1. IMPLEMENTING A CULTURE OF CREATIVITY:
THE RUTGERS UNIVERSITY ART LIBRARY LEGO PLAYING STATION
MEGAN LOTTS, ART LIBRARIAN, RUTGERS THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY

2. INTRODUCTION
• My research is about: Outreach, Engagement, Making, Creativity & Innovation in
Academic Libraries.
• Creativity & making can stimulate broader conversations among patrons and
Library employees about the value of libraries.
• Making spaces can be scholarly, fun, affordable, and a new way to engage
w/patrons, as well as, connect to communities.
• I’m trained as a painter & installation artist & I spent many hours in college,
working in academic libraries.
@MCLotts

3. PLAN FOR TODAY
• Talk a bit about Makerspaces & Pop-up Making spaces
• Activity #1- “who are you”
• Talk about the Rutgers Art Library Lego Playing Station
• Activity #2- “challenges”
• Talk about Camden students & #LEGOMAKE Tour
• Activity #3- “the BEST ever”
• Assessment, Making it happen, Conclusion, & Final thoughts
• Questions & Answers
@MCLotts

4. MAKERSPACES
Editorial Board Thoughts: Libraries as Makerspaces? By Tod Coegrove (U of Nevada)
ejournals.bc.edu/ojs/index.php/ital/article/.../3793/pdf
• “making as a gateway to deepen engagement in science and engineering but also art and design.
Makerspaces share some aspects of the shop class, home economics class, the art of studio and
science lab.”
Makerspaces Move into Academic Libraries by Erin Fisher- 2012
http://acrl.ala.org/techconnect/?p=2340
• “The academic landscape is shifting from a traditional teaching culture to a learning culture. A
teaching culture consists of an expert transferring knowledge to student, whereas a learning culture
utilizes active learning techniques”
@MCLotts

5. POP UP MAKING SPACES
• Low cost.
• Easy to put up, take down, & store.
• Foster creativity & critical thinking skills (these skills are applicable to
scholarly research).
• Create spontaneous community.
• Encourage cross- disciplinary collaboration.
@MCLotts

6. ACTIVITY ONE
Build a model that best represents who you are
in your everyday work life.

7. RUTGERS ART LIBRARY LEGO PLAYING STATION
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
• I2C2 conference in Manchester, UK.
• LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® .
http://www.seriousplay.com/
• Participants built models about work
existence and the challenges faced in
everyday work lives in libraries.
• Began thinking about how I could get my
hands on A LOT of Legos.
@MCLotts

8. LEGO WORKSHOPS
RUL FACULTY & STAFF
• Team building & hands-on learning.
• Opportunity to think creatively about library resources & spaces.
@MCLotts

9. INSTALLATION
• Installed in August 2014.
• Used existing table & chairs.
• Created signage, “take pics not Legos”.
• Comment box w/ paper & pen.
• All Legos were upcycled for project.
@MCLotts

10. PRESS
Check out Rutgers Today https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZHhlwoy9Yc
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11. BLOCK PARTY
Scarlet Knight Days- models created by library faculty, library staff,
graduate students, and undergrads.
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12. LEGO CHARACTER CONTEST
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13. CREATE YOUR OWN LEGO LIBRARY
Mason Gross Printmaking class.
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14. RU LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE DEPT. EDA COURSE
100-1ST YEAR L.A. STUDENTS
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15. SAS HONORS COLLOQUIUM
SECTION 10
“Thank you so much! My partner and I were playing with the legos for at least two
hours. I even snapchatted my lego model to all my friends.”
@MCLotts

16. ACADEMIC COACHES
RUTGERS LEARNING CENTERS
• January 2015- team building Lego workshop w/ 6 Academic Coaches for an
introduction to the library & information literacy skills.
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17. RU LIBRARY FACULTY & STAFF
SPRING STRESSBUSTING LEGO PLAY
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18. NEW JERSEY’S FIRST ANNUAL MAKER DAY
BLOCK PARTY AT RUTGERS ART LIBRARY
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19. ART LIBRARY LEGO PLAYING STATION IMAGES
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20. ART LIBRARY LEGO PLAYING STATION IMAGES
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21. ART LIBRARY LEGO PLAYING STATION IMAGES
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22. ART LIBRARY LEGO PLAYING STATION IMAGES
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23. ART LIBRARY LEGO PLAYING STATION IMAGES
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24. ART LIBRARY LEGO PLAYING STATION IMAGES
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25. ACTIVITY TWO
Build a model that represents a challenge that
you face in your everyday work life

