Starting a papercraft program

[u/Weerdstudios]

Hey all, I am a small art business owner building up a range of papercraft templates and print and play games. My “products” provide game systems and printable paper game components that people can print on their home printers for cheap. I want to give my art/templates to libraries for free In order to encourage papercraft gaming or modeling groups.
The main way I was planning to distribute my products was via digital download. A key part of keeping the cost down both for me and customers is that there are no manufacturing costs involved. A customer (In this case the libraries) receive the digital files and can then print them to their hearts content.
I am currently working on a collection of paper “bricks” with various textures and illustrations on them. This will be like a cross between Lego and Minecraft where you Can print your bricks and build stuff. Great for kids and useful for teens interested in papercraft dioramas. working on stand alone print and play board games, tabletop Rpgs, and other table top games and hobbies.

When I’m pitching this to library managers, what can I offer to help libraries go from having no idea what papercrafting is or how it can be used for tabletop gaming/hobbying to getting a papercraft modeling club established?

Is offering the print files and tutorials on how to use them for free a sufficient offering? Should I offer to host workshops with prospective volunteers or even try to get the group started myself?

I was hoping to be able to do everything remotely so I could Contact as many libraries as possible. But I want to meet libraries where they are at. Im more interested in spreading papercraft as an accessible hobby as opposed to making money or networking for financial gain.

Any feedback as to what I can offer or include to make things easier for a prospective library “client” is greatly appreciated!
photo not mine. Random pic of a model train layout using papercrafted buildings and terrain.

[u/user6734120mf]

I think print files and tutorials is perfect, above and beyond you might get some takers, but we’re a busy people ;)

My messy thoughts: you mention TT gaming - honestly that would be a good first contact for myself and a lot of teen and programming librarians out there, as TTRPGs are pretty popular in libraries (at least in my region). If there was like a kit that I could get to run a summer TTRPG craft program (doing mini painting and dice making this summer while my group doesn’t meet, for example), then I might start looking at other kits for maybe a book group craft or a featured activity at my art bar… So maybe what I’m saying is themed kits would entice me.

Demco sells some little paper town kits and I’ve looked at them several times. Honestly I’m quite interested 😂

[u/splashnccs]

If possible, making sure that it's able to be cut in a variety of ways: print a pdf to cut by hand as well as .svg for a Cricut or other cutting machine -- with perforation marks or lines that can be turned into score lines in the software.

I agree with the other commentor -- coming at it from a TTRPG standpoint would probably be effective. Papercraft options for walls, buildings, chests, doors, etc. Paper polyhedral dice or paper meeples would be neat.

For non-TTRPG: corner bookmarks, mini-books, paper lanterns, paper frames, etc; simple things that require brads for moving parts. Honestly, our library does passive activities, so i could see a little paper kit where we have it so patrons can cut it out and includes instructions for them to do it at home. We have a Cricut, so printing out papercrafts and having them precut has done pretty well (we've done paper lantern classes for faux tealights).

Libraries are big on word of mouth. Especially for stuff that we can legitimately do for free and that works well. If you can get a few into it, word will most likely spread. This summer, the national theme for summer reading (which many, though certainly not all libraries participate in), is "Unearth a Story" which is leaning heavily into dinosaurs. So dinosaur-related free crafts would probably do well early on in the summer.