Makerspaces in Libraries

  

   The growing trend of makerspaces is a fundamental realignment of the means of creative production. The burgeoning do-it-yourself movement has benefitted from a host of technological advancements. Chief among those is direct access to expert knowledge in in almost every conceivable field through the democratizing power of the Internet. Likewise, consumer technology has been consistently raising the bar for production while lowering the cost of entry.

      It began with increasingly powerful photo-editing software, and has expanded into video and audio software. More recently, production has left the digital realm with the introduction of 3D printers, which allow 3-dimensional digital models to be physically constructed by a self-contained machine (Colegrove, 2013). Now it is possible to perform professional levels of creation with accessible and intuitive consumer-grade technology.

      A makerspace, or hackerspace, is simply a centralized location that combines as many production technologies as possible in order to provide a space where creation is the focus (Colegrove, 2013). They can be specialized to cater to one kind of production, like a digital printing area that contains photo-editing software, scanners, and large format printing machines. Or they can use different sets of equipment, and allow the user to determine which resource would best fits their intended result. The important part of a makerspace is that it encourages individuals to participate in the creation of new ideas, rather than just the consumption of mass-produced objects.

      Academic libraries first started creating “fabrication spaces” in 2001, with the first of its kind at MIT. Public libraries have only recently started offering similar services, with one of the first being the “FabLab” at the Fayetteville Free Library in New York State opening in 2012 (Slatter & Howard, 2013). According to Slatter and Howard (2013), the main positive response to these spaces has been increased community engagement. It also allowed patrons to be exposed to new kinds of technology outside of their traditional experiences. The downside is having to change the perception of what a library does, and how a makerspace fits into that model (Slatter & Howard, 2013).

      But is it such a radical idea that libraries are not simply for consuming information, but also creating it? While many focus on the library as a place to read, they forget the fact that it is just as often used as a place to write. Especially in academic libraries, where research material is used as a platform, writing and creating new ideas has always been an integral part to the library as a space. By using new technologies to expand the definition of what is creatable within an amateur environment, libraries can promote new kinds of avenues for the creative expression of their users.

References

Colegrove, T. (2013). Editorial Board Thoughts: Libraries as Makerspace?. Information Technology & Libraries, 32(1), 2-5.

Slatter, D., & Howard, Z. (2013). A place to make, hack, and learn: makerspaces in Australian public libraries. Australian Library Journal, 62(4), 272-284. doi:10.1080/00049670.2013.853335

Electronic Resources In Libraries

            Electronic resources provide libraries with a host of new abilities that allow them to enhance the services they offer their patrons. There are several different advantages to using electronic resources in place of, or in addition to, traditional library materials. The most useful of which may be the ability of a library to expand its reach outside its physical location and interact with library patrons wherever they may be. No longer will a patron need to be physically present in order to access their library’s collection, as it is now available to anyone who has access to the internet (as well as an appropriate device).

            Reaching outside the library isn’t the only physical benefit, as retaining a digital collection of electronic resources has completely shifted the paradigm of how to use library space. It may no longer be necessary to increase a library’s footprint when increasing the size of its collection. Many libraries have seen the benefit of using space that would otherwise be taken up by physical material and repurposing it as meeting or study space. The library’s building itself remains important, but it is no longer the main factor to consider when judging what resources the library has the ability to offer.

            The downside is that acquiring and maintaining electronic resources is a more complex task than the old way of buying physical books and periodicals. Not only is there a bevy of legal issues that are still being considered concerning intellectual property rights and fair use, but it is even more difficult to maintain an electronic collection in a way that remains transparent and accessible. Librarians did not have to consider usage agreements with every book that they bought previously. Electronic resources, on the other hand, require constant management and updating to provide correct access to patrons. Often it looks as if the collection itself is hard to pin down as subscriptions and URLs change at the whim of the publisher.

            Many libraries have had to deal with these and other issues while trying to implement their electronic resource collections. The video below is a symposium on how to best build ebook collections, and the challenges a librarian might encounter when doing so.

Software, Peripheral Devices, and Networks in libraries

I visited a branch of my local public library in Cobb County at Vinings. It is my understanding that public access computers throughout this library system have a similar collection of software on their public access computers. The computers are networked together, and require a user ID and password to access. I was unable to ascertain whether the software was locally installed on the computer terminals, or if a server supported it. The software was largely dedicated to supporting web browsing, as well as some desktop publishing.

