LIBRARY AS MAKERSPACE

I love stories of patrons or staff who use our equipment to make something truly creative and original. We had two of those instances this week: Our first comes from our talented staff member, Karen, who runs a monthly knitting night at the library. She draws a big crowd as individuals work on solo projects, share their skills and troubleshoot with each other.  These knitting nights have brought out some spinners and loom enthusiasts that have shared their talent as well. Using these new skills, Karen made her own sweater.  It doesn't stop there though. Over the past year we have increased our collection of unusual items for circulation to include a polymer clay kit which Karen used to make her own designer button for her creation. I told her she could have her own couture business! Read more about this and other projects on her knitting blog.  The second project came from a pair of siblings who won 1st place in the Pembroke Science Fair with the 3D printing help...

As we prepared for the "Fizz, Boom, Read" Maker-style national summer reading program, we received reactions that we found surprising and a bit disturbing. When advertising our weekly Middle School hands on program, Backyard Ballistics (limited to air and water propulsion - no, we decided gun powder was off limits), we advertised on our teen web page and in the local newspaper: "Making stuff that moves, propels, explodes, and causes other stuff to happen." Teens and their parents quickly signed up and we currently have a waiting list. Our first activity was Stomp Rockets and we played a bit with rocket design to see what shape would travel the furthest. An older couple read the newspaper blurb and asked to speak to the director. She found out that, although they were completely clear that our intentions were benign, they felt others might think that we were promoting terrorism and bomb-making. Hm. Over the winter our resident knitters did a program called ...

One of the challenges of using a multi-purpose room is that we have to clean up after 1 1/2 hours. Either we disassemble things to store away or we try to choose projects that are quickly finished. But we still want to challenge folks in new ways and not give them busy work. Smaller projects like the following ones are opportunities to learn a new skill that might lead a youth or adult to explore further on their own. Bristle Bots   Solo cup w/ DC motor Solder a Maker Badge Franken-Elmo Take Apart Programming with Scratch or Hopscotch Skyping with an expert Soldering a Drawdio Take Apart Table Wearable electronics - sparkle bow Knitting squares to make a blanket Building with Keva planks Stop motion with iPad and iStopMotion Resources include: Make Magazine littleBits Keva planks Adafruit kits Duxbury Transfer Station MaKey MaKey Instructables DIY.org ...

On Monday, August 19 a new monthly gathering started at the DFL: Knit Night. Run by Karen Hahn, circulation assistant and passionate knitter, this group will meet the 3rd Monday of every month, 6:00- 8:00PM  in the Resource Room for the foreseeable future. I'm making a blanket, can you tell? About 12 women (including me in the middle there) showed up for the first meeting. Many had projects started and were there to enjoy knitting with a group, while others were beginners learning how to knit, and some folks brought difficult projects along to get Karen's help with particular problems. Karen gave us a little lecture about the importance of gauge swatches and was both helpful and encouraging to anyone who had a question. Karen, in turquoise, during a teachable moment. I, for one, am the only knitter in my circle of family and friends, so it was great to be around people who also like talking about yarn and knitting patterns. Knitting is a great fit with the Make...