makerspaces and libraries

What is a maker space exactly?   And what do libraries have to do with them?

Education Week published a good overviewish article on makerspaces and schools in 2015. One of things noted is that there is no one simple definition of makerspaces.  They can be part of the school program or an afterschool program; they can be high tech or low tech, they may not even be called maker spaces.   The main theme linking various makerspaces together is innovation/creation. They are places where students (in schools) can exercise different brain muscles by making and creating things. These could be computer apps, 3d-printer items, articles of clothing sewn in sewing machines, or Lego structures.

Many school libraries have explored and set up maker spaces as a way to stimulate student learning activities in the library.  One that has been the subject of several media reports and academic case studies was implemented at New Milford High School in Bergen County, New Jersey.  Here is a short news video about that project.

Laura Fleming, media specialist/librarian for New Milford High School, used her experiences in creating this particular maker space to write a book and an article for Teacher Librarian (with Stephen and Debra Kurti) on how schools and libraries could create maker spaces. The authors summarized the process she used in seven steps:

1.  Observe students to find what they were interested in 
2.  Review school curriculum and goals to see what activities would complement them
3. Review national/global trends in technology and culture
4. Use these observations to formulate broad themes
5. procure a space and materials (Fleming started with old computers that could be taken apart, Legos, some hand tools, a 3d printer, Mackey Mackey kits)
6. promote student "ownership" of the makerspace -- encourage students to experiment on their own without obvious adult supervision. "Spacemakers acting as experts on a subject will generally limit the users of the space." write Kurti and Fleming. "To remove this limitation and give the students ownership of their learning, it is crucial to stand slightly to the side and allow the students to make their own mistakes and find their own solutions." (Kurti and Fleming, 2014). 
7. keep the makerspace fresh and evolving by adding new items and tools each semester.  Making the maker space requires "tinkering" just as much as an individual maker space project.

The key to successful Maker spaces is not necessarily a high budget or expensive gizmos and facilities, Kurti and Fleming conclude in the Teacher Librarian article. Rather, it is an educator with "a powerful vision and a willingness to try new things."

Works mentioned, linked, and cited in this post


Bell, J. (2015). School librarians push for more 'maker spaces' Education Week, 34(30), 10. Retrieved April 20, 2016, from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/05/13/school-librarians-push-for-more-maker-spaces.html

[CBS New York]. (2014, February 27). New Jersey high school getting creative with makerspace.[Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZE8nCABAX4.

Fleming, L. (2015). Worlds of making: Best practices for establishing a makerspace for your school (Corwin Connected Educators Series). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Kurti, S.R., Kuri, D., & Fleming, L. (2014). Practical implementation of an educational makerspace. Teacher Librarian, 42(2), 20-24.  Accessed from Academic Search Premier, April 20, 2016.