Reducing inequality through technology diffusion: the case of 3D printing in public libraries

Figures & data

Table 1. List of the variables used in the data analysis.

Variables	Description	Mean or Number (n)
techtdpr	Does the library have a 3D printer (yes = 1, no = 0)	n = 69
mhi	Median household income by zip code, thousands of US dollars	52.249
pactotal	Total public PC in library (size of library)	20.1
othertech	Total types of technology in library (laptops, e-readers, gaming consoles, etc.) excluding 3D printers	4.07
city	Is the library in a city (yes = 1, no = 0)?	n = 816
rural	Is the library in a rural community (yes = 1, no = 0)?	n = 1535
town	Is the library in a town (yes = 1, no = 0)?	n = 846
suburb	Is the library in a suburb (yes = 1, no = 0)? Note this variable is the reference group in the statistical analyses	n = 935
pop	Population of the library’s zip code	9.124
rd	State R&D expenditure, US dollars	63,409,010
pat	Number of 3D printing patents registered by county	14.6
sqfeet	Size of library, measured in square feet	14,044

Table 2. Descriptive information about the libraries in the analysis.

Library	State	Owns 3D printer?	Income	Income Classification	Locale
1	NY	Yes	94432	High	Suburb
2	NY	Yes	119319	High	Suburb
3	ID	Yes	57000	Medium	Suburb
4	IL	Yes	158,947	High	Suburb
5	CA	Yes	52000	Medium	City
6	MD	Yes*	104971	High	Town
7	NY	Yes	52500	Medium	Rural
8	MI	No	35000	Low	Rural
9	VA	Yes	39607	Low	Suburb
10	AZ	Yes	34017	Low	City
11	CT	Yes	161848	High	Suburb
12	AL	No	28083	Low	Town
13	NY	Yes	105305	High	Suburb
14	NY	Yes**	112390	High	Suburb

*Library had 3D printer but it broke and they didn't fix it because it was too expensive.

**3D printer was borrowed from central system.

Table 3. List of the Codes and questions used in transcribing and coding of interviews with librarians.

Code names	Description
Library	Description of the library (size, staff, traffic)
Community	Description of community and its demographics (income level, diversity)
Visitors	Description of library patrons and their demographics (Kids or adults)
Technologies	What kind of technologies resources does the library offer to its patrons?
Decision	How does the library make decisions about adopting new technologies and buying new technical devices?
Evaluation	How does your library evaluate technologies in the library?
Role	Library’s role in providing access to technology?
Funding	How is your library funded?
3Dprinters	Discussion of the 3D printers at the library
Time	How long has the library owned the printer?
Reason	Reasons for installing 3D printer or other technology for patrons
Source	Funding source for 3D printer. How did the library acquire funding?
Access	Who can order a 3D print or request an access to library technology)? Required documents? Limitations (age, operation time, skills required etc.)?
Procedure	What is the procedure for using the printer (request an access to technical device) procedure? How much time it takes? Do the patrons have a direct contact with devices, or library staff help them?
Staff	How many library staff manage the 3D printer? How were they selected and trained to work with the printer?
Problems	What are the problems for adoption and implementation of 3D printing?
Materials	Who pays for the materials? Do you charge the patrons for materials cost?
Training	Are there any programs, events, classes, courses about 3D printing and using other technologies are offered at the library?
Printings	What do the patrons usually print?
Design	Does the patrons design the sketches for 3D printer by themselves or use out of the box?
Software	What type of designing programs do you offer for the people to use 3D printers and other technologies?
Popular	What are the most popular technologies among the patrons?
Information	How do the patrons discover the 3D printer and other technologies available at the library?
Return	Do patrons come back after their first printing?
Future	How do you see the future of 3D printing at the library?
Home	Should people buy 3D printers for personal use at home, or is it enough to use it occasionally at the library?
Inequality	What is the role of library in dealing with inequality
Goal	What was the goal of the library/community by installing technical devices?

Figure 1 This map shows the locations of US public libraries overlayed on a heat map showing median household income.

Figure 2 This map shows the locations of US public libraries with 3D printers overlayed on a heat map showing registered 3D printing patents in the US.

Table 4. Results of the multivariate logistic regression.

	Odds Ratio	95 CI lower	95 CI upper	Pr(>|z|)	Significance
(Intercept)	2.00E-04	4.78E-05	7.92E-04	<2e-16	***
mhi	1.00	1.00	1.00	0.18
sqfeet	1.00	1.00	1.00	0.72
othertech	1.87	1.7	2.11	<2e-16	***
suburb (reference)	-	-	-	-	-
city	0.37	0.15	0.87	0.03	*
rural	0.53	0.20	1.28	0.17
town	0.84	0.34	1.95	0.68
pop	1.00	1.00	1.00	0.01	*
rd	1.00	1.00	1.00	0.90
Pat	1.00	0.992	1.00	0.65

p < .001 ‘***’, p < .01 ‘**’, p < .05 ‘*’.

McFadden pseudo R ² = 0.304.

Hosmer and Lemeshow goodness of fit test.

x² = 8.5532, df = 8, p-value = 0.3814. Fail to reject null hypothesis of a correct specification.

Table 5. Correlation between variables used in the analysis.

	techtdpr	mhi	city	rural	town	othertech	techtdpr	logrd	logpop	logsqfeet
mhi	0.07****
city	−0.01	−0.12****
rural	−0.06****	−0.10****	−0.38****
town	−0.01	−0.15****	−0.25****	−0.39****
suburb	0.09****	0.37****	−0.27****	−0.42****	−0.27****
othertech	0.17****	0.13****	0.02	−0.09****	−0.08****	0.16****
logrd	0.01	0.07****	0.22****	−0.28****	−0.04**	0.15****	−0.04*
logpop	0.08****	0.16****	0.47****	−0.68****	0.01	0.32****	0.15****	0.33****
logsqfeet	0.10****	0.16****	0.29****	−0.59****	0.12****	0.29****	0.28****	0.17****	0.65****
logpat	0.08****	0.22****	0.40****	−0.35****	−0.25****	0.27****	0.08****	0.39****	0.48****	0.29****

Spearman correlation p < .0001 = ****, p < .001 =  ***, p < .01 = **, p<.05 =  *