Die Cutting for the Public

We recently premiered a new service to our patrons: the opportunity to access over 100 Accucut dies and a die cut machine. Our library is only a couple years old and part of the vision for the children's floor was a resource center for early childhood educators. While it is still a work in progress, we were able to purchase this equipment and begin offering it to the public.

We created 2 notebooks with an index that show the actual dies. Folks can browse the notebook and select whichever dies they wish to use on a menu of sorts. Patrons provide their own paper and must have another adult available to watch children if they cannot come alone. Dies are brought out on a cart with the machine. I created a "how to" document, though with a roller die cut machine it's fairly self-explanatory.

We're still negotiating the mechanics of this system. We do accept reservations but they aren't really necessary (yet). Though intended for use by teachers and child care providers, so far we've seen primarily creative parents interested in its use. Advertising has consisted of a couple signs on each end of our floor and word of mouth. Though the dies are barcoded, they may not leave the building. We check the dies out and back in, typically after their use, to monitor usage statistics more than anything. As people see the sign (and ask what the heck a die cut machine is) this resource is gaining in popularity and we hope it gets a lot of use!