We first told you about the Route 9 Library’s PPE project back in early April, while Delaware was under lockdown orders and seeing shortages of personal protective equipment for medical professionals amid the height of COVID-19’s first wave.
The project, called Persist Shields, was a collaboration between Jessica Glassco, Route 9 Library’s makerspace coordinator; Jonathan Rudenberg and Daniel Siders of the Newark software startup Flynn; and local maker Chris Elliot. At the time, it used filament purchased from Printed Solid in Newark to make 3D-printed face shields. Today, Printed Solid is a partner, laser cutting the face shields on its industrial machinery, so they’re now made with a sturdier material that the library’s laser cutter couldn’t handle.
The face shields, as well as fabric face masks made by library employees, were initially sent to a central hub that…