Makerspaces

Makerspaces

Ever thought that a new idea maybe impossible, or that an impossible idea maybe achievable? Library personnel are rolling up their sleeves and making new ideas happen. Makerspaces are fast growing in Libraries and enabling students to have hands-on experiences making, creating and developing new and creative ideas.  Makerspaces are becoming commonplace and are the new expected experiences in today's libraries. In order to describe a Makerspace, one must envision an area in the library that may not follow the normal neat and tidy route that libraries are known for.  

Try to picture creative art area-meets books and technology and there you have it. Makerspaces are designated areas that allow and encourage hands-on touching, creating and development. Imagine Tinker Toys meets Art and you can get a general concept.

In the Article A Major Making Undertaking: A New Librarian Transforms A Middle School Library into a Makerspace Aligned to High School Career Endorsements, author Sheila Bakers interviews co-author Bonnie Alexander. Together they describe the step by step process of creating a Makerspace in a new Middle School Library. The creativity and enthusiasm felt by first year Librarian Ms. Alexander as she starts her new position is instrumental in this project. Ms. Alexander is a former English Teacher currently working towards a Master's Degree in School Library and Information Science, when this inspiration began. With the backing and support of her principal (also in the first year of a new position), Ms. Alexander was able to put her concepts and ideas into action. She starts off by researching and incorporating newly implemented high school graduation requirements. Armed with this information, Ms. Alexander visits the nearby high school and solicited donations from the various departments in support of her new program. The focus of the Makerspace program would be an introduction for the middle school students to concepts that they would use later to fulfill a high school graduation requirement. This would be sparking an interest while creating an interest to be used towards a later goal. 

This program was successful due to many factors that aligned up at the same time.

 New idea + New Librarian + New Principal + New School + New Graduation Requirement = Successful  Middle School Makerspace Program.  

It doesn't always line up that well (or way), but for the Perfect Storm in that Texas Middle School Library..it did. 

Works Cited:

Baker, Sheila F., and Bonnie Alexander. “A Major Making Undertaking: A New Librarian 

Transforms A Middle School Library into a Makerspace Aligned to High School

Career Endorsements.” Knowledge Quest, vol. 46, no. 5, Jan. 2018, pp. 64-69.

EBSCOhost,search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ118247

&site=ehost-live&scope=site. (Accessed 28, April 2020).

Makerspaces by Barney Mont

BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)

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"You are at the dining room table, put your phone away...", we have all heard that particular phrase and probably most of us have said it a time or two. I admit that I have. Today, things have changed. Stay at Home Orders and Distance Learning have required us to change our outlook. Change our outlook on students, teaching, curriculum and personal devices. Now we are asking students to pull out their own devices and learn. To learn a half of a semester(s) worth of classwork on your phone, tablet, Chromebook, personal computer etc...In the article Gadgets Go To School: The Benefits and Risks of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), author Patricia Bruder explains the benefits of students having their own devices. Bruder presents some basic rules and offers a general checklist for getting started and creating a curriculum related to BYOD. 

According to Bruder, "BYOD (bring your own device) or BYOT (bring your own technology) gives students the option of borrowing electronic devices from the school or using their own equipment." This goes to the idea that students who are comfortable and familiar with using technology, are more engaged and more apt to participate in a classroom environment that encourages the use of technology. Can students get and/or be distracted, yes. There will be the students who will challenge the learning process by visiting sites that are off limits such as "social media networks" etc...but who hasn't looked a text message and/or other email, while working or in a meeting. Even an important staff meeting. 

This year, possibly the most challenging year of a students academic life, we have asked them to step up, change their entire way of learning and hopefully get something out of the remainder of the academic school year. Not to lose any steps in their learning process but hopefully to learn, even learn in a different manner and come out of this school year with some additional technology techniques that they may share...When we resume our normal school life.         

Works Cited:

Bruder, Patricia. "GADGETS GO TO SCHOOL: The Benefits and Risks of BYOD (Bring

Your Own Device)." Education Digest, vol. 80, no. 3, Nov. 2014, pp. 15-18.

