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What an amazing experience!
And what a great argument to support the inclusion of makerspaces in libraries. Nothing succeeds like success, as the old adage goes. I couldn’t help but compare your experience with Peldon’s very different one at Mt Gravatt library, where for 2 hours not a single library staff member approached her and only one other person was (briefly) involoved in the program. It seems to me that extraordinary commitment and imagination have gone into designing, planning and implementing activities at the Edge and that this degree of effort is paying dividends. This is a great lesson as we try to design and plan our own programs!
Thanks for sharing this Will, I have a young son who would love to visit The Edge. Although I have to say I might have to draw the line at him growing furniture from funghi in the kitchen – a bit smelly perhaps??? But maybe worth it, I could do with some new lounge chairs 😉
Wow Kirsty! I’m thrilled to discover Instructables – I’ve been looking for some simple and reliable tutorials I could use to do some creative activities with my son on RaspberryPi. Just wondering if this was a service you discovered via a library? Looks like this is the kind of project that would be easily achievable in a library makerspace. In a community of makers a graland of these gorgeous flowers would be a great result from a makerspace class! Does your local library offer this kind of class? But of course, as you say, not everyone can make the physical commitment to attend classes.
Anyway, loved your pics and the finished product. In my full of boys “pretty” things are the exception rather than the rule so I need to work harder to keep them visible – projects like your would be ideal for me 🙂
Wow Steve, you certainly set youeself a big task but I admired your goal of trying to achieve a holistic experience of the library. You clearly got through a lot of research in your time in the library and it’s great you were impressed by the services on offer. Computer literacy and spaces for everyday tasks such as job applications and resume making are excellent to hear about and positive well-informed staff make for a great user experience. It’s a shame that rural and regional libraries don’t necessarily have the same opportunities to provide the same services. Do you think that funding is the only issue here? It might be worth having a conversation with the librarian next time you are home in Kalgoorlie about the particular barriers they face.
Did you come across a makerspace in your travels? A spin on a SD printer might have been the icing on the cake!
Hi Sarah,
I like your quote from Queensland public libraries abut what libraries are. I think that clarifies for me that libraries have an official recognition as creative spaces. I like “Incubators of ideas, learning and innovation” as well. It seems to me there’s a lot of energy at the policy level and I wonder how that energy is filtered down into working libraries. I have no personal experience of working in libraries (yet!) so it’s difficult to guage.
In any event I love the idea of makerspaces and libraries as creativity hubs – whether they have a 3D printer or not!
Robynne
I loved this post Paola!
You say great things about creativity and the benefits that can come from having fun, getting paint in your hair, making mistakes and serendipity – love it! It’s been so easy to lose track of all this good stuff and I’m looking forward to re-igniting my creative impulses that have been dormant through a few years of moving houses, moving countries, being carer for my mum and mother to my boys. I’ve lost track of enjoying the creative stuff and this week’s readings and twitter chat have really inspired me to re-connect. I also loved the way you’ve included so many of the comments from the chat – it’s a lot of fun chatting but so frantic it’s easy to lose track of all the interesting bits.
Thanks for this reflection, I enjoyed it very much.
Hi Debbie, this sounds like fun!
Are you going to follow up with the other classes suggested? What do yo think could have been done to add a creative or active element to the time you spent? I’ve been so fortunate to spend time with some really creative sewers in my time and they have all been very generous in sharing how they make things. Still I guess this lady was there to provide inspiration and it seems as though she succeeded in doing just that. It would be great to follow up with some hands-on activity. I love the idea of makerspaces as community meeting places that foster craetivity and it seems to me that libraries can readily add to their role as community hubs by adding these spaces. It’s been a long time since I’ve done any sewing – my boys were surprised the other day as I was doing these readings that I started talking about picking up my needle and threads again. They can’t remember me sewing – that was a kick in the tail I needed! I’d also like to meet others who enjoy this craft so it’s off to the library for me as well.
