How To Start a Makerspace in your Elementary Library - Deb Tison

In her article" 'Help! My Principal Says I Need to Start a Makerspace in My Elementary Library' Kristin Fontichiaro lays out six steps to starting a Makerspace in your library.  The best part of the article is that she doesn't just tell you great products to buy, she endeavors to teach you how to think about the Makerspace.  Her first recommended step: Ask Why.  Why does the principal want the makerspace?  What are the goals, vision for the maker initiative?
After learning what your administrator is looking for, ask the students what they need and/or want. Will the program be  part of the curriculum or completely separate?  If it's separate from curriculum, figure out a way to get feedback from students.
What is the budget?  What will the budget need to be next year?  And in future years?  Start-up costs versus ongoing costs should be considered and agreed upon.
Fontichiaro encourages "newbies" to connect with seasoned makerspaces and provides several excellent websites that provide cool projects, many with videos and step-by-step directions.
Makerspace activities can be organized into six categories to start with: craft, engineering, code, circuits, digital design and needle and thread.  Chosing one or two for your space to focus on in the beginning may keep the project manageable.
And finally, Fontichiaro recommends establishing guidelines for your space.  She reminds the reader of a maker culture axom - PACE: process over product, agency over teacher-directed work, choice over following directions, and experimental mindset over failing.

It seems to me that with a well thought out makerspace, students and staff can explore new tools, new ideas, new ways to create and collaborate.

 Fontichiaro, Kristin. "Help! My Principal Says I Need To Start a Makerspace in My Elementary Library"." Teacher Librarian (2016): 49-51. Libraries, Information Science and Technology Abstracts. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.