On Sunday, March 1, the Delaware County District Library’s (DCDL) extended hours project will culminate with the Maker Studios expanding their schedules to match the rest of the library system.

Published on: Feb. 20, 2026

In Fall 2025, the Library extended its operating hours at all branches, reflecting a 51 percent increase in open hours, or 117 additional operational hours, across all five branches.

New Hours

The new Maker Studio hours will be:

Monday – Thursday: 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Friday: 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sunday: 1:00 – 5:00 p.m.

“This spring, if the Library is open, then the Maker Studio will be open,” said DCDL Director Bryan Howard. “We are very excited about this, as this is one of the most frequent requests we’ve heard from the community, and is a continued fulfillment of our levy promises from May 2025.”

Currently, the Maker Studios at Liberty and Delaware are open 26 hours per week (Monday and Friday from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., and Tuesday and Thursday from 1:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.). Expanding to 69 hours per week, the extension will reflect a 165 percent increase in operational hours at each location.

With the expanded hours, available reservation times will also expand, meaning increased access for patrons to these high-demand pieces of equipment.

In 2025, the Library began hiring for the nine new staff members needed to support the Maker Studio’s extended hours.

New Equipment

The Maker Studio is pleased to also announce the addition of new advanced printing and finishing equipment. Through a collaborative partnership with PERRY proTECH, which provided guidance, expertise, and implementation of the equipment, the Maker Studio Delaware will open reservations for a Ricoh Pro C7500 Digital Printing Press and Duplo 618 Cutter/Slitter/Creaser, and the Maker Studio Liberty will open reservations for a Mimaki UJF 6042 MKIIe UV Direct-to-Object Printer.

The new equipment includes:

• Ricoh Pro C7500 Digital Printing Press, a professional-grade digital press that delivers consistent, high-quality color and efficiency across a wide range of print applications. This 5-color press can print gold toner and produce Business Cards, Flyers, trifolds, fold-over cards, postcards, and more. Prints up to 13”x19” in size & up to 470gsm. This printer is capable of printing on a wide variety of media, including glossy and matte-finished papers.
• Duplo 618 Cutter/Slitter/Creaser, a precision finishing system that enables accurate cutting, creasing, and folding for polished, professional results.
• Mimaki UJF 6042 MKIIe UV Direct-to-Object Printer, an innovative printer capable of printing directly onto objects and specialty materials, supporting creative, educational, and custom production needs. Has white, Clear, and primer inks able to print on objects 23.6”x16.5”x6”. Options to print on almost unlimited applications, such as coins, pens, awards, phone cases, and tumblers.

“With the addition of the Ricoh Pro C7500, the Maker Studio is offering a piece of equipment that, to the best of our knowledge, no other public library makerspace in Ohio is offering to their patrons,” said Howard. “In addition, there are only a handful of libraries offering UV direct-to-object printing, and we’re excited to begin offering this service to our patrons, as well.”

“For years, we have had requests for certain items like invitations, business cards, and the ability to print on items directly. These new offerings directly address those long-standing community requests,” said Maker Studio Supervisor Kellen Freeman. “Expanding these capabilities allows us to better support our community while being responsible with our resources. PERRY proTECH worked closely with our team to understand our goals, recommend the right solutions, and ensure a smooth installation and transition. Their partnership helped make this a successful and sustainable investment for our Library.”

PERRY proTECH supported the library throughout the selection, installation, and training process, helping ensure staff were prepared to use the new equipment effectively and confidently from day one.

For more information about these new capabilities or how they will be used to support library services, please visit www.delawarelibrary.org/MakerStudio.

Friends Support

With the opening of the Liberty Branch Library in 2023, the Friends of the Delaware County District Library (FOL) established a fundraising campaign to purchase all new equipment that would occupy the Liberty Branch Maker Studio.

The Friends have continued to champion the DCDL Maker Studios, which earned the FOL fundraising team a COSI STEAM Star award in 2025 for their extraordinary work in helping Delaware community members continue lifelong learning in the subjects of science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics through the DCDL Maker Studios.

To date, a total of $100,000 has been collected for the Maker Studio through the Friends’ efforts. To learn more about the Friends’ Maker Studio campaign, visit www.delawarelibraryfriends.org/funds.