Maker Literacies for Academic Libraries

Book excerpt: Melding universities’ strategic goals with libraries’ teaching and learning mission, the academic library makerspace can be a powerful catalyst for information literacy, offering faculty partners a place for interdisciplinary, experiential learning. If you’re pondering what it takes to get your makerspace into the curriculum, this volume’s relatable, first-hand accounts from librarians, makerspace staff, and faculty partners will give you the confidence to make the leap. Contributors, drawn from the IMLS-funded Maker Literacies project, describe pilots and assessment for a variety of demographics, course subjects, and makerspace equipment. Guided by their experiences, you’ll be ready to fully partner with faculty through the course integration and assessment process. Inside, you’ll learn why academic librarians are uniquely situated to be leaders in the realm of makerspaces and makerspace literacy; how the ACRL Framework informs maker competencies; methods for using competencies and assessment in designing course assignments; 5 steps for guiding faculty in creating assignments for makerspaces; advice on developing a new staffing and service model to handle course-wide use of the makerspace; steps for taking students through concept, design, prototype, and final product in a project management course; how an ethical perspective engaged a women’s history course toward the “In Her Shoes” project; pedagogical strategies for integrating the makerspace into fine arts classes; and ways to showcase makerspace outputs to generate excitement around campus.