This qualitative research explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on makerspaces in the United States which were subject to public health guidelines and challenged with limited/no access to facilities. This multi-case study examined two public library makerspaces, and addressed these research questions: (1) How did the pandemic affect…

Purpose: Relatively few studies have examined the perspectives of informal learning facilitators who play key roles in cultivating an equitable learning environment for nondominant youth and families in making and tinkering spaces. This study aims to foreground the perspectives of facilitators and highlight the complexities and tensions that…

Public libraries have embraced the popularity of maker education and makerspaces by integrating maker education in their program offerings, and by developing makerspaces that enable patrons to tinker and create products. But less attention has been paid to supporting librarians and maker educators in assessing the impact of these spaces. To expand…

Background: Makerspaces are proliferating U.S. public schools and libraries. Few studies, however, take an "in situ" view on the pedagogical moves of mentors, and fewer still engage with ideologies of race and class therein. Without this, principles of pedagogy or design that build toward expansive learning for racially minoritized youth…

School and public librarians both strive to offer resources and services to their communities, often with limited budgets. School and public libraries offer different business hours, diverse resources, different online databases, unique facilities and makerspaces, and varying services. Both also collect materials and provide programming for many…

Public library makerspaces intend to contribute to the development of children from marginalized communities through the education of digital technology and creativity and by stimulating young people to experience new social roles and develop their identity. Learning in these informal settings puts demands on the organization of the makerspace,…

Purpose: Evaluation of public library makerspaces traditionally examines achievement of library goals, which reflect leaders' and funders' values. Understanding makers' experiences and perspectives may help evaluators frame their inquiry to reflect community values, test assumptions about makers and support democratic and equity-focused aims. This…

The purpose of the research was to explore the collaboration between public libraries and schools in Hong Kong from the perspective of school librarians. Three school librarians were interviewed (semi-structured), and their responses were thematically analyzed. Collaboration between public libraries and the three schools was well received and…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to revisit previous design principles and guidelines for online makerspaces in public libraries (Kim et al., 2020) and expand the design principles with more updated implications and examples from the literature published during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: The authors reviewed…

This study analyses how community resources are integrated into four areas of the Australian Curriculum: Languages (Chinese), The Arts (Visual Arts), Sciences, and Humanities and Social Sciences (Economics and Business). It examines four case studies to compare the use of rural resources and local partnerships in achieving educational goals and…

This article investigates learning and teaching in library makerspace programs. Given the recent trend for libraries and makerspaces to define themselves in terms of learning, the findings of this article are particularly relevant to current initiatives. The article first reviews pedagogical theories which are referenced in literature connected…

In this article, we examine how creative making is framed in a public library setting. We pursue this topic by focusing on the trajectory of a group participating in "The Inventor Course" during a school trip to a library. Video recordings of the maker activity comprise the primary data for analysis, supplemented by ethnographic notes.…

In this article, we introduce the case of a makerspace program that provides a "systemwide approach to making" rather than a singular face-to-face or online place. This makerspace, called Bubbler, extends across a public library system of a mid-sized Midwestern city (Madison, Wisconsin) and incorporates nine neighborhood libraries and…

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate design principles for transforming existing making communities of practice within public libraries into online knowledge-building communities to support youths, families with young children and adult members' making and tinkering during COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach: Building upon C4P and connected…

In recent years, the concept "making" has been claimed by "The Maker Movement." While making offers great potential (and resources) for art integration in informal learning sites, maker discourse is often intertwined with a neoliberal mission. For example, movement leaders glorify Steve Jobs and hark on the myth that hobbies…