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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Christina Sterbenz writes: “As calls for censorship in libraries and school districts continue to escalate—and personal attacks on those who oppose these attempts persist—library workers are finding new ways to protect themselves, the books they care so much about, and intellectual freedom in their communities. Some are adjusting their policies on book challenges or trying to improve the dialogue with patrons. Others are fighting back through the judicial system. Even state lawmakers are supporting the right to read with bills to curtail book bans.”

American Libraries feature, Sept./Oct.
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Nomi Hague writes: “Although often exciting and enjoyable, for some children the new school year can also be stressful and anxiety provoking if their names are challenging for their teachers and classmates to pronounce. Some questions that children in these situations might be grappling with are: Will my new teacher be able to say and spell my name? Will the other kids be able to remember my name? Can or should I change my name to make it easier for everyone else?” The books in this list remind children to celebrate their own and other people’s names.

ALSC Blog, Sept. 22
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Matus Formanek writes: “DSpace open-source software supports numerous digital libraries and repositories around the world. With the release of DSpace version 7, a natural question that arises is whether the new version offers enough new functionalities to motivate system administrators to upgrade. Older versions of DSpace have reached the end of their developer support period or are reaching it in mid-2023. Based on our own upgrade experience, we propose suggestions and recommendations on migrating from the previous DSpace 6.3-based environment to the new one.”

Information Technology and Libraries, Sept. 18
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Matt Bloom writes: “A former librarian will receive $250,000 from the High Plains Library District [in Weld County, Colorado] as part of a settlement in a lengthy civil rights dispute over her firing. Brooky Parks lost her job at Erie Community branch in 2021 after promoting anti-racism and LGBTQ history workshops for teens. The programming drew backlash from the district’s board of trustees, which oversees more than a dozen public libraries across Northern Colorado. As part of the settlement, the district adopted new rules to encourage programming that is more ‘inclusive and diverse.’”

Colorado Public Radio, Sept. 22
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Juliana Kaplan and Eliza Relman write: “If libraries can convince people they’re for more than just quiet reading, they might just be able to reshape the new social landscape. Three years into the hybrid and work-from-home world, social time has plummeted. Americans aren’t socializing on weekdays, and are spending even less time with friends. Loneliness is on the rise. And it’s becoming clearer just how important ‘third places’—spaces for socializing outside of work and home—are.”

Business Insider, Sept. 24
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Tate Ryan-Mosley writes: “The AI Insight Forums were announced a few months ago by US Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) as part of his ‘SAFE Innovation’ initiative, which is really a set of principles for AI legislation in the US. The invite list was heavily skewed toward Big Tech execs. But to dig below the surface, I caught up with one of the other attendees, Mozilla Fellow Inioluwa Deborah Raji, who gave me an inside look at how the first meeting went, the pernicious myths she needed to debunk, and where disagreements could be felt in the room.”

MIT Technology Review, Sept. 25
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Betsy Gomez writes: “Libraries, schools, bookstores, and groups around the world will be calling attention to censorship and ways to fight it October 1–7. ALA and Unite Against Book Bans will mark this year’s Banned Books Week with a slate of programs, a call to action on Let Freedom Read Day, videos from the Banned Books From the Big Chair read out, and more.” Virtual programs will include actor and reading advocate LeVar Burton, author John Green, writer and illustrator Mike Curato, Texas FReadom Fighters co-founder Becky Calzada, and Banned Books Week Youth Honorary Chair Da’Taeveyon Daniels.

Intellectual Freedom Blog, Sept. 27

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