I am by no means a 3D printing expert. But I do have three 3D printers in my library makerspace (and one in my previous space). And I have a lot of students who are very interested in learning more about 3D printing. Some students have built their own 3D printers from kits and love … Read more
The IDEAlab & Makerspace is my school’s space for creative exploration in our library. But not too long ago, the room was the librarian’s office and a storage space (it’s still my office too). Before I was hired in the summer of 2017, plans were in place to transform the room into a virtual reality … Read more
Why We Need Books in Makerspaces Books play an essential role in all makerspaces, whether they are in the library or not. Instructional books can support students in learning complex skills and tools. Project books can give ideas and inspiration for what to make next. Art books can provide visual inspiration. Professional development books can … Read more
Writing a post like this isn’t easy. I feel like I know in my heart what my philosophy on makerspaces is, but putting it into tangible statements seems harder. So I started thinking about this more as a manifesto – if I was to make a grand statement about what I feel the value of … Read more
I’ve been a fan of Austin Kleon’s work for several years now. Steal Like an Artist had a huge impact on me as an educator and I frequently quote it in my conference presentations. Show Your Work helped me to better understand the importance of sharing what I’m doing (like right here on this blog). … Read more
3 Myths About Libraries, Makerspaces and Books Even though they’ve been around since 2013, school library makerspaces still have a lot of misunderstandings surrounding them. This confusion can come from administrators, teachers, students and the librarians themselves. Unfortunately, believing these myths can often cause decisions to be made about libraries that are detrimental to the … Read more
You can’t design a library space and program that meets the needs of your teachers and students if you don’t know what those needs are. It’s hard to develop an effective library collection if you have no idea what genres and books your students want to read. Using surveys with your teachers and students can … Read more
How I Organized My Fiction Collection by Genre At the end of the 2017-2018 school year, I genrefied my school’s fiction collection. This section of the collection is relatively small at the moment (about 2,000 books). I intend to grow it a lot, so it made sense to me to get started in my first … Read more
Frank Lloyd Wright, Blocks and Play (Post contains affiliate links.) On a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s home in Oak Park, Illinois, we enter a large room – a sort of study combined with library and a tall ceiling. This was a room for entertaining guests, the children, relaxing in the evening. There’s several built … Read more
Good signage is vital in a learning space. Ideally, your students should be able to walk into your space, look around, and find the things that they need without having to ask for help. Realistically, I know that this isn’t usually what happens, but it’s the goal to aim for. In general, I would say … Read more