A team of young people from across the district worked hard at Newbury Library over the half-term break to build a 3D printer from scratch.

This activity was the last part of a two year Making Connections project to encourage people to take part in arts and creative activities in their local library.

The project, run by West Berkshire Libraries with funding from Arts Council England and West Berkshire Public Health & Wellbeing included successful LibraryFests in 2015 and 2016, attracting over 1,800 people who enjoyed workshops, performances and other activities across West Berkshire.

Behind the scenes, Making Connections also provided opportunities for 23 community groups to work with local artists and other practitioners.

As part of this, West Berkshire’s Youth Offending Team (YOT) and the Newbury and District Hackspace (NADHack) worked with young people who took part in a 3D printing workshop at Newbury Library and then using a kit, built a 3D printer over three days.

One of the young people commented: “I’ve really enjoyed this and I want to buy a 3D printer.  It was a really good use of my time.”

Cllr Dominic Boeck, West Berkshire’s Executive Member for Culture and Libraries said, “Making Connections has been an impressive and fully inclusive project. It has offered opportunities for young people to learn things from which they can build relevant and transferable skills that, in this case produced a very tangible result. In fact, it is hoped that 3D printing facilities will soon be available for public use at Newbury Library if there is a demand for it.”