Makerspaces in Libraries Survey Results

[Burke, John]

Please pardon repeated posts.

During October and November 2013, I conducted a web-based survey on
makerspaces in libraries.  The questions used in the survey are available
here<http://www.users.miamioh.edu/burkejj/makerspaces%20in%20libraries%20survey.pdf>.
 Respondents were solicited from 12 electronic discussion
lists<http://www.users.miamioh.edu/burkejj/makerspaces%20in%20libraries%20survey%20lists.pdf>,
some tweets, and one Facebook group:  Makerspaces and the Participatory
Library <https://www.facebook.com/groups/librarymaker/>.  I greatly
appreciate the time that participants took to complete the survey.

143 librarians responded to the survey.  41% of the respondents currently
provide makerspaces in their libraries (or provide maker activities through
their libraries).  36% of the respondents are planning to start makerspaces
in the near future.  24% of respondents are not currently providing
makerspaces nor are planning to do so.  The following responses all come
from the 109 librarians who currently provide makerspaces or who plan to
soon start a makerspace.

Makerspaces appear in most types of libraries.  51% of respondents are in
public libraries, 36% are in academic libraries,a and 9% are in school
libraries.  The remaining 4% chose "other" for their type of library (0%
selected special libraries) -- entering combined school and public
libraries (2), a community college library, and an iSchool.

Librarians from 30 U.S. states, from Alabama to Wisconsin, responded to the
survey along with librarians from seven other countries (Australia, Canada,
China, Denmark, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom).

Makerspaces tend to be a new addition to most respondents' libraries.  46%
of respondents started their makerspace in the last year, 13% in the last
1-2 years, and 11% two or more years ago.  The remaining responses came
from libraries that had not yet started to offer a makerspace.

Funding for the makerspaces came from a variety of sources.  Respondents
chose one or more of the following ways that their makerspaces could be
funded:

   - 36% found funding in the library budgets
   - 29% received grants
   - 14% received donations
   - 11% requested additional funding from their parent organizations
   - 11% noted "other" ways to fund the makerspace, including "local
   investors"

52 librarians reported that their makerspaces charge (or will be charging)
for the following items (respondents chose one or more of the following
options):

   - 40% for supplies used in making
   - 38% responded with "other" responses, mainly noting that they had not
   decided whether to charge, or were definitely not going to charge
   - 13% for classes for workshops
   - 4% for equipment use
   - 4% for membership fees

I asked respondents to choose the technologies or forms of making they
included in their makerspaces from a list of 55 items.  All but six of the
items were selected by at least one makerspace (those six were welding,
stained glass, metal shop activities, letterpress, glass shop activities,
and blacksmithing).  The top 15 technologies or forms of making, each of
which were chosen by 25% or more of the 109 respondents, were:


   - Computer workstations  67%
   - 3D printing 46%
   - Photo editing 45%
   - Video editing 43%
   - Computer programming/software 39%
   - Art and crafts 37%
   - Scanning photos to digital 36%
   - Creating a website or online portfolio 34%
   - Digital music recording 33%
   - 3D modeling 31%
   - Arduino/Raspberry Pi 30%
   - Other 30% (included knitting, Legos, etc.)
   - Animation 28%
   - High quality scanner 28%
   - Tinkering 26%

Librarians reported that training sessions, workshops, or classes in their
makerspaces were taught by library staff (49%), volunteers (27%), paid
instructors from beyond the library (13%), or "other" (12%), which includes
IT staff, maker group members, "Student Geek Force," and "center for
teaching and learning."

Respondents also listed their most popular making activities and
technologies, their go-to resources for keeping track of making
developments, and what they expect to add to their makerspaces in the next
year.

More details from the survey will be available in the forthcoming book
*Makerspaces:
A Practical Guide for Librarians* by John Burke (to be published by Rowman
& Littlefield Publishers in 2014 -- more information is available on other
titles in the Practical Guide for
Librarians<https://rowman.com/Action/Search/RL/practical%20guide%20for%20librarians>series).
 I hope these results are of interest and advance our collective
understanding of makerspaces and how they are being implemented in
libraries.  I would be happy to answer any questions you might have on the
survey.

John

John J. Burke, MSLS

Director, Gardner-Harvey Library

Miami University Middletown

burkejj at miamioh.edu

513-727-3293

http://www.users.miamioh.edu/burkejj


Text your questions to 513-273-5360

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2013-12-16
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