Makerspaces for Adults: Best Practices and Great Projects

The rise of makerspaces within public and academic libraries has led to a wide variety of books, articles, and presentations that discuss how to set up your space, what equipment to buy, and, to a lesser degree, how to get the support of your administration or the community to include a new space within your library.

One of the first makerspace books published focusing on adult makers rather than on K-12, Makerspaces for Adults: Best Practices and Great Projects highlights how to integrate your makerspace within university and public libraries and the wider community. Discover how you can connect your makerspace with service learning to support a variety of groups, take your makerspace tools to various points of need through community partnerships, and build relationships with faculty, students, and patrons through makerspace projects. You will learn about collaboration, innovation, course integration, experiential education, community engagement, working with adults with disabilities, accessible makerspaces, design thinking, 3D printing, vinyl and laser cutters, 3D design, VR projects, and so much more.

Intended for librarians, faculty, and staff who would like to implement more making into their classes and build productive collaborations, this book includes sections that cover academic libraries, connecting to the curriculum, public libraries and community outreach, and concludes with a variety of tried and tested projects. Chapters cover a range of issues from building an accessible makerspace to developing programming for fashion, archaeology, or literature courses. Each project features background information, equipment lists, step-by-step instructions, as well as tips and lessons learned, providing readers with a guide to develop their own projects.