What’s New and Exciting in Library Makerspaces

Editor's Notes

1. SO … if libraries are no longer storage spaces THEN SHARE YOUR SPACE. Let the people do things. Let them experience things. We are now sharing pretty much the ENTIRE Seminole Campus for the upcoming Pinellas Comic and Maker Con. It is October 17th and it will be awesome! I hope to see you there. I will personally give you a tour of our innovation lab! Bring your kids, bring family, bring friends.
2. I wrote a paper in Graduate school that compared librarians to Prometheus -- the Titan who stole fire from the gods in order to give it to humanity. Fire was considered by ancients as being a tiny spark of the sun (i.e., a physical manifestation of a deity). By bringing fire to mankind, Prometheus has therefore enabled humans to partake in “all things divine” and even allowed them to aspire to become gods themselves. I like to think librarians can offer people intellectual sparks that may become a huge fire or passion down the road.
3. My professor wrote on my paper that he loved the analogy, but that librarians and educators could also be like Sisyphus, a king who was punished for chronic deceitfulness by rolling a large rock up a hill, only to watch it come back down, repeating this action forever and ever … UGH! I can see it sometimes. ;)
4. The things we all have access to these days is truly astounding. For example, I can use a conductive pen and draw a circuit on paper. I can interact with objects within virtual reality. I can melt plastic and draw things in 3 dimensions. I can build an analog synthesizer from electronic modules. The world can be changed with technology! [The Invention of Love is a 1997 play by Tom Stoppard portraying the life of poet A. E. Housman, focusing specifically on his personal life and love for a college classmate. ]
5. I wrote this grant and others for selfish reasons. For years, I’ve been wanting to do 3D design/printing, program Arduino and Raspberry Pi, build and control robots, experiment with circuitry and sound, etc. etc. NOW I GET TO DO THIS OFTEN AS PART OF MY DAILY WORK DUTIES.
6. The lab has a growing list of technologies and the grants are starting to write themselves. The iLab is in “perpetual beta” and will never be done. We keep re-inventing ourselves.
7. Brandon and Stephen, iLab volunteers, working together to revive an archaic PC.
8. It is my goal to stimulate creativity to enable people to explore their imaginations. I learn so much guiding people to these tools. I am not an expert with technology, but know enough to have a lot of fun.
9. This was from last year’s first Hour of Code event. Stephen, from the last picture, led the class and it was his first time teaching. He loved it and wants to do it again! Many of our lab volunteers teach classes and do excellent work. They inspire me!
10. I get to learn from so many people at my job. I love it!
11. I am very lucky to work with a variety of people in the iLab, which is housed in a joint-use facility: public and academic library. We get, for example, cosplay people who want to 3D print parts for their costumes and gamers who want to create new game pieces; however, we also get inventors who want to test out their ideas. I spoke with a dentist the other day who wants to test some 3D prints for his practice in the lab. It is pretty cool that we could have something to do with an invention or a tool that may change the world.
12. Watching kids play with these technologies is enlightening. They are not afraid to make mistakes. Adults can learn a lot from kids! I am thrilled to be able to offer technologies through the lab that people, in many cases, don’t have access to. We are a technology playground!
13. Again, the lab encourages mistakes. We aren’t giving grades so there are no worries. Remember that Penicillin was an accidental discovery that changed medicine FOREVER!
14. Color outside the lines!
15. We now let our Raspberry Pi and Arduino kits leave the lab so people can work in the comfort of their own homes. They can check out technology similarly to the way they check out books and other traditional library items.
16. The maker movement isn’t all about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. IT IS ABOUT COMMUNITY! IT IS ABOUT SHARING IDEAS AND WORKING TOGETHER TO CREATE SOMETHING USEFUL. Reach out to other organizations and people who will strengthen your mission, which, for me, is FOSTERING AND ENRICHING LIFELONG LEARNING.
17. I wrote a Letter of Support for NASA’s Education/Public Outreach initiative. We will help co-develop activities based on the STEM educational framework. The E/PO is funded by NASA and is a "provider of educational materials for students, educators, scientists, and the public.“ We are a littleBits Global Chapter. I get to meet with a huge global community of makers thanks to MIT’s Media Lab unhangout system powered by Google Hangouts. Very awesome stuff!