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Community Agreement

At the BLAIS Design Center, we don’t just want to offer you design tools for your projects--we’re committed to building communities of practice that affirm the work you’re doing, and the identit(ies) and selfhood you bring into our Center. So we’ve created this community agreement to hold all of our members, including the Design Center Team, accountable. If you’ve completed a safety orientation and are using our tools, resources, or services, we assume that you are in agreement with the statements below, and that you’ll do your utmost to practice them at all times.

The Design Center Team anticipates updating this document as needed, and we’d appreciate your input along the way. If you have suggestions on sections or language we should add, please let us know by emailing designcenter@barnard.edu.

As part of the Milstein Center's community of Centers, we contribute to (support, adhere to, subscribe to, align with) the Library's existing agreements of atmosphere, care, and accountability. But the Design Center staff is especially committed to the library’s tradition of facilitating a welcoming environment that is free of racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist, and unjust attitudes, comments, behaviors, and actions. For more information, please see Barnard’s Notice of Nondiscrimination.

By completing one of our safety orientations, you’re agreeing to abide by the safety rules we laid out. You are also required to ask for training from a Design Center staff member if you don’t know how to use a tool, have never used that specific tool before, or need a refresher on handling it. And note: you must be trained by a Design Center staff member to use any tools in the level three category and the laser cutter (a level two tool).

The Design Center Team isn’t just there to answer your questions--we may periodically ask you questions as you’re working in the space. You should be willing and prepared to answer questions about whether you’ve received training on specific tools, whether you’ve used a given tool before, provide details about any project(s) you’re working on in the Center, and more to help us ensure that you’re using the space knowledgeably and responsibly.

Additionally, please don’t take it upon yourself to change tool parts/accessories on equipment. The Design Center Team is happy to assist with tasks like changing 3D printing filament or nozzles, re-threading the serger, disposing of dull blades, and more.

And specifically regarding our 3D printers, the Design Center has a no weapons policy. No part of a weapon may be printed in the Design Center at any given time, and doing so may result in a loss of privileges.

The Design Center’s 3D printers may only be used for lawful purposes. No one is permitted to create material that is:

  • Prohibited by local, state, or federal law. This includes weapons or life-like replicas, parts of weapons, ammunition, and defensive as well as offensive weapons. If you are not sure what constitutes a weapon, please consult a staff member.
  • Unsafe, harmful, dangerous, or poses an immediate threat to the well-being of others.
  • Obscene or otherwise inappropriate for the college’s environment.
  • Subject to copyright, patent, or trademark protection.

Please note that the Design Center reserves the right to not print any materials that are deemed inappropriate.

By submitting content or objects, the student agrees to assume all responsibility for, and shall hold Barnard College harmless in, all matters related to patented, trademarked, or copyrighted materials. The library is not responsible for any damage, loss, or security of data arising from the use of its computers or network, nor for the functionality or quality of content produced on the 3-D printer.

Together, our community will work to create an environment that supports the work we listed above. However, if a violation of the Community Agreement is either witnessed or reported to us, Design Center staff will take the following steps to rectify any issues. For starters, if any portion of the Space Use agreement is violated:

  • Staff will adhere to the library’s measures detailed in the “Accountability” portion of the library’s Community Agreement.

If any portion of the Safety and Tool Use agreement is violated

  • Staff will work with you to address proper tool use, in accordance with our policies and safety orientation. The staff may refer you for more training, and no further use of the tools until that is completed.

  • If unsafe tool use continues, and you did not ask a Design Center staff member for help, staff will respectfully request that you be completely re-trained on how to use said equipment, independent of your project. You will not be able to use that tool or equipment until this process has been completed.

  • If you continue to use tools or equipment unsafely after the first and second requests, staff will respectfully request that you re-complete safety orientation altogether. You will not be able to use tools or equipment in the Design Center until you’ve been safety trained a second time.

If, at any point during this process, your unsafe tool use or your behavior verges on recklessness that puts the physical safety of yourself or other users at risk, the Design Center staff will immediately ask you to leave. If you refuse to leave, staff will contact a Public Safety Officer to escort you safely from the premises. Additionally, staff will confer with the Dean of the Library, and appropriate College provosts, to assess whether additional action needs to be taken.