Carson City Library going 3-D

Three-dimensional printing is coming to the Carson City Library.

Starting July 1, 3D printers will be available to the public with certain restrictions and a fee to cover operating costs.

The MakerBot Replicator desktop 3D printers come with the needed software, including a slicing program for printing in layers, and can print items up to about a shoebox in size, said Sena Loyd, library director, at the Carson City Chamber of Commerce breakfast hosted at the library Tuesday.

The printers should appeal to a range of users, including hobbyists making models and entrepreneurs prototyping a business idea.

“Someone came in who wants to do belt buckles to sell,” said Loyd.

The Library Board of Trustees at its meeting later this month will approve a policy for the use of the printers.

At its May meeting, the board heard a presentation, including sample policies and pricing from other cities. Sample pricing was based on time or cost of materials and staff time.

The library soon also will be making meeting space available for patrons.

On the library’s second floor, there will be one or two small collaboration rooms with white boards and one including a television as well as a so-called maker space available for adults.

The maker space will be similar to the Digitorium downstairs, where Mac Book Pro computers, iPads, Photoshop, iMovie, video cameras and other equipment are available, primarily for 14- to 17-year old students.

Loyd said there was no date yet for the meeting space availability, but she changed offices to make room for it.

“My office is now behind the Digitorium,” said Loyd. “I think it used to be a janitor’s closet.”

The new services will join the library’s already extensive resources for businesses, including several business-oriented databases.

Business Decision provides demographic consumer information and can be accessed from the library, city hall or the Adams Hub.

ReferenceUSA, which has information on 34 million businesses, and EBSCO Small Business Reference Center, a database of reference books for small business, can be accessed online from anywhere using a library card.

And the Foundation Center, another online tool, can help nonprofits and small businesses find grants.

At the breakfast meeting, the Chamber said it could help members put their businesses on Google Maps as a verifier.

On June 14, the Chamber is hosting a seminar on using video on social media from 1-4 p.m.

Lindsay Chichester, University of Nevada, Cooperative Extension, will be discussing YouTube, Periscope and Vine.

On June 15, a representative from the Nevada Department of Taxation will make a presentation on the commerce tax at 8 a.m.

The Carson City Chamber of Commerce is located at 1900 S. Carson St.