Blogs

Instructables is expanding their Build Night program to libraries with maker communities! 

For Build Nights, Instructables partners with companies that make fun materials and tools. Makerspaces, hackerspaces, and now libraries, can apply to host a Build Night and receive the materials for free. Locations that receive materials agree to host an event during the designated month. Participants experiment with the materials and then share the creations on Instructables.com.

One of the staples of the making world is the robot.  Who doesn't want to make a robot?  For folks who are starting out in making, the simple bot is a good solution.  Taking robots down a notch, a simple bot is essentially a machine built with simple motors and mechanical components.  These materials are often repurposed from other tools, toys, or objects.  Whereas a robot relies on pr

This is a story of starting small.  I’m a librarian, and much like many of you reading this, I’ve had more than my fair share of run-ins with clip art.

Dreaming about a makerspace (or already have one), but don’t know how you’ll pay for the equipment and software? Here’s a universal truth: It never hurts to ask.

What turns a trend into a reality in libraryland? When do we go from thinking that we need to try something to actually writing up a description, making a plan, and putting it into our newsletters?

The answer is a concrete outline. Even if that outline involves you flying by the seat of your pants. It is from that cobbled together program outline from which you will eventually grow into an expert.

One of the toughest mental blocks of the maker movement in libraries is that word we hear round and round: makerspace. It conjures up images of wood shavings on the floor, sparks flying from an anvil, machines buzzing, tools hammering, goggles and stripped wires and a poured concrete floor and, at a bare minimum, four walls and a door.

Meet the Makers of Make It @ Your Library! 

Video of our final ILEAD USA presentation in October. Learn all about how Make It @ Your Library came to be! 

Make It @ Your Library is kicking off the holiday season in style.  The air is crisp, the leaves have fallen, and librarians everywhere are showing off their cookbooks to ever-ambitious patrons.  We’ve picked out a few stellar Thanksgiving-themed projects to highlight.  Some are more library-friendly than others, but all are things to keep in mind when planning autumn programs (and all simply smack of holiday joy).

You may have noticed that some of the projects we share on Make It @ Your Library could be considered hazardous. 

So why would we share ideas for maker activities that are potentially dangerous? Because the maker movement embraces all types of makers and doers with a wide range of skills and interests.