They’re on the street, near grocery stores, in people’s yards. If you’ve taken a walk at some point around Madison, you’ve probably seen one. These little birdhouse -like boxes with glass doors are filled with books, and have a sign on the outside that says “Free Books.”

The Little Free Library movement started in Hudson, Wisconsin in 2009. Since then it has grown into a nation-wide project. Last fall they approached the Madison College robotics team with a request to build a counter, something that could be used to count the usage of the libraries. The device tracks the number of times the library’s door opens. Ten of the counters were created, and were installed in libraries around Madison.

The creation of the counter started with designing it on the computer. Tyler Kapla, one of the robotics team members who worked on the project, built the enclosure for the counter, using a 3-D printer to create the mold, then pouring clear resin into it to create a transparent top and bottom for the counter.

The PCB (printed circuit board) design was originally drawn by Aaron Groom in a computer program, then printed out and transferred onto a sheet of copper, which was dipped in an acid solution to etch away the copper not covered with toner from the printout. From there holes needed to drilled into the copper, and the components needed to be soddered on.

“[it was a] lot of trial and error, you know, we would come up with one way to do it, and then we’d come up with a different way to do it because we think it’s more efficient” said Groom.

Both Groom and Kapla agreed that is was a great learning experience that challenged them and pushed them, to both design and build this thing from scratch.

“I had drawn this stuff before but nothing that needed to be so accurate, so it was a huge challenge.” Said Kapla.

Extracurriculars and projects are always a great way to boost your portfolio, and look great to potential employers.
“I have a lot of personal projects that I’ve done, and a couple with custom PCBs like this,” said Groom,  “but this is a great example when talking to an employer or networking that you can say you’ve actually done a finished product for a client, rather than just saying you’ve done some things for yourself.”

The counters can be found in little free libraries around Madison.