makerspaces Archives | Page 2 of 3 | American Libraries Magazine

Google can bring you back 100,000 answers. A librarian can bring you back the right one. --Neil Gaiman

Ten Reasons Libraries Are Still Better Than the Internet

By Marcus Banks | December 19, 2017

Sixteen years ago, American Libraries published Mark Y. Herring’s essay “Ten Reasons Why the Internet Is No Substitute for a Library” (April 2001). Technology has improved exponentially since then—social media didn’t even exist yet. But even the smartest phone’s intelligence is limited by paywalls, Twitter trolls, fake news, and other hazards of online life. Here … Continue reading Ten Reasons Libraries Are Still Better Than the Internet →

Patron Rebecca Bloom repairs a rice cooker at Boulder (Colo.) Public Library's U-Fix-It Clinic.

Libraries and the Art of Everything Maintenance

By Megan Cottrell | September 1, 2017

“She told me she got it for her birthday and it was a lot of fun, but one day, it just stopped working,” says Seltzer, an MIT-trained engineer and the U-Fix-It Clinic coordinator. “We took it apart together, and we were able to fix it. Pretty soon she was zipping around the parking lot on … Continue reading Libraries and the Art of Everything Maintenance →

Top Tech Trends: Advice for Makerspaces

By Samuel R. Putnam | June 25, 2017

“Makerspaces should meet the needs of your patrons and be built around your budget and staff,” shared Radniecki. Here are some other helpful tips she shared regarding managing makerspaces: Fees are fine. Some libraries cannot comprehend a makerspace model that charges anything, even if they are offering services that commercial services like Shapeways offer at … Continue reading Top Tech Trends: Advice for Makerspaces →

Rebecca Stavick, Executive Director of Do Space,

How to Run a Tech Space

By Dawn Abron | June 25, 2017

Stavick began with a focus on leadership and communication. Tech space leaders are face of the project and communication is important because it will influence staff and the community and how they feel about technology. Stavick recommended hiring for strong soft skills over high educational levels. You can always teach someone how to 3D print … Continue reading How to Run a Tech Space →

The Montana delegation (from left): Kenning Arlitsch, dean of Montana State University (MSU) Renne Library in Bozeman; Bruce Newell, chair of Montana Library Commission in Helena; Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.); Ann Dutton Ewbank, director of the MSU School Library Certificate Program; Heather Dickerson, teen services librarian at Lewis and Clark Library in Helena; Jennie Stapp, Montana state librarian; Bernadine Abbott Hoduski, Montana native and retired librarian of the US Joint Committee on Printing for 25 years; and John Finn, director of Lewis and Clark Library.

Montana Goes to Washington

By George M. Eberhart | May 3, 2017

One secret of NLLD is that talking with office staffers about the state (what section they are from, the best places to ski, theaters and restaurants of the past, alma maters) is an excellent ice breaker and serves to relax everyone, including the librarians. Stapp’s group did this with finesse. Daines’s aide Joshua Sizemore is … Continue reading Montana Goes to Washington →

MozFest sessions were organized by different themes on each floor.

MozFest 2016: Dispatch from a Librarian

By Davis Erin Anderson | November 7, 2016

I had been telling him about my decision to forgo the first block of sessions in order to paint a robot on a tote bag. At the time, this felt like a renegade choice—most conferences focus on sharing information from experts to participants. Stopping to make something that seemed frivolous was a departure from my … Continue reading MozFest 2016: Dispatch from a Librarian →

The Health Effects of 3D Printing

By Sharon Roney, Amelia Klein, and Andrew Hart | October 11, 2016

Ultrafine particles and volatile organic compounds Several studies have shown that 3D printers produce high amounts of ultrafine particles (UFPs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) while in use, and that these particles and vapors are detectable for many hours after the printers have been shut off. UFPs have been linked to adverse health conditions, such … Continue reading The Health Effects of 3D Printing →

Five-year-old Katelyn poses with her new prosthetic limb, the “Unlimbited” design from the e-NABLE website. It was 3D printed by a group of volunteers at the Clear Lake City-County Freeman branch library in Harris County, Texas.

Printing for a Cause

By Megan Perrero | August 9, 2016

Five-year-old Katelyn was born without a fully formed left hand. Her parents were on the search to find a prosthetic arm for her when they discovered the e-NABLE Community. E-NABLE is a team of people around the world who work to create free prosthetic limb design plans for the upper body by using 3D printing. … Continue reading Printing for a Cause →

Exploring Learning through Making

By Amy Carlton | June 25, 2016

Having a functioning makerspace depends more on your people and your relationships in the community than on your technology. That’s the message a group of experienced makers gave to attendees at a packed session on Friday.

Attendees learn CAD modeling in the COLab at the 2016 Public Library Association Conference in Denver.