Glad you enjoyed your experience.
Hi Will, that’s a great summary of the Twitter chat.
I really enjoy reading the Twitter chat champion summaries because they help to clarify in my mind the different strands of the arguments – the chats themselves are so frantically fast it’s not always easy to grasp and consider all the interesting things people have to say. In answer to your questions, I thought, when I was doing the readings, that the different definitions of literacy were rather artificial and tended to obscure rather than reveal meaning. But having had time to think about this a little more I’m coming around to a more tolerant view. I like too Leena’s remark that labels can be helpful in getting an initial understanding of what something is about but then deeper understanding results from learning and the label becomes less important. It’s more of a signpost than a destination.
I loved this topic and feel very excited about exploring it further. Enjoyed chatting with you also! Maybe I’m starting to get the hang of Twitter a little bit – never thought I’d say that ……
What a gorgeous little man you have Peldon!
He does look a little lonely at that table by himself though. Like Katherine and Caitlin, it seems to me that the library in this case was simply offering a space rather than a program as such. I wonder if they had other times when they were busier and had scheduled time and activity better. They don’t seem to have put in much effort and I was surprised they didn’t approach you or offer any assistance or direction during a 2 hour visit – that’s a long time! As Hugh Rundle says “It’s not enough anymore for information to be organised – it needs to be made available in new and meaningful ways. It needs to be communicated …” and I think in your case there wasn’t much being communicated or made available at all. Still, kids are resilient and hopefully some drawing time was fun for your son.
I gues this is where we, as student librarians, can really learn something about designing programs that engage people and provide value, not just providing a space. I’ve struggled a little with creating an engaging program – being a teacher hasn’t been my forte in the past. However your experience has shown me how important it is to put in the time and effort to plan, design and implement a program that would excite, engage and interest library patrons. There’s so much exciting stuff out there! Especially for kids. It’s a shame your library couldn’t have done more.
Hi Luke, thanks for your thoughtful reflection.
The two things that struck me most about the makerspace movement was the way in which creativity and community are both things people seem to long for and seek out. Libraries have a long tradition of being community hubs and I think you’re right to point out that this makes them ideally placed to be part of the DIY/maker movement. At the same time, creativity thrives on information input and, again, libraries are ideally placed to provide space to foster and feed this process.
I’m looking forward to attending my first makerspace activity next week. For a long time I’d given up my creative pursuits in favour of – of, what, I don’t know – the busy life of a mother of a buch of boys. This week’s readings and conversations have inspired me to get back to the sewing that I loved. I have a cupboard full of materials just waiting for me to remember them and come looking. Can’t wait!
Bah humbug, Hugh Rundle – 3D printers are totally amazing and, as you rightly point out, libraries are full of people printing, copying and creating. Maybe they aren’t a necessity but there are lots of people who point out to me that all of my beloved books on my book shelves aren’t strictly a necessity either. Unless of course, like me, reading is like breathing – completely and utterly necessary!
Cheers, Robynne
Thanks Samantha, you’re dead right – we need to tell people when they do a great job. I’ll certainly do that when I go back to the library.
How I envy your experience in libraries Nicole – you sound like a natural librarian to me 🙂 Thanks too for the insight into creating book displays – I don’t think I’m a creative displays kind of person and it’s good to have some tips. If I make it to “librarian” one day, I’ll get back to you on that one! I can see the importance in making displays eye-catching – like window dresing in a shop. It’s an art form. But it has a serious underlying purpose too – to showcase the commodities and make “sales” or increase circulation. Maybe I just need to give it a go, like so many other things in this course – talk about moving out of my comfort zone!! In all honesty it’s been fun too so I’ll keep at it. Thanks for your comments, hope you walk into “my” library one day 😉
Hi Caitlin,
My email is robynne.kilborneblake@connect.qut.edu.au or robynne.blake.49@gmail.com
Happy to be in a group of 3. Are you on campus or only online? I can do either.
Cheers, Robynne
