Displaying several of the items made with the Haddonfield library’s 3D printer on April 29 are technical wizards Cathy DeCampli (left) and Andrea Elson. They also helped patrons create small garden houses.
The first known library in recorded history was in Sumer, a city-state close to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, some 5,400 years ago.
The most well-known one in the ancient world was the Library of Alexandria in Egypt, on the southern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, where scholars and students came from all over the known world to read and learn from papyrus scrolls and exchange knowledge.
But some 40,000 of the scrolls were accidentally destroyed by fire in 48 BCE (Before the Common Era) – their information lost forever – when Julius Caesar burned some of his ships trying to escape a blockade and the fire spread.
Late into the 20th century, libraries continued to be the main storehouses of knowledge, and students would page through giant encyclopedias to write term papers and learn about the world around them. Then the internet came along, making that same information available with a click and forcing libraries to adapt to fast-moving technological advances.
“We still have a lot of tradition here,” said Eric Zino, director of the Haddonfield library, who recognizes the need to stay on top of the modern world. “There is a lot of transition in libraries. Our vision in 2018 was to be ready to respond to people’s interest in creative technology.”
As a result, library patrons can not only continue to check out books, they can also create objects like small garden houses using the facility’s 3D printer and laser cutter in the Emerging Technology Center, directed by technician Andrea Elson and teen librarian Cathy DeCampli.
On the morning of April 29, they helped patrons make and paint tiny garden houses using the printer and cutting the frame on a Glowforge, a printer that allows users to cut and engrave materials like wood, acrylic and leather.
“Everything is designed on the computer and then sent to the printer and laser cutter,” explained Elson, a Haddon Township High School graduate who earned her bachelor’s in history from the College of William and Mary and a master’s in library information from the University of Pittsburgh.
“I love working at the library, living in town and helping people with new technology,” added Elson, who was a librarian for eight years in Pennsylvania before coming to the borough four years ago.
People have made all kinds of items at the library, including Easter Island figures, game parts, clips and holders, signs and statues. The printer uses different colored plastic filaments to make the objects.
“Young people are usually more adept using the new technology,” noted DeCampli, a Glassboro High School graduate who earned her bachelor’s in political science from Trinity University and a master’s in library information from Drexel University.
“I have been here for nine years,” added DeCampli, who organizes events for teenagers and helps patrons of all ages use their phones and computers. “Most of the teens are interested in their academic needs and they are very motivated.”
DeCampli is currently at work filing online immigration forms for people trying to get green cards. She also helps teens use technology to study for their SATs and complete assignments.
“We let them use the Glowforge and 3D printer for school projects,” she said.
Elson and DeCampli also show adults how to use AI tools such as Chat GPT, something they both enjoy. Libraries have come a long way from housing papyrus scrolls in the ancient world. In Haddonfield, Elson and DeCampli are leading the charge into storing and transmitting knowledge for this century and millennium.
For information, go to www.haddonfieldlibrary.org.