How-To Lessons, Makerspaces, and Coding

By Laurie D. Borman | April 8, 2016

Colorado businesses and libraries partnered in COLab, where attendees could try out 3D printing with a printer made in Colorado, as well as other makerspace projects that are part of the partnership. At the Take Charge Lounge, spin bikes were set up with a phone charger attached to the flywheel, making it freewheeling charging. Programs … Continue reading How-To Lessons, Makerspaces, and Coding →

The Handibot in action on the SX Create show floor.

South by Southwest Interactive, Day Three

By Jason Griffey | March 17, 2016

SparkFun is always coming up with cool new educational kits, and at SXSWi users could build its BadgerHack demo boards. Seeing attendees walking around SXSWi with their badges flashing with the SparkFun kit was great. Another company that libraries should be aware of is LulzBot. It makes the LulzBot Mini and TAZ series of 3D … Continue reading South by Southwest Interactive, Day Three →

YALSA Session Provides Learning Lab Insights

By Terra Dankowski | January 9, 2016

This is how Koh kicked off the “YALSA Trends Impacting YA Services: Competencies Needed to Provide Teen Library Services of the Future” program at ALA Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits on Saturday, showcasing the research she and June Abbas, an associate professor also at OU SLIS, conducted on informal learning and community learning centers in libraries. … Continue reading YALSA Session Provides Learning Lab Insights →

Latest Library Links

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Bobbi L. Newman writes: “This week, an article from the BBC caught my attention: ‘Without support, many menopausal workers are quitting their jobs.’ Supporting employees going through menopause is important for those experiencing it and for everyone’s wellbeing. It reflects a commitment to employee wellbeing and a strategic approach to workforce management. Libraries can adopt strategies to support employees experiencing menopause, enhancing their wellbeing and workplace productivity. Remember, with all wellbeing, the goal is to support and empower staff to make the choices that best improve their health. Here are some practical approaches.”

Librarian by Day, Apr. 19; BBC, Apr. 9
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Libraries have a long history of helping to deliver on a wide variety of development goals, from literacy and school readiness to research productivity and urban cohesion. Their unique potential has been recognized not just by the governments or others that traditionally fund them, but also by a range of other funders, private and public alike. The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions has created a dataset to help librarians easily discover examples of private philanthropic grants, as well as other funding sources, that other libraries have been able to leverage.”

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, Apr. 22
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Jackie Jennings writes: “It feels like the debate over whether #BookTok is bad has been raging since the moment the term was first coined. I’m starting off with a strong stance: BookTok is indeed bad. However, the problem with BookTok is not crappy books or bogus influencers. The problem with BookTok is TikTok itself. BookTok isn’t actually a community driven by fans, writers, influencers, or even publishers: it’s part of a social media corporation, controlled by the most mysterious, fickle god of all, the algorithm.” Not surprisingly, librarian recommendations can overcome some of BookTok’s limitations.

Jezebel, Apr. 18; Book Riot, Apr. 22
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ALA announced the launch of its state Intellectual Freedom Helpline grant program April 22. Over the next two years, 10 pilot program sites will operate a confidential reporting system that will help connect those experiencing censorship attempts with professional support, in-state peers, or referral to ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, as appropriate. State or school library associations or agencies wishing to either establish an Intellectual Freedom Helpline in their state or expand existing efforts may apply for $10,000 grants through July 14.

ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, Apr. 22
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In celebration of the release of his latest nonfiction title, The Secret Lives of Booksellers & Librarians, bestselling author James Patterson is honoring select American Bookseller Association and American Library Association members with bonuses. He announced plans April 11 to give $200 each to 250 library workers across the country. The deadline for ALA members may nominate members to receive bonuses through April 30. Winners will be announced at ALA’s 2024 Annual Conference in San Diego.
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Catherine Hollerbach writes: “In early 2020, when the world shut down for COVID, many people got interested in houseplants. Anne Arundel County (Md.) Public Library’s Crofton Library embraced this trend and then some!” While preparing to reopen after the COVID shutdown, the library installed plants at the information desk to discourage patrons from sticking their heads through gaps in newly installed acrylic shields. They were well received and cared for, and the library gradually added more plants and built educational tools, programming, and partnerships around the plants.

Public Libraries Online, Apr. 18
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Rodney Freeman writes: “I am proud to be a librarian—and rare. Less than 7% of librarians in the US are Black. Libraries symbolize the literacy that was denied to so many of our ancestors. For our enslaved forebears, something as fundamental as learning to read was illegal and dangerous, but they did it anyway. Separate but ‘equal’ schools and ‘colored’ libraries filled with cast-offs from white libraries were key features of the Jim Crow era. Today we are seeing the same impulse to distort access to information into a tool to suppress and control, and to make some people ‘other.’”

Newsweek, Apr. 16

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