My new friend and professional library colleague, Sara Gonzales, has a new book out today on 3D printers in libraries (see below), so it seemed like a good time to list some of the best books, papers, and resources on the topic.
Books
Here is a selection of the best up-to-date books to learn about deploying 3D printers in your library.
3-D Printers for Libraries by Jason Griffey
This title is actually an issue of Library Technology Reports from ALA Tech Source. The report covers how 3D printers work, common terminology, types of plastic, prices and specifications for printers, and staff skill requirements. Published in 2014.
Buy from the ALA Store, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble.
3D Printing: A Powerful New Curriculum Tool for Your School Library by Lesley M. Cano
Part of the “Tech Tools for Learning” series. This book is aimed at the K-12 school librarian. “Written in non-technical language, the book introduces the technology, shows how to get started, and offers ideas for creating project-based learning models.” Published in 2015.
View details and find a place to buy or borrow at Google Books.
3D Printing: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Sara Russell Gonzalez and Denise Beaubien Bennett
This title is the newest volume (#22) in the “Practical Guides for Librarians” series. The comprehensive book covers everything from writing the original proposal to selecting printers, addressing staffing issues, developing policies, and more. Published in 2016.
View details and find a place to buy or borrow at Google Books.
Papers
Progress in the Making: An Introduction to 3D Printing and Public Policy by American Library Association
The first report from the American Library Association in the “Progress in the Making” series covering 3D printers and legal liability and concerns for library professionals. Published in September 2014.
Access the full-text paper (PDF).
Progress in the Making: 3D Printing Policy Considerations through the Library Lens by Charlie Wapner
In this second report in the “Progress in the Making” series from the American Library Association, Wapner urges librarians to develop policies to “address the social, technological and political complexities that result from the rise of 3D printing.” Published in January 2015.
Access the full-text paper (PDF).
Resources
Here is a selection of helpful resources on 3D printers in libraries.
- 3D Printing Glossary – A LibGuide of 3D printing terms from Kent State University Libraries.
- How 3-D Printing Works – A good tutorial from HowStuffWorks.
- Librarian’s Guide to 3D Printing @ Your Library – A LibGuide from UF Libraries.
- Map of 3D Printers in Libraries – Amanda L. Goodman’s page with an interactive Google map with over 650 entries separated into categories.
- Thingiverse – A large community for finding, making, and sharing 3D models, by MakerBot.
- Tinkercad – A basic online CAD website to create 3D models for printing.
The book is divided into four parts: Research, User Applications, Networking, and Searching. Part IV on searching includes advanced search strategies, underutilized Google search tools, and evaluating the sources of search results. Other parts cover using Google services such as Google Books, Drive, Google+, Google Scholar, and Google Translate among others.
As the title suggests, this book covers the search engine Google. It goes beyond the basic search function to give practical tips and tricks on Google’s “hidden” features. The authors devote chapters to cover specific Google search services including Blogs, Books, Discussions, Images, Maps, News, Patents, and Videos. The chapter on Google Scholar is particularly relevant for academic librarians. The authors created a 
Now in its fourth edition, this popular book for librarians has been updated for 2015. The book looks into what a database is, parts of a database, and tools for searching such as Boolean logic and truncation. Later chapters discuss the different databases by subject matter. Evaluating databases is covered. Finally, the book lists eight principles of teaching databases.
This new book covers searching online using discovery tools and research databases. It starts with the research interview and traces the steps through assessing search results. Pre-search preparation and database selection are covered before detailing specific search types: controlled-vocabulary, free-text, and known-item. The author ends with a look into the future of online searching.
The final volume of The Tech Set from ALA, this guide goes beyond basic Internet searching. As indicated in the title, the semantic Web and finding hidden data is its main focus. Specific types of searching include location-based, multimedia, social, and semantic. Specific search examples from Google and Bing are shown. The book has a 
