Day 4 Makers spaces and public libraries - LinkedIn Group #blog12daysxmas

The development of the maker space at my branch entailed a lot of research to elicit what would work, what may work and what I (potentially) should avoid acquiring for the space.  This research started around April 2013 and was quite hard to do; there wasn't a lot of information easily available and meant that most of what I did get was through personal contact with libraries overseas.

Since then, I have established a good network of libraries (mainly US based) which has been invaluable in terms of acquiring information on development and sustainability of maker spaces in public libraries.  Interestingly, since April 2013, more and more of these spaces have been created in public libraries - these have either been a totally new set up (like mine) or else a roll out to more branches following high success with the initial space.

During the course of this information gathering and discussions with others, I realised there was no forum I could find that offered a place to share and exchange ideas and information on maker spaces in public libraries.  I have now created a LinkedIn Group, Maker spaces in public libraries where articles and discussions can be posted to connect like minded people together.

If you're interested in maker spaces in public libraries, then be sure to join the group and contribute to some of the discussions, or feel free to start your own.  It can be as simple as 'how do I start a maker space in my library?"!