions, among them ‘Art against the Grain’, curated by RMIT Gallery–a rare opportunity to see some of the prestigious art the gallery owns. ‘Grazing the 700s’ had works from students and staff of RMIT School of Art, and ‘Referencing Artists’ featured art by students, alumni, and staff; this show surprised many with its first-class works by library staff, a demonstration of how talented librarians so often are.

"Library Artefacts" by Georgina Matherson. Described as ‘objects associated with the Library whose roles have become antiquated, get their portraits taken’ – this old sticky tape holder, this outdated date stamp, this electric fan and foot stool and their friends… How dutifully they sit for their portraits, not quite understanding that they’re obsolete.

“Library Artefacts” by Georgina Matherson. Described as ‘objects associated with the Library whose roles have become antiquated, get their portraits taken’ – this old sticky tape holder, this outdated date stamp, this electric fan and foot stool and their friends… How dutifully they sit for their portraits, not quite understanding that they’re obsolete.

Close-up: Kick stool from "Library Artefacts." Close-up: Library stamps from "Library Artefacts." Close-up: Megaphone from "Library Artefacts."

There was a Screen Arts programme, digital media and a workshop in direct 16mm film animation. There was a practical class on collage, and another on ‘designing hypersounds for ultradirectional, parametric loudspeakers’; there was a session on cartooning from the respected graphic novelist Mandy Ord; and a workshop run by Simmone Howell, a novelist and feature article writer.

Mandy Ord (featured) continues to share her generosity with students after her workshop.

Mandy Ord (featured) continues to share her generosity with students after her workshop.

There was art everywhere, wherever you turned. In all, 150 people contributed to the Festival. In this alone, it was a triumph, bringing various schools and people together, and making the Library into a vibrant hub of the arts.

Officially, the Festival ended on 25 September, but continues to fizz and spark in the form of the 700s Arts Festival Zine, currently being edited by Simmone Howell.

And as generally happens when something is a big success, there’s talk of doing it all again.

The follow-up event will be a consultative workshop that draws upon what we achieved and asked what else might we like to consider, especially in our fancy new Library.

Is another Dewey number on our radar? The 020s? The AV section? The Folios or the databases?

We’ll have to wait and see.

So how did we go about it? Here’s some insight from Amanda Kerley, who directed the festivities and is from the Library’s communications team.

How and why did the idea for the Festival arise?

Well, it began with a problem: we were facing the possibility of big empty spaces in the Library, for two months between the relocation of parts of our collection and when renovations were to begin. The University Librarian, Craig Anderson, and I discussed ways to utilise this space in a meaningful way for students. The first priority was maximising seating – so the Library brought in as much disused furniture as we could locate. The second priority was making it a comfortable and attractive study environment. This is where the idea of a temporary exhibitions came from,  which also sits nicely with one of the communications team’s objectives: to promote and engage users with our collections.

Mick Douglas LIbrary Returns

Our University has a strong arts, design, media and architecture focus and our collection analyses have shown these students are heavy browsers; it’s often a part of their arts practice and research methodology. So when we had to relocate low-use parts of our physical collections, we made sure browsing data was considered in assessing the use of our 700s, which our now our largest onsite section. And so, a quip in response to this fact: “let’s have a festival of the 700s!” very soon became a reality.

So what happened between the quip and the festival: how was it implemented?

With the generosity of a lot enthusiastic and talented people!  As well as engaging people with the Library, we saw this as an opportunity to foster relationships across the University and to also experiment with ideas we might like to develop further in the future: for example creative workshops allowed us to consult with students about the concept of makerspaces, something we are considering for the new Library. We’ve also noted the Library provides significant – and unofficial – pastoral care to students; it’s a space in which many students feel guided and supported. Conversations at the workshops allowed us to further consider this phenomenon.

So to achieve this, we first needed to the secure the support of Library managers, by first demonstrating how the festival addressed the Library’s strategic objectives and then by also demonstrating how it would be achievable. A staffing plan was needed and while the communications team was driving the festival, we’re very small, so we created secondments of staff from other Library units to work on discrete parts of the Festival such as exhibitions coordination and opening night coordination.

Louise Forthun

Next we cast a wide net across the University, asking for participation in exhibitions and the presentation of talks and workshops that we would host, program and promote: we were amazed and overwhelmed by the response!  A lecturer from the art school, Phil Edwards, curated an entire exhibition of student and staff works. We also benefitted by established relationships Library staff had across the University and within the arts. For example, Susan Wyers, who coordinated the exhibitions and also curated one of the art shows, shared her extensive professional network which ensured a strong representation of the artworks of alumni.

We were so overwhelmed by interest that we were then faced with an unexpected dilemma: how to facilitate this level of participation. It didn’t take long to fill the empty spaces of the Library with art, but it did take a lot of work to coordinate this amount of interest.  Of course we eventually had to decline works and in some cases this was due to our technical limitations: we weren’t very well equipped to exhibit projection and sound based works, but because we didn’t want to lose the opportunity to engage with people who had approached us, we tried to find other ways for them to participate, by inviting them to give workshops or participate in our consultative events to learn what we’d need to do to be technically prepared in the future.

Detail from Nicola Hardy's collage at Kim Handley's Homage to John Baldessari workshop.

Detail from Nicola Hardy’s collage at Kim Handley’s Homage to John Baldessari workshop.

