ideaLab: Making a Space

We are planning on having a makerspace open here at Largo Public Library in the beginning of December. It's called the ideaLab. Makerspaces are becoming more popular in libraries, but popularity in the profession is not reason enough to run out and buy a 3D printer. When we started thinking about a makerspace, we also thought about whether it would work in our community and what our patrons actually want.

First though, what's a makerspace? A makerpace is a place that allows people to come in and try new technologies, experiment, and...well...make things. Some spaces have things like 3D printers, sewing machines, vinyl cutters, tablets, power tools, art supplies, music studios and more. We had to decide what we were going to focus on, so that we didn't end up having a scattered approach that pleases no one.

We want to offer visitors here a chance to access things that they don't usually get to use. We also want to utilize the space that we have to work with wisely. Our space is upstairs in the reference area of the library so-- even if it were much bigger--power tools would not be an option. After a lot of research, we decided on a technology centered approach. we got a 3D printer: the FlashForge Creator PRO. We also got a Macbook pro, that we will use with the Adobe Creative Suite to give patrons an opportunity to do professional work on videos and photos.We have a LEGO Mindstorm kit to give people an introduction to robotics. We bought one Raspberry Pi, to try computer programming, If it looks like something that people are interested in, we can get more. Really, the idea is to ask patrons what they want and to adjust accordingly.