EBSCOhost,login.ezproxy.palomar.edu/login?

url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=a9h&AN=99173566&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

  BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) by BarneyMont

The Demise of School Libraries

The Demise of the School Library...(music starts-dun dun dun...) sounds ominous (adjective)-giving the impression that something bad is going to happen-SCARY...at least to me and to all my fellow colleagues in the School Library Business. But in reality it not really scary, it is changing, evolving into a better School Library, a gathering place, a bookstore/cafe type area where students may comfortably work on homework, use computers, study and READ. A true community center. This begins with changes in the Library environment and it involves more than rearranging a few chairs and tables. In the article, The School Library Space is Changing by Laura Wernick, libraries "...are expanding their role as community wide help centers while continuing to be a place of reflection, sharing and learning." 

(https://login.ezproxy.palomar.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/loginaspx? direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ935431&site=ehost-live&scope=site).

According to Wernick, "In academic environments, libraries are changing as well.This shift is a direct result of two academic realities: the slow demise of the traditionally published book as the primary source of information; and the increasing demand for more collaborative, social environments for academic study and production." Schools are using more "Learning Commons" main library areas that allow instruction by teachers and additionally offer "...communal study spaces that support collaborative learning and easy access.." This shift towards making the school library as more of a community center allows additional usage which may include student presentations, student club meetings and also allows the outside community to rent/borrow the library space for PTA meetings, Church Services etc... truly allowing the library to be a welcoming area for all. Additionally, Library's could adapt with reading rooms for individual and/or small group tutoring purposes. Wernick states "As library design evolves, teachers no longer will be constrained by the four walls of their classrooms" which will further strengthen and support school educational practices for today's youth.

Works Cited:

Wernick, Laura. "The School Library Space is Changing." American School & University,

vol.83, no.9, May 2011, pp. 24-28. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct

=true&db=eric&AN=EJ935431&site=ehost-live&scope=site. (Accessed 28 April 2020).

The Demise of School Libraries by BarneyMont

Cloud Computing in the Library

Computers are a very important part of the library especially to library patrons. They must be working, they need to be working, or the library has failed. Failure is a Library is not an option. In order for the Library to provide the best service to its customers, the library must rely on computer systems and their system providers. "In recent time, the management of library systems has changed dramatically," gone are the days were the library personnel are updating and installing it's own library system (Breeding,9). The complex management of this type of technology is sourced out to Library Service Platforms, that now handle these details and fix issues.

Computersat the library" by Julie70 Joyoflife is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0  

In the Article, Managing Tech and the Impact of Cloud Computing on Libraries author Marshall Breeding describes "The three Trends of Centralized Enterprise Computing, Vendor-Hosted Services and Subscriptions to SAAS-Based Library Services Platforms..." and how these trends "have shaped the realm of Library computing support." This transition has allowed vendors to provide better provide and "...to manage many instances of applications they created for their customers at sufficient scale to gain efficiencies in operations and costs" thus reinventing and providing a new and better wheel, as well as continuing to provide constant updates (Breeding, 10). These new systems are able "to solve data problems...and create new services", while providing better service then what libraries previously had. According to Breeding, "the basic mission of a systems librarian, or other professionals working with technology in libraries has not fundamentally changed," it is just become better with the assistance of better technology.              

Works Cited:

Breeding, Marshall. "Managing Tech and the Impact of Cloud Computing on Libraries."
     Computers in Libraries, vol.39, no.2, Mar. 2019, pp.9-11. EBSCOhost,search.ebsco
      host.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lxh&AN=135486413&site=ehost-live&scope=
      site. (Accessed 28, April 2020). 

Cloud Computing by BarneyMont

Library Access to the Cloud

by Jeanne Marie Bredestege

What is the use of using library public access computers to get your work done if, for the sake of privacy, the memory is wiped between log-ins? Many patrons formerly faced this conundrum before the advent of cloud computing. The Lexico web dictionary (powered by Oxford publications), defines cloud computing as “The practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer.” In other words, storing, and in some cases, creating your work on a platform other than the one you are using locally. For the average person who uses library computers to access the internet and get work done, such as creating word files and spreadsheets, cloud computing is a godsend.  

Perhaps the most popular cloud computing platform for this type of work is Google Drive. Google drive was an outgrowth of the wildly popular Gmail, which many people adopted as web-based email when it was released. Everyone with a Gmail account automatically had access to the various components of Google Drive as they became available. Very functional apps, such as word processing (Google Docs), spreadsheets (Google Sheets), and presentations (Google Slides) can be used much the same way as their familiar Microsoft Office counterparts. Work is automatically saved every few minutes, and it will all be there the next time you log in. As I mentioned above, since library computers are set up to wipe out all memory between user log-ins in order to protect privacy, this is a key feature of cloud computing in a public setting. 

