Making the makers: an exploration of a makerspace in a city library
Auckland Libraries · 2014
Connecting and thriving in a challenging public library environment means being agile and responsive to community interests. Te Kauroa - future directions 2013-2023 is the strategic plan detailing how Auckland Libraries contributes to the vision and outcomes of Auckland City. Using the focus areas of Te Kauroa as guidance, a makerspace launched at the Central City library in October 2013. In launching the space, Auckland Libraries builds on the long library traditions of providing equity of access to information and technology and being a place for learning outside formal education. Drawing on aspects of the Maker movement, the initiative positions the library to deliver new opportunities for whanaunatanga – connecting and collaborating with others, growing communities and partnerships - in a dedicated physical space. Working with partners from the community, this development is an exploration of what a makerspace might look like in the central city, in a library and within a large library system. It is an example of a place where curiosity and discovery are revisited in the context of technology developments that make creativity more accessible and more collaborative. This presentation tells the story of the maker space development at the Central City library. It describes the learning that staff and customers have gained from the experience, the failures and successes and will propose some initial ways of measuring the effectiveness of the space.