26. LEGO WORKSHOP CAMDEN STUDENT CENTER
28 STUDENT EMPLOYEES.
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27. #LEGOMAKE TOUR
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28. THE TOUR
• 6 week tour by car w/100 lbs of Legos
• Visited 20 Academic Libraries in 7
states facilitating Lego workshops that
foster creative & critical thinking skills,
as well as encouraging team work.
• Worked with 240 Individuals
@MCLotts

29. THE SURVEY
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30. WHAT DID YOU LEARN?
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31. WHAT DID YOU LIKE BEST?
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32. DID YOU HAVE A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE
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• 235 Individuals responded yes
they had a positive experience.
• 10 individuals did not respond.
• No one indicated that they had a
negative experience

33. HOW WOULD YOU IMPROVE THIS WORKSHOP
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34. WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THIS WORKSHOP
TO SOMEONE ELSE?
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• 231 participants indicated yes.
• 12 individuals did not respond.
• 1 person indicated maybe
• 1 person indicated no

35. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
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36. THE RESULTS- BEST LIBRARY EVER
@MCLotts
1. People
2. Open to patrons
2. The Spaces
2. Technology
5. Eco-friendly
6. Books
7. Money
8. Makerspaces
9. Computers
10. Art

37. IMAGES FROM THE TOUR
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38. IMAGES FROM THE TOUR
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39. ACTIVITY THREE
Work together to build the
BEST Library EVER!
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40. ASSESSMENT OF POP UP MAKING EVENTS
• Documentation- Analyze the images.
• Surveys.
• Monitor & count social media.
• Observation & stories.
• Counting reference questions.
• Rutgers formed the Events Assessment Task Force
@MCLotts

41. HOW CAN YOU MAKE IT HAPPEN…
• You don’t need a lot money to create a Makerspace, crowdsource materials.
• Marketing & Outreach.
• Cross-disciplinary collaboration is good.
• Incentives can help.
@MCLotts

42. CONCLUSION: WHY MAKING IS THIS IMPORTANT
• We are more likely to learn or come back when we are having FUN!
• Creativity, making, & engagement helps build critical thinking skills & these
are skills that are applicable to library research.
• Creativity, making, and engagement creates community.
• Making with others can be inspiring.
• All people have a voice & want to be heard.
• There’s a lots of ways to make or create scholarship.
@MCLotts

43. FINAL THOUGHTS
Legos can be an international 3-Dimensional language
that uses hands on active learning to communicate and build critical thinking skills,
as well as an activity that makes people happy.
@MCLotts

44. FINAL THOUGHTS
Art Library Lego playing station has explored & expanded
conventional research functions of an academic library through
encouraging creative and problem solving techniques
associated with Art & Design.
@MCLotts

45. FINAL THOUGHTS
Art Library Lego Playing station has been a catalyst
for building bridges and making connections with students,
faculty and staff on the RU campuses, which has led to a greater
understanding of the possibilities of an Academic Research Library
and how the act of making and implementing
a culture of creativity can influence library patrons.
@MCLotts

46. FINAL THOUGHTS
One of the most interesting parts of this project is coming into the Art Library
every day to see what has transpired at the table. Some days it appears that a
group of grubby young children have been let loose at the table and Legos strewn
everywhere, including the floor. Other days the author finds elaborate
models that tell stories about the students, their lives, their imaginations,
and their dreams.
@MCLotts

47. WANT TO LEARN MORE…
Summer 2016 Lotts, Megan. “On the Road, Playing with LEGO, and Learning about the Library: The Rutgers Art
Library Lego Playing Station, Part Two." Journal of Library Administration Vol. 56, Iss.5 (Summer 2016).
Spring 2016 Lotts, Megan. "Playing with LEGO, Learning about the Library and 'Making’ Campus Connections: The
Rutgers Art Library Lego Playing Station, Part One." Journal of Library Administration Vol. 56, Iss.4 (Spring 2016).
Spring 2015 Lotts, Megan. “Lego® Play: Implementing a Culture of Creativity & Making in the Academic Library.”
ACRL Conference Proceedings, 409-418.
Fall 2014 Lotts Megan. “Implementing a Culture of Creativity: Pop-up making spaces and Participating Events in
Academic Libraries.” College and Research Libraries News
@MCLotts

48. QUESTIONS
@MCLotts
Megan Lotts, MFA, M.L.I.S
Art Librarian
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
(848)932-7189
megan.lotts@rutgers.edu
www.meganlotts.com
link to work in RUcore
http://soar.libraries.rutgers.edu/bib/Megan_Lotts/
like the Rutgers Art Library facebook page
www.facebook.com/rutgersartlibrary