On MakerSpaces in my high school library

During a recent professional conversation on FaceBook the question was posted about the value about makerspaces and what we do with them. I am not convinced that my library is the place for it. I have long held this view and it might not be very popular.  BUT, I can be pretty confident that my students will be ready for university/college life utilizing the library and going higher level research.  I get that makerspaces can be tied into inquiry or project-based learning.

 I would argue that we DO inquiry through research in a rigorous IB MYP and DP curriculum. My library is filled with books and access to online research databases. I am preparing them to be ready to research at the university level and teaching them to be lifelong learners by thinking through their sources of information, knowing how to find good sources and being safe online.

I DO believe that making is important and that has been the role of shop/home ec/life skills/industrial arts/engineering technology/coding classes. When schools cut those programs, they realize something is missing. It is not my job to make up for that huge curriculum gap. On the other hand, children's and teen librarianship has long provided opportunities for literacy-based crafting and "making". You make a project/craft that goes along with a book. It is fun and it comes back to reading. Librarians have always done this. I have coloring sheets, puzzles and some tabletop games available for my high school students, but I would not consider that "making." I would consider that stress relief or brain breaks or community building. I push reading, literacy, books and anything to get high school students to read. If students are not good readers, they face many challenges in life because of it. I have a degree in library science. I do not have an industrial arts degree. My library reflects my professional training and it changes and adapts and it IS a community space. But students are in here as inquirers selecting topics of interest, creating inquiry-based research questions and finding a variety of sources.

My library is filled with 100s of students every day.  They are collaborating on projects, writing speeches, working on their Personal Project, researching for their Extended Essay and so many other things.  We are a GAFE school - I've got a variety of Google Sites, lots of Google Classrooms, 1000s of collaborative GoogleDocs, sheets and presentations.  We subscribe to NoodleTools for citation help.  Follett Collections has transformed my curation of resources for staff and students. My social media library accounts on Twitter, FaceBook and Instagram see a lot of traffic.  Marketing books, literacy and library services is important to me.

I see some schools who have a separate space for MakerSpaces and it is run by a STEM teacher.  I can see that.  I can see stations in an elementary setting (with a literary twist) and I understand that librarians work in many different types of communities. However, I am not sold on changing the mission of my high school library.