March 2025 | Volume XLIII, Issue 1 »
The Community Impact of Makerspaces
March 3, 2025
Todd Miller, Niles-Maine District Library; Liz Poppenhouse, Indian Trails Public Library District; Jimmy Gonzalez-Vicker, University of Illinois Chicago; & Selicia Applegate, Palatine Public Library District
As the inclusion and development of the maker movement in libraries has grown, these learning destinations have become integral spaces that serve a variety of different makers and learners. Crafters and DIY-ers may be one of the core group of users, but new users have been emerging, including people who utilize these spaces for entrepreneurial, economic, and educational purposes.
These developments have been positively impactful and genuinely show how these learning opportunities have interesting and unique impacts on their community. Just as libraries come in all shapes and sizes, so do makerspaces. Makerspaces and fabrication labs often include equipment such as laser engravers/cutters, 3D printers, vinyl cutters, CNC (computer numerical control) machines, sewing machines, embroidery machines, and more! While some libraries are fortunate enough to have allocated budgets, dedicated physical space, and designated staff, maker learning does not always have to happen in a specific makerspace. Some libraries have vinyl cutters on a cart or a laser cutter with portable exhaust, either of which can be stored away and brought out for specific programs or events.
Often, these creative spaces include elements that can resemble a digital production studio, such as dedicated rooms or spaces within makerspaces that facilitate uses like recording and editing audio, greenscreens for filming video, and software for editing video as well.
In the digital production studio, which is part of the Creative Studio at Niles-Maine District Library (NMDL), library patrons use the space for entrepreneurial and economic development. One patron uses the space to record content for an online radio show on the iHeartRadio network, while another patron, a pet grief psychotherapist, learns the art of podcasting, with the intention of creating a passive income stream as she nears her retirement years.
Both of these use cases highlight people who have the means to make this content in their homes or offices, but choose to utilize the library. Factors for this include having a space free of distraction and outside noises that can bleed into audio recording and staff available for software and hardware troubleshooting assistance, one-on-one learning appointments, or additional resource recommendations.
Patrons at NMDL have the option to choose from a variety of ways to learn these audio recording skills, whether it is through library programs (a three-part podcasting series in the summer of 2023), one-on-one appointments with staff who are familiar with the process, or self-guided learning with the assistance of staff-created how-to manuals.
At Indian Trails Public Library (ITPL), the creative space, known as the Launch Pad, facilitates solutions to problems that community members have identified. One such example is the use of the 3D printer being used to create keyguards for speech and language pathologists to use with students’ iPads. These 3D printed keyguards, which are placed over the screen of an iPad and help students select the correct keys to communicate, cost a fraction of the retail price of the product.
Staff, and therefore the larger library community at ITPL, also benefit from the Launch Pad. The availability of equipment in the Launch Pad creates efficiency and saves the library money. The ability to create vinyl and acrylic signs, fabricate 3D printed parts to repair library equipment for the Facilities Department, and use sewing machines to repair damaged checkout bags and make book cart covers has saved staff time and money. These uses represent advantages of the creative space that reach beyond facilitating craft projects.
At Palatine Public Library District (PPLD), the Workshop fulfills both economic and personalization needs by enabling couples who are planning weddings to create memories with one-of-a-kind wedding decorations and elements. Members of the community use the Workshop’s vinyl cutter, laser cutter, and other equipment to create custom cake toppers, invitations, seating place cards, and more. These services allow users to create the wedding of their dreams and save money while doing it.
Another example of dreams fulfilled at PPLD’s Workshop is a patron who is a retired electrical engineer and who saved the schematics for making a personal computer that he purchased at 13-years-old in 1963. Over the course of 5 hours, he used the space to 3D print all the pieces he needed to finally make the computer he aspired to all of those years ago.
Skokie Public Library (SPL) offers many life-long learning opportunities to students who attend Oakton College, a two-campus college in Des Plaines and Skokie, Illinois. Engineering students primarily attend classes at the Skokie Campus. While Oakton has 3D printers and other maker/fabrication equipment, they are usually only accessible to students who are taking a class that uses that equipment. The Studio at SPL provides access to students of all disciplines who are interested in prototyping, computer-aided design, and applied STEAM learning (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math). There is also a different level of engagement as there is no fee or hard deadlines associated with projects; the Studio is a self-guided makerspace where visitors can set their own learning goals. The informal learning environment of the Studio lets learners explore at their own pace with less pressures than one may experience in a purely academic environment.
One of the most important parts of the service model in the SPL Studio is the use of learning guides. Staff developed custom, step-by-step instructions that guide Studio users working with the software and equipment in the makerspace. These guides have clear visuals in addition to the written instructions to accommodate different types of learning and are an incredible tool when training new staff and making instructional videos. Detailed written and visual instructions are helpful when setting expectations with Studio users as they are in a self-guided space and have the power to pursue their own projects, many of which have similar starting points. It also removes the ideology that any process that is learned must be remembered for their next visit.
All of the previously mentioned examples show that when looking closer, there are a wide array of uses and needs being facilitated by creative spaces in libraries. In order to continue to facilitate diverse usage of the spaces, libraries must continue to find novel ways of reaching and engaging with the community. This engagement not only encourages use, but it also shows the public what is possible within these spaces.
At Indian Trails Public Library, the staff of the Launch Padis entering its second year of its Maker-in-Residence Program. The first year of the program featured a resident artist that both taught programs and created a community art project which was then displayed in the library. Members had the chance to learn techniques from a working artist and beautify the library space with the finished project.
To celebrate Black History Month, Palatine Public Library District used the space to create a Freedom Quilt. A series of programs detailed the history of the coded blocks while also educating participants about the steps of making a quilt. After being featured at Chicago’s Observation Deck at the Hancock Center, as a part of its Juneteenth celebration event, the quilt is now displayed in the library, serving as a point of pride for those who contributed to it’s making and education for those seeing it for the first time.
Niles-Maine District Library uses its Creative Studio eNewsletter and its in-house created podcast, Tech Bytes, to engage with library patrons. In the eNewsletter, regular users of the space are featured with a brief Q&A and patron- and staff-created projects are featured to show what is possible in the space. Similarly, Tech Bytes ends each episode informing listeners that “Tech Bytes is recorded in Studio A on the lower level of the Niles-Maine District Library, here Niles-Maine cardholders have access to the recording equipment and software that were used to produce this episode.” This is a way of showing listeners what is possible with library resources, rather than just telling them about it.
The Studio at Skokie Public Library has a program series called the “Patron Projects Showcase” that provides patrons the opportunity to display their projects and share their process and experiences with other library patrons. Regular Studio users have been invited to share their work and answer patron questions, furthering their sense of belonging in the Studio.
The impact of a makerspace often reaches beyond the dedicated room, program space, or traveling cart it’s run from. Makerspaces give library users the ability to nourish their creativity and come together as a community in ways that are new and exciting. By entering these areas of inclusive experimentation, our communities are making lasting connections across ages, backgrounds, and interests because of these collaborative spaces. Trying a new piece of equipment or technology, learning a new skill, picking up an old hobby, or meeting someone with similar interests is possible and accessible with a visit to the library’s makerspace. The library makerspace sets a strong foundation of the library as a third space, allowing staff and patrons to build community through making.
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