[hackerspaces] Floating community equipment sets?

[William Macfarlane]

How many?  I have a lot of thoughts, but my first is that the differences
between a set of 12, a set of 40 and a set of 100 are big enough to make
them different problems...

On Sat, May 7, 2016 at 10:40 AM, Shirley Hicks <shirley at velochicdesign.com>
wrote:

> Hey everyone,
>
> We have an unaddressed need in the greater Birmingham, AL metro area for a
> floating set of laptops, arduinos/inventor’s kits that could be loaned out
> to multiple community groups already working with kids, teens and adults,
> but who are having difficulties finding budget room for instructional kits,
> or bureaucratic room (IT security concerns) regarding adding additional
> IDEs and other software tools to their networked computers.
>
> The few community groups who have attempted this haven’t been the most
> tech savvy and have run into problems with budgeting maintenance and
> eventual replacement into their programs, as well as instruction. They also
> haven’t scaled - lack of communication between different parts of the
> community (black/white, urban/suburban/exurban, no one regional school
> system, biggest library system underfunded).
>
> Our makerspace is in the unique position of knowing most of the people who
> want to do more of this stuff within their individual community groups -
> and having the technical and financial background to get this rolling for
> the long-term.
>
> I’m planning to write a grant application in June, but need some help
> finding financial models from other community groups and makerspace who
> have gone down this road. I’m specifically looking for experiences with kit
> durability, need for replacement parts, laptop maintenance needs, any paid
> staff costs that need to be allowed for, and the financial planning
> required to do it all.
>
> Any pointers would be appreciated.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Shirley Hicks
> Red Mountain Makers
> Birmingham, AL
>
>
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> Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
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>



-- 
-Will
www.partsandcrafts.org
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