Makerspaces and Hackers in the Public Library

From the Makerspace.com website.

Let's talk about something more lighthearted: Makerspaces. These are definitely the product of emerging technologies. There's discrepancy among their terminology, but makerspaces are studios or workshops where patrons can use technologies, printers, and tools to create objects usually at no cost. The first makerspace in the US was called a fabrication lab, set in the Fayetteville Free Library in New York, and they had a 3D-printer (McCue on Forbes).

Sometimes, they are called hackerspaces because of the tools available or because the studio is more software-based, allowing for programming or digital art. Several public libraries, like the Denver Public Library, have even hosted Hackathons, where they teach communities about coding (Alvarez on Public Libraries Online).

Is it moral to take up space in public libraries to allow anyone to operate expensive tools and create physical or virtual objects? Yes, with supervision. From an education perspective, we teach the community STEM-related knowledge (Bagley on ALA Tech Source). We may take away shelf space, but we replace it with a space to learn to knit, build a birdfeeder, print toys, or even script a website.

From Krasadakis's Hackathon article on The Innovation Mode.

However, there are dissenters for hackerspaces. Teaching hacker-related skills in computer science may make some wary. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) was recently shot down, but if it passed, CFAA would have legal precedent to criminalize hackers by not allowing anyone the everyday use of computers without authorized access (Robertson on The Verge). There is reason to fear, as almost 60 percent of hackers are self-taught, and over half of the hackers are below 25-years-old (Mercer on Info Security). Providing hacker studios and teaching programming leads individuals to the threshold of the hacking community, so public libraries would push the self-taught numbers much higher. However, as we would value the privacy and data of our patrons, we should also impart that wisdom onto our patrons. We live through our values daily, so speaking about it would help patrons educate themselves in STEM and computer science with a moral compass.

• Panos from Hackaday had an interesting blog post, where she links a page about makerspace's insurance, how to start a makerspace, and a map of libraries allowing tools to be checked out.

• Check out Burke's bibliography on makerspaces resources, from the University of Miami.

• While I did not discuss mental health, Larmand's article on Eduporium expands on makerspaces' benefits to students' overall wellbeing.