» Makerspaces Move into Academic Libraries ACRL TechConnect Blog During the past year, makerspaces have been gaining traction in libraries. A makerspace is a place where people come together to design and build projects. Makerspaces typically provide access to materials, tools, and technologies to allow for hands-on exploration and participatory learning. They are occasionally referred to as fablabs, hackerspaces or tech shops. Makerspaces emerged around 2005 as an offshoot of the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) movement. The Fayetteville Free Library in New York was the first library to create a dedicated makerspace, which they call the FFL Fab Lab. Creative Commons licensed image via Creative Tools. The Value of Makerspaces Makerspaces fill a variety of needs within an educational setting. Critical thinking and problem solving skills are invaluable to our students. Makerspaces are also an ideal way to support changing modes of learning. Creative Commons licensed images via DSTL UNR. Academic libraries are places where people from all disciplines gather.
Making Things in Academic Libraries The past few months have seen lots of discussion about makerspaces in libraries. What’s a makerspace? Buffy Hamilton’s great post over at the Unquiet Librarian has a couple of good definitions, but essentially it’s a place for folks to make things, perhaps writing and illustrating a zine, using the open source Arduino computing platform to program a robot, screenprinting, or creating model houses with a 3D printer. Makerspaces seem like a great fit for public libraries, which often run programs designed to teach new skills and to create something, like an arts and crafts hour for kids. What could a makerspace look like in an academic library? For those colleges or universities that can’t create a physical makerspace, what are some other ways we can encourage the maker ethos in our libraries? Perhaps applying the makerspace concept to library instruction and information literacy really means expanding our own understanding of what we do when we work with students.
Between the Lines» Blog Archive » The Library as a Makerspace Libraries are no longer simply a holding area for books, they are community hubs. People gather at the library to share ideas and enrich their lives. Computers and internet are now standard in libraries and are often in demand. Unemployed individuals can come to the library and apply for jobs. Kids can do their homework (or play games) at the library. What is a makerspace? Sound familiar? Makerspaces in libraries are also connected to STEM which is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Is your library already a makerspace? Here are more resources on makerspaces:Westport Library Maker-SpaceMaker-Spaces-in-LibrariesNews story from the Capital GazetteIMLS Photo courtesy of Helen K via photopin cc Tags: For Libraries, makerspace, STEAM, STEM
A Makerspace Takes Over A Local Library Makerspaces just might take over libraries. School of Information Studies professor Dave Lankes seems to think so. In his presentation to New York State librarians earlier this month, he asked the roomful of librarians to imagine libraries as places for people to learn and create, not consume and check out. In another talk he gave in October, he declared, “What will kill our profession is not ebooks, Amazon, or Google, but a lack of imagination.” What’s a Makerspace? The iSchool is Training Future Maker Enablers Students in the graduate program in Library and Information Science (LIS) at the iSchool are challenged to think beyond the typical ideas of librarianship and ignite the imaginations of our communities to better society. A 3D Printer In a Public LibraryOne recent iSchool LIS graduate has come up with an innovative project meant to engage the imagination of her library’s community, and it’s been getting lots of press in places like Forbes online, Boing Boing, and KQED.
Library as Makerspace: Creating and Nurturing Communities of Teen Writers Original photograph by Buffy Hamilton As part of our makerspace initiative this year (please see this blog post and this slidedeck here) and inspired by the work of the Sacramento Public Library, one of my focal points is thinking about ways the library can support creating communities of readers and writers who are crafting and composing texts (and I use the term text rather liberally). The Sacramento Public Library Winter 2012 “Write at iStreet Press” writing and publishing catalog offers a model of what the library as a makerspace for constructing texts looks like in a community through the public library. Possible topics I’m interested in offering as “lunch and learn” sessions or after-school sessions could include (but are not limited to!) Creative writing (memoirs, poetry, short stories, novels) and writer’s craftSelf publishing options (print as well as eBook/eInk)Academic writing Digital and/or multimodal compositionMultigenre writingStorytelling Like this: Like Loading...
The Makings of Maker Spaces, Part 1: Space for Creation, Not Just Consumption Maker spaces in libraries are the latest step in the evolving debate over what public libraries’ core mission is or should be. From collecting in an era of scarce resources to curation in an era of overabundant ones, some libraries are moving to incorporate cocreation: providing the tools to help patrons produce their own works of art or information and sometimes also collecting the results to share with other members of the community. Maker spaces promote learning through play; have the potential to demystify science, math, technology, and engineering; and encourage women and underrepresented minorities to seek careers in those fields. They also tie in to the growing trend of indie artists in every medium—including books—who are bypassing traditional gatekeepers, taking advantage of new tools to produce professionally polished products, and going direct to the web to seek an audience. Libraries around the United States offer tools for patrons to learn by doingBy Lauren Britton R.
Makerspaces, Participatory Learning, and Libraries The concept of libraries as makerspaces first hit my radar last November when I read about the Fayetteville Free Library’s FabLab. As I began hearing more buzz about libraries and makerspaces the first few months of this year, I decided that learning more about this concept and exploring how I might apply the elements of makerspaces to my library program would be a personal learning project for the summer. So what is a makerspace? Makerspace defines it as: Modeled after hackerspaces, a makerspace is a place where young people have an opportunity to explore their own interests, learn to use tools and materials, and develop creative projects. It could be embedded inside an existing organization or standalone on its own. The Library as Incubator Project describes makerspaces as: In late spring, I was even more intrigued by the concept as my friend and colleague Kristin Fontichiaro began sharing some of her thoughts on makerspaces and the possibilities for school libraries. Like this:
From Stacks to Hacks: Makerspaces and LibraryBox - 10-19-2012 : METRO in New York, NY US METRO The makerspace movement is gaining momentum in the library world. In his recent report on “Libraries and the informational future: some notes,” Lorcan Dempsey of OCLC noted how “space is being reconfigured around broader education and research needs, and less around the management of print collection. In effect, space is shifting from infrastructure to engagement…” Nothing represents this emerging trend more than the recent growth of makerspaces within libraries. Makerspaces can take many forms. They can be open areas in the library with tables, seating, and facilities to encourage collaborative work among small groups in an informal setting. Lest the concept seem too facilities oriented, makerspaces needn’t be entirely reconfigurations of physical space. The shift, then, is more a change in mentality than in physical footprint, or, as one library administration said, it is an opportunity for libraries to be more “transformational” and not “transactional.”