Library Makerspaces

The Complete Guide

By (author) Theresa Willingham With Chuck Stephens, Steve Willingham, Jeroen de Boer

Publication date:

28 December 2017

Length of book:

262 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781442277397

Library Makerspaces: The Complete Guide is a comprehensive road map for libraries of any size, with any budget, seeking to redesign or repurpose space or to develop creative, hands-on maker-style programming. It features guidance on:

Holding stakeholder discovery sessions for community-driven space and program development
Evaluating existing library spaces for the most cost-effective and user-friendly facilities design and programming
Asset mapping for developing community partnerships
Best practices from different types of library makerspaces in the United States and internationally
Sample budgets, inventories, and space plans
Risk management considerations
Programming recommendations and resources for a range of patrons from youth to seniors and business to hobby groups
Funding and in-kind support

This book will help librarians develop and implement makerspaces, write grant proposals to fund such spaces, and help frontline staff and administrators learn about the technologies and processes involved.

Chapter 1 – Library Makerspaces 101
Chapter 2 – First Things First: Getting Organized
Chapter 3 – Lay of the Land – Current Makerspace Landscape
Chapter 4 – Makerspace Architecture
Chapter 5 – Makerspace Programming
Chapter 6 – Maker Events – Library as Community Hub
Chapter 7 - Makerspace Inventory
Chapter 8 – Makers: The Human Element
Chapter 9 -Risk Management 101
Chapter 10 – Finishing Touches: Putting it all Together

A remarkable guide for librarians who want to know more about makerspaces, this volume provides a wealth of up-to-date information about types of makerspaces and their communities, whether academic, public, community, independent, or fee based. The book's ten chapters offer information about creation, programs, policies, inventories, and facilities. A plethora of excellent examples, case studies, and references provide evidence of the great variety and depth of existing makerspaces that have succeeded and a few that could have done better. Willingham and her fellow contributors are leaders in the field and have trained hundreds of librarians and others in the creation and effective use of spaces. Librarians will appreciate the discussion of community involvement, budget development, and scale of space. Timely given the contemporary turn from a traditional culture of producers to a culture of consumers, this interesting guidebook puts the focus on communities (of all sorts) that have spaces dedicated to making, creating, and producing.

Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty, and professionals.