Software

Internet Explorer – The ubiquitous web browser available on all Windows PCs was present here, and the default homepage was set to the library’s site. It is meant to browse content on the World Wide Web.

Mozilla Firefox – Firefox is another web browser that provides access to webpages. Its default homepage was the Google front page, rather than the library’s website.

Adobe Reader –Reader is program that is dedicated to viewing a proprietary file format from Adobe called PDF. It allows the user to view or print a file, but it only allows certain types of editing to those documents, such as annotation.

Microsoft Word – Word was the only program on this computer other than the aforementioned web software that included an icon on the desktop at login (excepting the trash bin). This publishing software is for creating text documents with a number of formatting options. It is included in a suite of Microsoft Office software.

Microsoft Excel – A spreadsheet program that can use embedded tools for calculation and creating graphs. It also comes with many formatting and template options.

Microsoft PowerPoint – PowerPoint is presentation software that creates slides with visual content. Not only can you create the slides with multiple visual elements and text, but you can also use it full screen during the presentation itself.

Microsoft Publisher – Publisher is a creative desktop publishing program to make freeform design content. It has a variety of tools that let the user import different file types and layer the elements on a single document.

Notepad – Notepad is a text editing program like Word, but its formatting options are much more limited.

Windows Media Player – A media player made with Windows supported media in mind. It can be used to play video files, audio files, or to view images.

The public access computers at the library had a very basic set of software. But as more and more web applications start to replace dedicated software, it could be argued that the most essential piece of software is a web browser. With this in mind, it may be a good idea for the library to load the Google Chrome browser to its computers, as another access point to the web.

Peripheral Devices

2 Laser printers – The laser printers are output devices that are connected to all of the public access computers over a network. These printers only print in black and white. There was no color printing option at the library. The printers are also connected to a print management system, where it is necessary to prepay for all print jobs. The cost is 15 cents per page.

1 Scanner – The scanner is an input device that makes it possible to scan images of documents and import them to the computer in a digital format. The scanner is networked to all of the public access computers, but it did not cost any money to operate. There is a desktop program that allowed you to access the scanner and operate it once the document had been loaded.

            The public library is an important place for people without access to computers at home to be able to use devices that would not otherwise be available to them. This is especially true of the ability to print, as maintaining a printer and paying for printing supplies can be costly, even if you only use it occasionally. For people to be able to print documents at a low cost as the need arises is a valuable public service. Scanners have a similar cost/benefit relationship. It is rare to need a scanner in a world where most content is digitally native, but that does not mean it isn’t necessary occasionally. It is much more cost effective for the library to assume this cost, and give access to this technology to a wider swath of the population.

            One thing I noticed while I was at the library is that the public access computers did not have speakers. It seems obvious that this would be necessary in a quiet environment, and some patrons had brought headphones in so they could listen to the content they were viewing. But I think it would be nice if the library had headphones available for patrons who did not bring their own. It would be easy enough to check them out like some other library material, and then return them when you are done.

Internet Service Provider

            When it comes to wired providers of broadband internet service, there are not really many choices you can make where I live. There are two companies that offer service as ISPs, and they are companies that primarily exist to offer services other than the internet.

            The first company is Comcast, which is the only provider of cable television in my area. They also offer an internet connection over their broadband coaxial lines. Comcast bundles their services in order to get a larger share of your telecommunication consumption, and the more you purchase from them, the lower the cost for the internet portion becomes. They also offer a number of speeds, ranging from download speeds of 3 Mbps to 105 Mbps. The cheapest offer they have is $19.99 per month, while the most expensive is $89.99. To operate their service you need a modem that is compatible with their network, which they can rent to you, or you can buy yourself. A technician must come to your location to activate the service.

            The second company is AT&T, which is the primary telephone company. Their internet offering is a DSL line that must be installed in addition to any pre-existing phone lines. AT&T also bundles their services for better values at higher price points, and just as Comcast has begun offering VOIP telephone service, AT&T is offering television through their U-verse product. Prices range from $29.95 per month for 3 Mbps to $64.95 per month for 45 Mbps. AT&T provides a “Wireless Gateway” device that makes access to the internet possible, and they also require a technician to install it.

