Cranberry Public Library offers opportunities to 3D print, engrave
CRANBERRY TWP — What used to be a space for research and computer use at the Cranberry Public Library has turned into a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) makerspace, with particular emphasis on the arts.
The Forge is a room off to the side in the library, which houses several design apparatus as well as computers with the software that operates those tools. All patrons have to do to make a 3D printed model, or engrave a design on a piece of wood with a laser is take a class or two in The Forge with one of its expert operators.
“I teach the big three — laser engraving, Cricut, 3D printing — because those are the ones that have a need,” said Mary Frances Reutzel, makerspace manager at the Cranberry Public Library. “I can use the screens to be able to teach from anywhere in The Forge, and two people can learn along with me.”
Reutzel was hosting a “Show, Make & Take” demonstration of CorelDRAW, a design software that sends designs to the laser engraver, on Wednesday, March 5. These demonstration classes are opportunities for people to see how a program or application is used before jumping in for a hands-on lesson.
A longtime volunteer for the library, and The Forge particularly, Janet Saracco, used CorelDRAW to engrave a patriotic gnome onto a piece of wood for the Fourth of July — an object that would then be cut by a laser and painted by library patrons.
Like other volunteers at the library, and even Reutzel herself, Saracco did not know how to use the software when it first became available at the library, but hands-on lessons helped her get the hang of it, and even enjoy the process. Since Saracco was able to learn through the library, she recommended other people attend a session as well.
“CorelDRAW is my favorite,” she said. “The class today demos CorelDRAW. If we’re doing a workshop class, we’ll have computers up and they will actually be doing it with us, so they use and learn.”
After several months under construction, The Forge opened in July 2021, when Reutzel was on staff. She said she and the library administrators modeled Cranberry Public Library’s makerspace after the one in Erie’s public library, just on a slightly smaller scale, at least staff-wise.
The makerspace contains a laser engraver, a 3D printer, sewing machines, a Cricut and more, and the laptops in The Forge have the software necessary to operate each of the digital resources. A patron — who is anyone with any library card — can attend a Forge demo to watch how a program works to see if it is what they need; or they can attend an appointment session to learn firsthand how to use the software.
Reutzel said a patron has to take at least one appointment with her or a trained volunteer to be able to use the software themselves, which also has to be scheduled out.
“There is a rite of passage, they have to take CorelDRAW first, say, and there is a procedure for all them,” Reutzel said. “There’s a lot of learning.”
For the Show, Make & Take sessions, a patron can tell Reutzel, Saracco or whomever is leading the demonstration what they would like to design, and they can even take home their project — hence the “take” in the name. For an appointment session, the patron has to supply the materials, whether it be wood for the laser engraver or fiber for the 3D printer.
Even though the makerspace emphasizes arts, Saracco commented that a patron doesn’t have to be the best artist to make something at The Forge. Many of the projects lead at the makerspace show attendees how to search for and find clip art online, so a patron can make a nice design even without artistic prowess.
“We use clip art a lot. If we can’t find something in clip art or if we have to edit it, we get into drawing skills,” Saracco said. “I used CorelDRAW as a drawing tool to make that rainbow. If we can find a clip art that will work and print properly, we will use clip art.”
After a design is put into a software, the patron or group at a demonstration will get to watch as a piece of hardware finishes the job. On Wednesday, Saracco watched as the laser engraver cut the design she made onto thin wood, which took less than 10 minutes to complete.
The marriage of software design and automated hardware in The Forge have made crafting ideas more attainable and more efficient, according to Reutzel and Saracco.
“Whatever you can dream, you can make,” Saracco said.
Maxyne Cadman, president of Friends of the Cranberry Public Library, took part in the Show, Make & Take demonstration Wednesday, March 5. While she painted rabbits for an Easter display she helped design, Cadman said she was happy to see the library provide a new resource to the community.
“I don’t feel intimidated by it,” Cadman said. “We try to promote the makerspace as much as we can.”
Saracco also said The Forge is a good opportunity for people to get involved with the library in a new way. Through learning the software, she not only gets to bring her designs to life, but gets to show other people how to do the same.
Saracco even picked up a skill that she had wanted to learn since she was a child, thanks to the sewing machines at The Forge.
“I never learned how to sew when I was a kid because my mom was such a great (seamstress),” Saracco said. “I took a pumpkin class … Most of it was hand-sewn, but there were parts that you used the machine to sew.”
Reutzel said the library could expand its makerspace offerings if she had a little more funding to work with. However, she also actively tries to recruit volunteers to lead sessions in The Forge, because they can add to its offerings and be advocates for what it is.
The lessons are all free, after all.
“A lot of them, if they have skill, talent, time and interest, I’m asking, ‘Can I teach you something?’” Reutzel said of makerspace users. “Everything in this room, I teach, and I have taught everyone how to teach.”
Reutzel added that community support for The Forge has been good in the nearly four years since it has been open, and she is excited to continue adding programs to what The Forge can do.
“A library user is a patron, and we convert that into makers,” Reutzel said. “When you look back at all the programs we’ve done, I’m super proud of where we have come, and super proud and appreciative of the volunteers I have — this wouldn’t be possible without them.”
For more information on The Forge at the Cranberry Public Library, or to sign up for an appointment, visit the library’s website at cranberrytownship.org/2742/Makerspace.
