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.

Dreams crushed: the Demise of Public School Libraries, by: Hailey Jackson

I’m in my final semester to obtain a “Library Information Technology” certificate from Palomar College in San Marcos, California. Final semester. I sat across the table from a professor and two other students, both of whom already worked at elementary school libraries in Southern California. The information shared with me was nothing short of jaw-dropping. “The jobs aren’t what they used to be.” “Librarians used to be credentialed teachers.” “The union is really coming down on ‘media technicians’ doing anything that could be taken as ‘teaching’.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I had been persuing this certificate for the last 18 months hoping to secure a job at my kids’ elementary school once they were all going for full days. It was a good fit, and I’d get to make a difference! The “librarian” there now does a handful of story times each week and does the laminating for each teacher. Surely, there were improvements to make, things to teach, ways to get kids excited about reading and make meaningful connections. The librarian should be working with teachers so that the students’ time in the library coincides with Common Core curriculum. But no. And it will never be.

According to the California Department of Education, “California continues to rank at the bottom of professional library staffing numbers.” Professional staffing numbers refers to trained, or credentialed librarians. That said, the CDE states that sixteen percent of schools in California don’t have a library. So are libraries reaching the end of their usefulness in schools? Is there hope for people like me, who want to work in school libraries?

An empty library at a New York Public School. Funding enabled the creation of the library, but is lacking for staffing.

Clearly, there is a place for libraries. Studies abound online that show a correlation between access to books and success, so how can libraries be saved. The answer, like it so commonly is, is money. “Once, students held bake sales and car washes to fund some activities. Now, principals, teachers, and parents have been forced to assume that role on a grand scale to pay for books, athletic equipment, after-school activities. Instead of cupcakes and soapsuds, they use today’s equivalent of the hat in hand—the grant application—to beg foundations and corporations to underwrite what, until recently, most Americans would have considered the birthright of students in our public schools.” (School Library Journal, Sept. 2013) Even the CDE states that library funding has gone the way of the Grant, meaning that administrators, teachers and parents now have to petition private industry and the government to solicit funds for everything from playground equipment to books for libraries and classrooms. And while it seems grim, there is hope. Even for someone like me, in her last semester of obtaining a certificate that seems doomed. While credentialed librarian positions are decreasing in the state of California, libraries themselves seem to be making an impact. In my own local school district, our once antiquated librarian is running STEM programs at lunch time. The job is not the same as it once was, but now I don’t need a teaching credential to work at the school. And my hope still exists that I can make a difference in the lives of children in my community.
Works Cited:
Owens, John. "Not As We Remember It." School Library Journal 59.9 (2013): 20. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.

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The Demise of School Libraries - by Lauren Lane

School libraries have come a long way from being that place that students would use occasionally to check out a book to read for a book report.  This is part technology motivated but it’s also motivated by school libraries budgetary constraints.  According to an article from Education Week, “school libraries are struggling to secure the money needed to continue programs and provide services to schools as they compete with other educational priorities,”(Ash).   As school funding and budgets get tight, less money goes around to programs and things, such as school libraries, that budget makers find less important.  This has made school libraries need to be creative to make school libraries essential to make sure they aren’t cut out the budget altogether.

So how do you do that?  Technology!  Technology is an ever changing field and school libraries are embracing it.  Many school libraries are trying to make the school library a place for collaboration and a “project-based” place, (Ash).  Children are in world of Internet, YouTube, smart phones, etc. so school libraries are embracing that and changing what you normally think of when you think of a school library.  Many libraries are using their physical space different to attract students to the library, for example some are using the library as “a performance space where students can share their work with parents, peers, and teachers,” (Ash).  Also school libraries are making themselves known on the web.  “Virtual spaces are growing exponentially because you have to get to the kids 24/7,” (Ash).  Making their presence online allows students to log in and find information from databases, connect with library staff for help and much more.  Making the virtual space a place where kids can go for any homework help or research help, makes the school library that much more essential.

Maker spaces are also essential today to keep up with our technology as well as a useful tool to get students to visit the school library.  Maker spaces allows students to have fun, make stuff and learn all at the same time and in a safe environment.  This attracts students who might not have gone in to their school library.  It also catches attentions of parents who might donate items, time or money to the school library to keep these kinds of programs going.  Check out this video about a New Jersey high school and their maker space.  The possibilities are endless!

With budgetary cuts and tightening of the belt, school libraries need to think outside of the traditional physical realm of books and create opportunities for students to use the library virtually as well as using the physical space in new and different ways.  This can prevent the demise of school libraries as well as start a potential renaissance.

Works Cited:

Ash, Kate. “School Libraries Seek Relevance Through Virtual Access; Librarians’ Roles Shifting to   Address the Demand for Quality Online Content.” Education Week 10 Feb.2010: 10. Opposing           Viewpoints in Context. Web. 3 Apr. 2016.

To check out the article in full: School Libraries Seek Relevance Through Virtual Access; Librarians' Roles Shifting to Address the Demand for Quality Online Content - Opposing Viewpoints in Context