Establishing a maker culture beyond the makerspace

Published date17 June 2019
Date17 June 2019
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/LHT-07-2018-0088
Pages219-232
AuthorKaren Beavers,Jennifer Esteron Cady,Amy Jiang,Liberty McCoy
Subject MatterLibrary & information science
Establishing a maker culture
beyond the makerspace
Karen Beavers, Jennifer Esteron Cady, Amy Jiang and Liberty McCoy
Wilson Library, University of La Verne, La Verne, California, USA
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of fostering a maker culture in a liberal arts
university. It explores the impact of making on student learning and engagement, as well as the role of the
librarys maker program.
Design/methodology/approach This paper is a case study that presents the tools and activities used in
an academic librarys maker program. Structured interviews were conducted with faculty, staff and students
to review the program and maker culture influence on campus.
Findings Findings highlight the librarys role in supporting maker culture on a liberal arts campus and
address ways making contributes to student engagement and learning. Interviewees also recommend
strategies to increase awareness and market the librarys maker program to engage a wider community.
Originality/value Though there are many articles written about the maker movement and libraries, this
study contributes to the growing body of research on makerspaces in higher education, with particular focus
on a library at a liberal arts university.
Keywords Academic libraries, Higher education, Programming, Case studies, Makerspaces,
Maker culture
Paper type Case study
Introduction
The maker movement has gained popularity in academic spaces in recent years,
and has been referred to as the third industrial revolution(Anderson, 2013). Existing
literature has compellingly demonstrated that interdisciplinary education, teamwork and
hands-on learning can strategically enhance learning outcomes (Cooper et al., 2001; Salas
and Cannon-Bowers, 2001). These findings are consistent with the impetus behind the
maker movement, which is by nature interdisciplinary, hands-on and team-based (Sheridan
et al., 2014). More and more schools and libraries have embraced the maker movement and
many have created makerspaces to engage students and community members. For some
institutions it may prove difficult to fund a makerspace, however there are still ways to
support making without a dedicated space and even support maker culture beyond it.
This paper will talk about how a mid-sized liberal arts university began to establish a
maker culture before having a dedicated space for making, as well as how the university
continues to foster a culture of making beyond the makerspace. The authors will describe the
varietyof activities withinthe librarys makerprogram and how the programhas evolved over
the course of a few years. The University of La Verne Wilson Library opened a makerspace
two years after starting the program, and the library found that the work done to build a
maker community on campuswas a significant factorto the programs formation and success.
This paper willalso provide a review of thelibrarys maker programmingthrough structured
interviewsconducted with faculty,staff and students.The results highlight thelibrarysrolein
supportingmaker culture on campusand how making contributes tostudent engagement and
learning. Other institutions can provide similar activities discussed in the paper to their
community members in order to supportmaker culture if they are limited in space and funds.
Literature review
Public and school libraries have led the way on establishing makerspaces, but
academic institutions have increasingly incorporated making and makerspaces into
Library Hi Tech
Vol. 37 No. 2, 2019
pp. 219-232
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0737-8831
DOI 10.1108/LHT-07-2018-0088
Received 3 July 2018
Revised 21 December 2018
16 January 2019
Accepted 17 January 2019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0737-8831.htm
219
Establishing a
maker culture

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