How did Library users respond to having that much art in the Library?

From our surveys and conversations, we discovered most students were very enthusiastic about artworks in the Library. A significant trend was the comment that studying amongst art was an inspiration and that it stimulated their thoughts. The only repeated concern was that some artworks obscured access to powerpoints desired for charging laptops. One person was a little exasperated because they had been distracted from their study by the allure of the artworks!

What are your five top tips for people interested in running something similar?

  1. Work within a framework of scalability: identify what, for you, are acceptable minimum, medium and maximum goals and be satisfied with meeting any of them.
  2. Secure the participation of someone your community holds in high regard early on, and let their participation be known to others you are approaching: this kind of endorsement is very persuasive!
  3. Break up the larger project into self-contained tasks different staff members can be responsible for.
  4. Make time to clearly align your activities to the objectives of your library. This helps you to remind yourself ,and others, that even if it a new and experimental approach to library engagement, it is still a part of core business.
  5. Enthusiastically embrace the opportunity to experiment in a structured way (remember experimentation is a respectable component of research and development) and use your findings to inform future endeavours.

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6 Ways to Light Up Your Halloween Costume

el-suitYour costume doesn't have to disappear in the dark... it can shine instead with glowing EL wire, LED strips, and NeoPixel rings.

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This Hack Turns Your 3D Printer into a Full-Color Candy Machine

s_twksmurfporschThere's a kit available to convert your 3D printer into a candy printing machine!

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The post This Hack Turns Your 3D Printer into a Full-Color Candy Machine appeared first on Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers.



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Tuesday 18 October 2016

The History of Batteries on Collin’s Lab

batterylab_3Collin Cunningham gives us an entertaining history lesson on the electrochemical cell.

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The post The History of Batteries on Collin’s Lab appeared first on Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers.



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Ultimaker Announces New Dual Extruder Printer

img-manufacturingUltimaker's latest offering, the Ultimaker 3, hits shelves today with a few new features.

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The post Ultimaker Announces New Dual Extruder Printer appeared first on Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers.



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DIY Halloween: Unicorn Light Up Hoodie

This tutorial is a combination of the DIY unicorn hoodie tutorial I found on Pinterest and Adafruit's light up unicorn 3D print tutorial. I used some supplies from Adafruit's candle bows that we made a few years back instead of buying new materials. You can buy the sewing conductive kit separately on Adafruit without the bows.  I won't go through every excruciating detail but here are some tips that they don't mention and a few workarounds that worked for me based on my supplies. 

Supplies needed from both tutorials: 
Hoodie (dress in my case)
Yarn
3D printed Unicorn Horn with LED base
3D printer with clear PLA filament (I didn't use flexible as the tutorial calls for and it was fine)
1 LED (11mm tall X 7.91 mm wide)
Conductive Thread
Needle (small enough the fit through the battery holder brass side holes. In the Adafruit kit, I used the smallest needle on the right)
Battery Holder
Regular Thread
Felt (not necessary but handy- see bottom note)
Safety Pin
Scissors

Unicorn Horn

Step 1: Make sure that the LED works. I placed the battery in-between the leads, matched up the sides of the LED to the positive/negative sides of the battery and squeeze. ++/-- It should light up. 


Step 2: Label the positive lead of the LED with a marker. It will make your life easier later. The positive lead is always the longest one but once you bend them it's hard to tell. 

Step 3: Place the LED in the 3D printed holder and bend the leads out in opposite directions, Attach unicorn horn on top by sewing regular thread in the printed holes first to stabilize the horn. The LED leads should be sticking out in opposite directions. 

LED leads poking out from under the holder




Step 4:  Using conductive thread, sew the LED leads separately. One thread should wrap around the positive lead of the LED through the positive side (labeled brass hole) of the battery holder. Another separate thread wrap around  the negative lead of the LED through the hoodie to the negative side of the battery holder (labeled brass hole). Wrap it around each lead few times back and forth. Make sure it is tight. The positive thread and the negative thread shouldn't be touching or the circuit won't work. The battery holder is directly underneath the unicorn horn on the inside of the hood. The conductive thread is the silver, regular thread is the white. 
view from the top with LED lead wrapped in conductive thread


view of  battery holder from inside the hood

Step 5: Unlike me, make sure to take your tutorial pictures BEFORE assembling. This is the part where I would add all the yarn hair in (despite seeing the above pictures to the contrary) and this tutorial does a great job in walking you through that piece.  I used tri-colored yarn and wrapped 30 times around my hand rather than 3 separate spools of each color 10 times for each "pom pom". It took the whole package including making the tail which I just attached to the back of the hoodie with a safety pin. I also hand sewed each "pom pom" on the seam of the hoodie while the tutorial says glue gun would work. I didn't trust it!


In hindsight, I should have sewed (or glued) it all onto one long felt strip that I could easily take on and off with velcro or a button from the top of the hoodie. Now I have no way of washing the hoodie but if it is just meant for one day then it doesn't matter. Another word to the wise, I purchased this hoodie dress discount at Sears for $3 and thought that the lilac color wouldn't matter. However, when making the ears I had a terrible time finding a matching felt color so I ended up cutting off the front hoodie pocket and hand sewed ears. I should have gone with a white color! Alas, seam ripper you are a good friend today.




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