Apps are great, but if a library user is familiar with the Miscrosoft suite and does not wish to use anything else, there is an alternative. Most library public access computers are equipped with a basic set of apps, such as Word, Publisher, and Excel, which can be used by patrons. The documents can then be saved on a remote server in the cloud, such as Dropbox, in order to be accessed again in a subsequent session. Platforms such as Dropbox also allow for easy file sharing, when the account information is shared with other users. 

It would behoove the library worker to become familiar with all the facets and possibilities of cloud computing in order the assist the library computer users in doing their work. Knowing about such issues as privacy and data mining can help us protect the unwary against data breaches and other dangers. It also opens up a whole world of possibilities for the library user to not only do work, but also save data such as photos and memories, journal entries, create digital art, and other recreational uses.

  

Work Cited: 

“Cloud Computing | Meaning of Cloud Computing by Lexico.” Lexico Dictionaries | English, 2019, www.lexico.com/definition/cloud_computing. 

A Deeper Understanding of the Makerspace

by Jeanne Marie Bredestege

What does it mean to be a maker? If you had asked me this ten years ago, considering my personal background as an artist and craftperson, I would have given an answer involving low-tech activities, such as knitting, glasswork, carpentry, and the like. However, the term has been co-opted by an entire movement, and while lower-tech activities are still part of it, the connotation has become almost exclusively high-tech. Think robots, coding, and home-built computers. Has the swerve toward high-tech “making” left some people behind? Almost certainly. Does the public library have a role in democratizing this aspect of the maker movement? Absolutely. 

I took a deep dive into some key makerspace movement ideas by reading the research paper “Democratizing the Makerspace Movement” by Alexandra Lakind et al. from the Summer 2019 issue of Reference & User Services Quarterly. It is a great read with a wide range of insights into the makerspace phenomenon. For another perspective, read “Making the Difference” by Marva Hinton from the May 2018 issue of School Library Journal. 

The public library makerspace evolved from the idea of commercial community makerspaces which were membership organizations. These spaces pooled the resources of members who were then able to share and use technologies that would have otherwise been out of reach individually. Public libraries saw an opportunity to take the “membership” factor out of the equation in order to make makerspace technology and resources available to a wider audience. This process also allowed library values to infuse into the makerspace movement: not only access equity, but also community building and inclusive programming. For many public libraries that have taken up the challenge of creating makerspaces, it is not just about the spaces themselves. Hardware can be expensive, but people power is something they already possess. If not all library branches can be supplied with equipment, libraries can bring the people and the programs to the branches in the spirit of the maker movement. 

Some examples of library values which are evident in the profusion of library makerspaces across the country include inclusivity, multidiscipline/intersectionality, and professionalism.  

Makerspaces welcome people representing a diversity of ages, genders, income levels, functionality, and life experience. The emphasis is ideally to expose people to a wider set of experiences that they may otherwise not have access to. While the ability of makerspaces to inspire people to learn and, for example, help youth with career paths or older adults in changing careers, the focus need not be goal-oriented. Libraries are place of self-directed exploration and learning, and makerspaces should reflect that value. Let community colleges and adult education programs handle the specific career development and training. Makerspaces should be allowed to be open-ended places of enjoyment. 

As such, the makerspace is ideally suited for people to discover how various disciplines and practices can intersect and form new ways of doing things. Sewing, robotics, computer programming, 3D printing, growing and preserving food, toymaking, and you-name-it may all be experienced in the makerspace in ways that generate new combinations and possibilities. Again, the freely accessible and open-ended nature of the makerspace is what makes this possible. 

Finally, the staff who program the makerspace activities and events are foundational to making it all work. Staff may have specific knowledge and skills to share, but mostly they are able to find community members to come and share their knowledge and skills. These community connections exponentially expand what is possible for the makerspace to host. It’s not about the “stuff” that the makerspace can provide, but about the people and the experiences that those people can facilitate.   

Works Cited:  

Hinton, Marva. “Making the Difference.” School Library Journal, vol. 64, no. 5, May 2018, pp. 25–27. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lxh&AN=129347373&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Accessed 26 April 2020. 

Lakind, Alexandra, et al. “Democratizing the Maker Movement: A Case Study of One Public Library System’s Makerspace Program.” Reference & User Services Quarterly, vol. 58, no. 4, Summer 2019, pp. 235–245. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lxh&AN=139336739&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Accessed 26 April 2020.