Creating a makerspace to suit your library

From arts and craft through to computer hacking, makerspaces give participants the opportunity to create and learn with like-minded individuals in a supportive environment. Libraries are ideally placed to facilitate this type of inter-disciplinary extra-curricular learning, but with increasing pressure on space, resources and expenditure how can we all manage this? Hear how institutions across the UK are meeting these challenges by creating different types of makerspace to support the hands-on learning of their distinct academic communities. In particular, learn how the University of Sussex Library collaborated with colleagues in Technology Enhanced Learning to successfully run two temporary ‘pop-up’ makerspaces: the first led by local edtech leaders Makerclub and the second by a Sussex lecturer. This presentation intends to showcase different approaches being taken to create academic makerspaces and will include a case study on the innovative pop-up Library makerspace at Sussex, sharing our observations and lessons learned. The session aims to inspire others to join the maker movement and will show the different paths that can be followed to set up a makerspace. It will finish with a ten-minute craft-based maker project for attendees to undertake; demonstrating how straightforward building a makerspace, and creating within it, can be.