Makerspaces in the School Library Media Center

1. MAKERSPACES
Cynthia Curtis, NBCT
School Library Media Coordinator,
Hanes Magnet School
Winston-Salem, NC

2. What is a Makerspace?
“A makerspace is a community destination where
students—sometimes alongside staff, parents, and
mentors– can create, problem solve, and develop skills,
talents, thinking, and mental rigor” ~ Preddy

3. Why a Makerspace?

4. Why a Makerspace in the Media Center?
• Standard 1: School Library Media Coordinators Demonstrate
Leadership
• Element a. School library media coordinators lead in the school
library media center and media program to support student success.
School library media coordinators provide leadership for the school
library media program. They share responsibility for the progress of
all students to ensure that they graduate from high school, are
globally competitive for work and postsecondary education and are
prepared for life in the 21st Century. They collaboratively create, align,
and implement a program informed by state and national guidelines
and research-based best practices. They transform the library
media center into a 21st Century learning environment (both
virtual and physical) and a shared space for knowledge
construction, collaboration and inquiry-based learning, and they
assist teachers with similar transformations. They coordinate the
activities and training of library media support personnel.

5. Where?
• Small Room
•Table/Chairs
• Storage (Plastic box or shelves)

6. When?
•Before or after school
•As an elective
•Independently with a pass
•During lunch
•Saturday School

7. How to begin….
Start simple:
• Teacher/Parent/MC teach a craft or skill
• Craft :Crocheting/knitting/cross-stitch
• Using tools: screwdrivers (Phillips head vs.
flat head), hammers, drills
• Kits with instructions
• Freestyle: what can you make out of this??
• Take apart: Learning by un-doing

8. Challenges
• Supplies
• Funding: Grants, MC funds
• Donations: Parents, Big Box stores, Teachers
• Resilience
• Student frustration
• Teacher frustration
• Time
• When & How much??

16. Online Resources
• Instructables – http://www.instructables.com
• Upcycle Projects --
http://www.upcyclemagazine.com/category/p
rojects
• SparkFun Electronics—
http://www.sparkfun.com
• Make Magazine – http://makezine.com

17. Bibliography
• Preddy, Leslie. School Library Makerspaces: Grades 6-
12. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2013. Print.
• NC Department Of Public Instruction Instructional Tech
Division. "NC School Library Media Coordinator
Standards." Professional Standards. NC Department of
Public Instruction. Web. 1 Oct. 2014.