Sara DeVries: Try before you buy at Herrick
I have a 16-year-old child who's now making her own money. It's been fun to watch her imagine all the ways she can use her money to give to others, pay for responsibilities, enjoy some fun and invest in her future.
In the past two months, my daughter has purchased a laptop, a 3D printer and a desktop printer. She is now considering additional purchases, such as a drawing tablet. HDL helped her with research on each of her purchases.
My daughter wanted to purchase CAD software, but which program to use required some research. After learning that Autodesk’s Fusion 360 software is available in Groundworks, as well as 3D printing, she made the decision to purchase an alternate software.
If Fusion 360 is a better fit, she can reserve equipment at the library for her project. When she needs different features, she can use her own CAD software on her laptop at home. The resources available at Groundworks (herrickdl.org/groundworks) helped her have the best of both worlds.
Recommendations on 3D printing machines were plentiful from both friends and vloggers, but which filament to use in the printer was a slightly tougher decision. Since Groundworks has been such a great resource for past projects, she trusts what Groundworks uses, leading her to purchase the same filament.
A drawing tablet is next on her list. She decided to first try out a tablet through the "Library of Things" to make sure it is indeed her next best purchase. This isn't the first time the Library of Things has helped her make a purchasing decision. In the past, she's used a GoPro camera and decided it wasn't for her, as well as a gimbal for cell phone videography.
On the few occasions when she needs a GoPro or a gimbal, she checks them out from the library instead of buying her own to keep at home. Want to try something for yourself before committing to a purchase? Visit the Library of Things at herrickdl.org/library-of-things to view your options.
— Sara DeVries is community relations manager for Herrick District Library.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Sara DeVries: Try before you buy at Herrick
