The Make movement and DIY community have exploded over the last few years. With the popularity and accessibility of the Internet bringing instructions on everything from knitting a sweater shaped like your favorite anime character to building a robotic arm and controlling with a raspberry pi. If you’re willing to learn chances are there is some information out there to help you. But what if what you’re interested in requires more than just what you have laying around the house. Some project require expensive equipment, computers, servos, software. The spirit might be willing but the wallet is weak.
That is where the library Makerspace could come in. A new trend in libraries, Makerspaces are sections of libraries that provide the equipment and software for their patrons to use on their own projects. Makerspaces have been divided into two categories, digital and physical depending on the type of projects that the space can help with.
Digital Makerspace
The Digital Makerspace focus’ on providing computers and software to patrons for their digital creations. Video editing, web design, sound editing, video game coding. These are the types of activities that Digital Makerspaces are great for. A lot of libraries use Digital Makerspaces as a gateway to the Makerspace world. They are cheaper to setup and maintain, there is less risk of physical injury, and while they lack the wow factor of physical makerspaces, they seem to be more used overall.
Physical Makerspace
While the Digital Makerspace is limited to whats on a computer screen, a physical Makerspace can be anything you can imagine. They can be for paper crafts to woodworking, robotics to cooking. Anything that the library thinks the community wants and can use. Some of the more coolest Physical Makerspaces are combinations of Physical and Digital. Using computers to control CNC machines or 3D printers. While this highend hardware is cool, you don’t need it to make a great Makerspace.
Personally I wish that my library had this when I was younger, I have always been interested in making things and seeing how they work. I work with an Arduino at home for some of my own projects, but can only image what I could make with 3D printer, Arduino with Ethernet shield and some servos.
Current examples
A few current examples of libraries that have Makerspaces.