by Marge Cox, January 2021

Back in the 1980s when I was getting my MLS Science degree, I took a collection development class. Little did I know when I started the class that the information I learned there would provide important basics for my entire career. At the time, makerspaces weren't a part of school libraries, but what I learned in that class can nevertheless be utilized in today's school library makerspaces. One of the most important ideas I learned was that all students' needs and abilities should be met through the collection, meaning there should be a wide range of materials. With today's libraries, that premise continues to be a mainstay for developing makerspaces and continuing to keep the collection development policy current.

Access

When I first started our makerspaces, I was concerned that they would only be used by a few people, but what we found was that they were used by everyone, just sometimes in different ways. As our district's middle and high school media centers developed makerspaces, we saw that many of the materials could be used throughout K–12. Our makerspace lab was a place that let every child shine because the materials could be used as they chose. Students who would never be in the same reading group could happily work side by side in a makerspace.

As you are choosing makerspace materials, put them through the same process that you would any other item. Is it positively reviewed? Will it serve a particular purpose or audience? Is it the best representative of its kind? Do you have any experience with it? Does it make a curriculum connection? Will it appeal to your students and/or faculty? Will it hold up to student use?

Availability

Once you've made purchases, how do you make your makerspace materials available to your students and staff? Normally, they would access the collection through your catalog or by browsing. That could be true for your makerspace materials, too. Makerspace books should be cataloged, as you would for any other topic, and can go on your regular print shelves. Materials need different accommodations. If you have the space, label an area for makerspace materials. We labeled shelves by content areas:, i.e. math, English language arts, etc. You could also consider using a cart. There are specially designed makerspace carts that can be purchased, if you have the funds. For consumable materials, I see no reason to spend the time cataloging them. Put them in a container and label it.

While I'm an avid believer in student access, some makerspace materials are more easily checked out than others. When we first opened our Makerspace Lab, we had a small theater with puppets. To my surprise, it was a huge hit with our fifth grade boys. They also wanted to use the puppets in their classroom plays. We kept a paper record of what classroom the puppets visited. In retrospect, we could have assigned a barcode to each puppet and kept the barcodes in a notebook at the circulation desk. Our students really liked puppets, so I bought the book and character pairs from the Kohl's Cares program and made a character and book set that we sent home in what had been laptop bags. The characters had been sitting on bookshelves and not been a big attraction in the library, but when I put them together in a bag to take home, they flew out the door. Take a look at what you have that is not being used to its fullest and see how you might repurpose it. We took some math manipulatives and put them into some old equipment bags, cataloged them as makerspace bags and checked them out.

Some students have lots of materials at home, but others do not. We can help even that playing field by checking out makerspace materials. Even something as simple as crayons may be out of the budget for some families. Penny Patterson, former school librarian for Noblesville Schools in Noblesville, Indiana, put together "craft boxes" for check out. They included consumable items such as paper, glue, beads, ribbons, etc. for kids to use at home. The boxes were refilled when they were returned to school. Middle and high schools can check out baking pans for home use. Think about your students and their needs. Educational grants may help to fund these materials.

Curriculum

When we first started makerspaces, some people saw it as kids "playing." Students were having a good time, but our makerspaces were also curriculum oriented and the students were learning, too. As you develop your makerspace collection, think about how the materials can be used to make curriculum connections. Start by looking at your school district's standards. What concepts will be better understood with hands-on experiences? Some ideas are below but use them as a starting point for all you can do with makerspaces and your curriculum.

Many people think first of the English language arts standards when they think of libraries, and certainly there are lots of major connections there. For example, students are expected to know genres. You can help them learn genres by setting up makerspaces that focus on specific genres. For example, historical fiction consists of books set in a time period previous to our own. The Titanic (Survival Tales) by Katrina Charman features a dog on the ill-fated ship as one of the important book characters. An activity for that book could be making a dog chew toy. It is something that could be used now but relates back to the book. Start with your state's reading list for whatever grades you teach or check out the award lists like the Caldecott and Newbery. Another option is the Children's Book Council website at https://www.cbcbooks.org/readers/reading-lists/. I guarantee there are books on the lists that can make a great start for makerspaces. Once you make a few connections, you will see possibilities with most books.

Math is one of the content areas that people don't always think of when they think of libraries, but there are amazing math books out now. As a starting point, check the bibliographies of whatever textbook your school uses. One of the math concepts students learn is fractions. You could use Each Orange Had 8 Slices: A Counting Book by Paul Giganti Jr. to teach multiple math concepts. I used it with small, easy-peel oranges. Each child had their own orange. We separated the oranges into halves. Then, we broke them into fourths. I was working collaboratively with the classroom teachers, so they were writing the fractions on the white board as we physically created them. Check for food allergies before you start, but generally the children can enjoy eating their makerspace materials during this instruction.

Great science books can be found at National Science Teaching Association website at https://www.nsta.org/outstanding-science-trade-books-students-k-12. Your textbook company will have bibliographies to utilize, too. When studying gravity, we made marble runs. We collected paper towel rolls, which make great marble runs, throughout the year, so they were always available to us. Children worked in pairs to create their run. They taped them together and gave their run a name. I provided the marbles. Gravity came alive.

Social studies has always been one of my favorite content areas. I love how it helps me know about a different time period. Historical fiction makes it come alive. Get ideas for wonderful books from the National Council for the Social Studies at https://www.socialstudies.org/notable-social-studies-trade-books. One of my favorite Native American authors is Joseph Bruchac. Our students are interested in wars, and Bruchac's Code Talker gives them a look at something that very few students know about: breaking codes during WWII and how that helped the Allies win the war. For the makerspace, students wrote a code and then asked a friend to "break" it.

Many schools have some variation of what we called Related Arts: Music, Art, Technology, and Physical Education. Those areas can make great makerspaces, too. Collaborate with the teachers in those subjects to get ideas. If your district posts the curriculum guides for all content areas, then be sure to check them consistently. For art, a good starting point is any one of Ed Emberley's books. You can put out washable watercolor ink pads, paper, and pens and children will create amazing artwork. Depending upon your tolerance for noise in the library you can have a makerspace where children make musical instruments—drums from cereal cylinders, cereal box guitars, etc. Technology curriculums generally include coding at some point. Set up a laptop as one of your makerspaces and let kids practice that coding. For physical education, make a jump rope from paracord or regular rope.

In today's world, makerspaces are an important segment of a library collection. They deserve the same considerations that you make for the rest of your collection. They give students and staff one more reason to see the school library as a key component for the teaching and learning process and a place where personal interests can grow and develop.