Nate, That's a great question. Here's one take -- fast, loose, not re-read, nor the opinion of my employer, Harvard University, but is based on my observations here....
First off, we don't have maker spaces in the library, but I could see them being very useful here. I think one advantage shops like these would have sitting under the umbrella of the library is access. The Departmental/Professional School shops here seem quite siloed. If you're not a part of that school/community, access is much more complicated. Particularly access to the more expensive machines. If a space was under the shelter of the library, it could feel MUCH more welcoming and readily available I think. One thing that they have at MIT, a place obviously with a great maker ethic, is the "hobby shop". http://studentlife.mit.edu/hobbyshop If you clcik to the membership tab, you'll see it's open to everybody with an affiliation with the Institute. Spouses, staff -- ALUMNI! I spent a lot of time there, learning some basic craft knowledge cause there would always be people working there, unlike my school shop where attendance was much more spikey and I generally would figure things out for myself. Anyhow, I learned the most from alumni who purchased memberships it seemed like. It was casual, open envrionment, and I think the term pre-fix "Hobby" to Hobby Shop really made a difference. A subtext of fun. Anyhow, that was a great learning environment, outside of any departmental or school umbrella. It's listsed as a under "division of student life". >From my own POV, I'd like to see the library at Harvard, but any higher ed >envrionment for that matter, get more into the business of "student life". >But also make general access to specialized things easy, friendly, etc. Zero >grade on-ramp to laser cutting can only be a good thing... Jeff Harvard Library Innovation Lab ________________________________________ From: Code for Libraries [CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU] on behalf of Nate Hill [nathanielh...@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, August 27, 2012 9:05 AM To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries Can anyone on the list help clarify for me why, in an academic setting, this kind of equipment and facility isn't part of a laboratory in an academic department? Don't get me wrong I am *way* into access to tools, but I remember when I went to art school that the building had a shop in it. The shop had a woodshop, welders, metal lathes, etc. And it belonged there, not in the library- because it supported what that department was all about. Are makerspaces in academic libraries examples of libraries picking up slack that academic departments should be dealing with? I ask this with zero snark, I genuinely want to hear some thoughts on this... Nate On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 8:54 AM, Paul Butler (pbutler3) <pbutl...@umw.edu>wrote: > Hi All, > > Yes, this Fall we are opening the Think Lab here at UMW Libraries. While > we have been part of the planning process for the space, I would say thus > far the library has played the role of landlord more than anything else. I > see this partnership developing as time progresses. (I have a few projects > planned myself.) > > A colleague, Tim Owens, is blogging about the Think Lab here: > http://www.makerbot.com/blog/2012/07/26/help-tim-owens-build-an-awesome-makerspace/ > > Cheers, Paul > +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ > Paul R Butler > Assistant Systems Librarian > Simpson Library > University of Mary Washington > 1801 College Avenue > Fredericksburg, VA 22401 > 540.654.1756 > libraries.umw.edu > > Sent from the mighty Dell Vostro 230. > > -----Original Message----- > From: Code for Libraries [mailto:CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU] On Behalf Of > Edward Iglesias > Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2012 12:11 PM > To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU > Subject: [CODE4LIB] Maker Spaces and Academic Libraries > > Hello All, > > A colleague and I are going to be presenting at code4lib NE on the subject > of makerspaces in academic libraries. Are any of you doing this? If so I > would love to pick your brains a little. > > Edward Iglesias > -- Nate Hill nathanielh...@gmail.com http://www.natehill.net
