The Brantford Public Library is part of an effort to help provide personal protective equipment for health-care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With its two branches closed for now, the library’s 3D printers are being used at the homes of two staff members to create parts for medical face shields being assembled by Inksmith, a Kitchener tech company.

“Even though our operations are currently limited, we are proud that we can still put our technology and services to good use, and do what we can to help at this time,” says Rae-Lynne Aramburo, the library’s CEO and chief librarian.

Amy Woodhouse, an emergent technologies library technician, has three smaller 3D printers in operation at her home, while colleague Tom Bentley has one larger printer set up at his home.

“Tom heard about the Inksmith initiative on Twitter and knew we could help,” says Woodhouse, adding that area residents also sent messages through social media to see if the library could assist.

Inksmith usually produces robotic kits for schools. But, after a visit by physician adviser, founder and CEO Jeremy Hedges felt compelled to use the firm’s hardware to start producing Health Canada-certified face shields – dubbed the Canadian Shield – for health-care workers.

While able to mass-produce the clear shield portion with laser cutters, Inksmith lacked sufficient 3D printers to make certain parts. To meet production needs, a call was put out to the 3D-printer community, including public libraries.

“I am very grateful to be able to contribute in such a meaningful way during this pandemic,” says Woodhouse.

The library technician says the three printers run all day in her home, each making two support pieces in just over an hour. The task requires only a few minutes each hour to remove the finished units, perform any maintenance on the printer and restart the process. So far, about 200 units have been produced and shipped to Inksmith.

The Kitchener firm has produced more than 50,000 face shields to date, and Hedges says it soon will be able to produce 30,000 to 40,000 units daily. Plans are underway to move to a new facility where production will rise to between 100,000 to 150,000 units daily.

Woodhouse says the 3D printers are valuable resources. Library users create more than 3,000 items annually.

“I hope when the shutdown is over that those people who have not yet had a chance to see these machines in action, or participated in one of our 3D printing certification and design programs, will come and check them out.”

The library also is offering a digital membership with an online application form on its website, which will allow members to access a wide range of free digital services, including a language-learning platform, eBooks and Audiobooks.

The online membership form and a listing of digital services are available at www.brantfordlibrary.ca/digitalservices/ .

“The Canadian Shield project shows just how important it is to keep making new and relevant technologies available to our community,” Aramburo says. “A spark of knowledge can grow into something that makes a big impact.”

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