• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Log In
Itemlive

Itemlive

North Shore news powered by The Daily Item

  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Police/Fire
  • Government
  • Obituaries
  • Archives
  • E-Edition
  • Help
This article was published 10 year(s) and 5 month(s) ago

Fit for print: Swampscott library goes 3D

Thor Jourgensen

January 24, 2015 by Thor Jourgensen

SWAMPSCOTT – Mark Gelfand?s generosity continues to be felt around town, most recently with the 3D printer the library purchased with a donation from the software developer and Swampscott resident.The library acquired the black, box-shaped machine roughly the size of a small television after Gelfand attended a recent local robotics innovation demonstration and made a donation to pay for similar programs.?I immediately said I wanted a 3D printer. The first time I heard about it, I thought it was science fiction,” said young adult librarian Sandy Moltz.Three-dimensional printing uses a glue-like substance and high technology electronics to create objects as simple as a nut and bolt and as advanced as a prosthetic arm. Moltz said the library?s MakerBot Replicator 5 printer is already exciting teenagers. She is planning a March library open house to introduce the printer, and she plans by April to help local teens with programs involving the printer.?We are aiming initially at getting teens participating as a group on projects using the printer,” said library director Alyce Deveau.Gelfand?s generosity to the town covers several years, with the Gelfand Family Charitable Trust in 2011 announcing plans to donate $1 million to Swampscott schools over a four-year period to pay salaries for three science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teachers.Gelfand advocates attracting students to biomedicine and bioengineering by starting clubs in schools devoted to those disciplines.Moltz said local teenagers are already drawing up plans for creating objects on the Replicator. She said the machine takes a half-hour or longer to create an object based on design information plugged into the printer.?You send it engineering specifications – dimensions – and it will make something,” she said.Deveau knows the printer is going to attract adult interest and said library employees will plan library free time when patrons of all ages can use the device.

  • Thor Jourgensen
    Thor Jourgensen

    A newspaperman for 34 years, Thor Jourgensen has worked for the Item for 29 years and lived in Lynn 20 years. He has overseen the Item's editorial department since January 2016 and is the 2015 New England Newspaper and Press Association Bob Wallack Community Journalism Award recipient.

    View all posts

Related posts:

No related posts.

Primary Sidebar

Advertisement

Sponsored Content

How Studying Psychology Can Equip You To Better Help Your Community

Solo Travel Safety Hacks: How to Use eSIM and Tech to Stay Connected and Secure in Australia

Advertisement

Upcoming Events

1st Annual Lynn Food Truck & Craft Beverage Festival presented by Greater Lynn Chamber of Commerce

September 27, 2025
Blossom Street, Lynn,01905, US 89 Blossom St, Lynn, MA 01902-4592, United States

2025 GLCC Annual Golf Tournament

August 25, 2025
Gannon Golf Club

A Pirate Adventure!! with the Children’s Department

July 28, 2025
5 N Common St, Lynn, MA, United States, Massachusetts 01902

Adult Book Club: Little Fires Everywhere

July 29, 2025
Lynn Public Library

Footer

About Us

  • About Us
  • Editorial Practices
  • Advertising and Sponsored Content

Reader Services

  • Subscribe
  • Manage Your Subscription
  • Activate Subscriber Account
  • Submit an Obituary
  • Submit a Classified Ad
  • Daily Item Photo Store
  • Submit A Tip
  • Contact
  • Terms and Conditions

Essex Media Group Publications

  • La Voz
  • Lynnfield Weekly News
  • Marblehead Weekly News
  • Peabody Weekly News
  • 01907 The Magazine
  • 01940 The Magazine
  • 01945 The Magazine
  • North Shore Golf Magazine

© 2025 Essex Media Group