The Case of the 3D Library Director

This week's Bizarre Moment in Plastics comes from the Redwood City Public Library in California, where library director Derek Wolfgram has been plasticized.

As part of a summer program for kids, the library made small 3D models of my college pal Derek out of bioplastic polylactic acid and has hidden them at different places in the library. Every day through Aug. 18, kids who find the models can enter a raffle to win a 3D printing pen.

The photo and object file were made for the library by Pocket Me of San Francisco, a business that makes 3D photos and models. The library then produced the models on a pair of 3D printers it had purchased with a STEM grant.

In an email, Derek said that the Redwood City Public Library staff "is always very creative in coming up with programs or ideas that people wouldn't necessarily expect from a public library."

"And I love the fact that we've combined STEM education with my lifelong dream of having my own action figure," he added.

Derek has more than 20 years of library experience and has served as director in Redwood City since 2014. He and I both attended Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio.

Did I foresee a plastic Derek in those innocent times? Well, we did host a college radio show together in the latter days of the vinyl record business. So I guess — in a dubious stretch of logic — it makes sense that we'd one day overlap in the magical world of plastics.

I have to admit, though, that I'd really like to see video footage of an adult library patron coming across a plastic Derek and wondering what exactly was going on.

Thanks, Derek! Forward Falcons!