NY Library builds itself a Fab Lab

In March, MAKE’s Phil Torrone argued that libraries should retool to become hackerspaces. The Fayetteville Free Library in Fayetteville, NY is doing just that. Here’s the story from KQED’s Mindshift:

 

Earlier this year, MAKE Magazine’s Phillip Torrone wrote a provocative article asking “Is it time to rebuild and retool libraries and make ‘techshops’?” In other words, should libraries join some of the other new community centers that are being created and become “hackerspaces” or “makerspaces”?“Yes!”, says librarian Lauren Smedley, who is in the process of creating what might just be the first maker-space within a U.S. public library. The Fayetteville Free Library where Smedley works is building a Fab Lab — short for fabrication laboratory — that will provide free public access to machines and software for manufacturing and making things.

So far, the Fab Lab is equipped with a MakerBot, a 3D printer that lets you “print” plastic pieces of your own design. The potential for 3D printers to revolutionize manufacturing as we know it is huge: imagine being able to design and then manufacture — or “print” — whatever you want. Moreoever, imagine the tools of manufacturing being in the hands of everyone, not just giant factories (and remember, since this is a public library, this is really putting the technology in the hands of everyone, not just those that can afford a membership at a traditional hackerspace).

 

via Audrey Watters@KQED

Higher Education Charging High Prices For Food On Campus

Much to the surprise of no one who actually eats here on campus, the price of food on campus is apparently much higher than it is in the surrounding community. In his article for his school paper, the Statesman, Bryan Carroll discovered that while rolling through his local Student Activity Center that the prices for regular food items was generally much higher than they would have been off-campus. For instance, he notes how a half-gallon of milk was being sold at a school convenience store for $3.37 where as the exact same product was being offered at a nearby Target for $2.19. Oreo cookies were a whopping $8.27 on-campus versus $2.50 at Target.

Generally, he noticed an average markup of about 42 percent on grocery items.

Arguably, the point could be made that given the basic (and purest) interpretation of supply and demand this is merely a sound decision to take advantage of the reduced competition and great location. And I suppose that you could also mark this as a learning experience for students to become more aware of comparison shopping. I think, though, maybe it’s not so nice to take advantage of sleep-deprived students with exorbitant markups when they are already paying such a premium to attend school and live on campus already.

via The Statesman