Continuing education and professional development of library staff involved with makerspaces

Abstract

Purpose This paper reports the results of a survey of library staff members working with a library makerspace or with makerspace-related technologies. The purpose of this paper is to identify who is working with library makerspaces, what methods of training they have used, what training methods they prefer, and what topics they would like to see included in professional development and continuing education. Design/methodology/approach A 17-question survey was posted to two library makerspace-related listservs for two weeks. Findings The survey results found a varied array of job title of individuals working with library makerspaces. It also identified the preferred training methods, as well as the varied topics requested for professional development, showing a large need for a makerspace training in library staff. Originality/value This is the first study conducted about the preferred methods and topics of professional development and continuing education of library staff members working with makerspaces or makerspace-related technologies.

Ustvarjalnice v splošnih knjižnicah

“…Ustvarjalnica že od načrtovanja naprej potrebuje eno ali več odgovornih oseb, ki so seznanjene s trendom ustvarjalnih prostorov v knjižnicah in imajo hkrati ustrezna znanja (Fisher, 2016). Osebje ustvarjalnico načrtuje, vzpostavi, vzdr žuje in kasneje upravlja (Horton, 2019). V ustvarjalnicah, za katere želimo, da bodo dolgoročne in da bodo njihovi programi ustrezni, Koh in Abbas (2015, str.…”

Library makerspaces in China: A comparison of public, academic, and school libraries

“…Despite the growing interest in having a makerspace in library and educational settings, the literature does not overlook different barriers libraries face when establishing or running a makerspace. The common barriers have been mentioned in the existing literature are budgetary constraints (Ahn and Noh, 2018; Slatter and Howard, 2013; Xi et al, 2017), safety problems (Moorefield-Lang, 2015a; Okpala, 2016), limited space (Ahn and Noh, 2018; Range and Schmidt, 2014; Xi et al, 2017), copyright issues (Bossaller and Haggerty, 2018; Moorefield-Lang, 2015a; Slatter and Howard, 2013), the lack of professional development related to makerspaces for librarians (Horton, 2019; Koh and Abbas, 2016; Penny et al, 2014), and the lack of a makerspace-related curriculum in library education (Maceli, 2019; Willett, 2018), and sustainable development problems (Abbas and Koh, 2015; Moorefield-Lang, 2018; Slatter and Howard, 2013; Wong and Partridge, 2016).…”

“…In addition to technical and financial support, community support is critical to the implementation of makerspaces, highlighting a need for developing a good understanding of the community needs for makerspaces (Slatter and Howard, 2013). Penny et al (2014) and Horton (2019) stated that professional development like continuing education and training is a wide-spread demand for librarians surrounding the topic of makerspaces. Moorefield-Lang (2015a) analyzed 24 makerspace user agreements from public and academic libraries in the US and found some commonalities within the agreements: dealing with the issues of maintaining neatness in the area, the costs for services and damages or losses, safety and liability, and intellectual property.…”

Leveraging student expertise for niche services

“…Previously, literature on makerspaces in higher education largely focused on the development and implementation of the spaces themselves (Bagley, 2014; Herron and Kaneshiro, 2017; Moorefield-Lang, 2014; Nowlan, 2015). However, researchers and practitioners are also looking at the assessment and impact of makerspaces (Cun et al , 2019; Welch and Wyatt-Baxter, 2018), competencies and education necessary to work successfully in a makerspace (Horton, 2019; Koh and Abbas, 2015; Maceli, 2019) and their integration into the university curriculum (Cooke et al , 2018; Wallace et al , 2018).…”