Submitted by Vicki on
In the building and creating of this site and project, there have been moments when I've asked myself if this whole thing works. Just because makerspaces are a thing, should they be our thing?
The short answer, to the team at Make it @ Your Library is a firm yes. Here's the how and the why:
Makerspaces are amazing, but they're not necessarily feasable for libraries in terms of space, budget, time and staffing. Maker elements and projects, though, are totally within our reach, and that's what this site is aiming to connect library professionals to. While the term "maker" is quite the trendy little buzzword, to us it really boils down to content creation. Empowering our communities to use the library to create things is another way to build the library's relevancy. Creating opportunities for library users to make something that didn't exist before strengthens the importance of the old "third space" concept.
By incorporating maker projects into your programming, reaching out to local maker groups to offer your space, or even setting up passive maker projects at a table or meeting room, you are distilling the very best of the maker movement for your patrons: empowerment.
And fun. Did we mention fun?