            So what other ISPs are available other than the two telecom giants? Well, there are dial-up subscription services, but those speeds are barely able to keep up with the data generated by web browsing. That also requires a working phone line, so you would still need to pay AT&T to gain access. If you want to avoid those companies altogether, you would have to opt for a wireless internet provider. In this case, I will use Verizon as the example.

            Verizon is a wireless operator that primarily contracts service for cell phones. However, the majority of cell phones now operate as wireless computers, and they use the signal from the wireless company as their ISP. It is also now possible to get certain mobile devices, like an iPad, with pre-installed wireless receivers that can also access this service. One must have a device that is compatible with Verizon’s network, as well as a phone line contract with the company. After that, you pay a certain rate per device that you want to be able to access the internet, as well as a rate for the amount of data you have access to. The charges for data can range from $15 for 250 MBs per month to $375 for 50 GBs per month.

RSS feeds

RSS feeds have been around for more than 15 years, and they are a great way to automatically track content from blog posts and news sources. It has provided a standard way to for the content creator to allow their updates to be viewed by their audience. But while exploring ways to subscribe to feeds from my favorite websites, I learned that the process is still somewhat fragmented. The programming language may be the same, but when it comes to presentation, every website seems to have a different tactic.

The most obvious way to find an RSS feed on a website is to look for the standard RSS icon:

Any website that is using a feed will most likely have this displayed somewhere on their page. Usually this icon will be linked to the feed's URL, in which case you can simply click on it to find the actual feed, and copy and paste the URL if you want to add it to an aggregator. However, depending on the website, they may also try to use drop down menus to provide links directly to RSS readers. In which case, you must select a specific reader and then follow the websites prompts to subscribe. Still other sites have several different flavors of feeds, and in some cases block access to the full text versions unless you are a paid subscriber to their service. So while the purpose of RSS feeds remains constant, the application of this technology can still seem jarring to the end user.

Recently, Google discontinued its RSS aggregator called "Google Reader," but there are still many different aggregator applications available. But it makes one wonder that if Google decided to stop supporting this technology, will it still maintain a strong presence in future iterations of the web? If the fragmented nature of of my experience is any indication, than it may point to a waning of this web tool.

The library as a hardware provider vs a software provider

Libraries have been providing technological resources for their patrons for several decades. This can end up taking a large part of the budget, as maintaining relevant hardware and software in a rapidly changing environment means constantly having to spend money on new equipment. Often libraries are criticized for not adopting new technology at the same pace as consumer electronic trends, but it should be noted that there is a financial calculation that must be considered in each new circumstance. But a fundamental change in the economics of software may provide libraries with relief when it comes to keeping up with their user's demands.

In the past, the kinds of hardware a library would provide was directly related to the software it offered to its patrons. Both purchases would be considered together, so as to maximize the benefit. For a public library, this might mean purchasing licenses to office productivity software that matched the number of public access terminals it owned. As a mainstay service with reasonable demand, it would not be prudent to limit access to this kind of software to just a portion of those terminals. But it may be OK to do so for more specialized programs like photo editing software loaded onto a computer with access to a scanner. The library would make decisions like this constantly in an attempt to get the most value out of their limited funds, while still offering the kinds of applications that their patrons needed.

Now, with the proliferation of software as a service, software has become untied from individual hardware. Rather than going to the library and waiting for a certain machine to access a specific program, the patron can use any terminal connected to the network to access it. Libraries quickly learned the benefit of shared software, and most invested in networks that would support their collection of applications. Often these would still be hosted on a server at the the library itself.

Cloud computing has taken this concept a step further, and now many of the applications that a patron uses aren't in any way owned by the library. Instead, they are just accessing a web hosted piece of software through the library computer's browser. And the major software manufacturers are reinforcing this behavior by moving away from offering their products as one time purchases. More and more companies like Microsoft and Adobe are asking for subscriptions to their software, and the ability for the purchaser to access the program from a variety of web-enabled devices.

So where does this leave libraries? Fortunately, this trend has enabled the library to simplify their technology calculation. They must still provide access to the software their patrons need, but now they may not necessarily have to purchase it themselves. Instead, the library can focus on the hardware and network capabilities, and allow the patron to determine which web-hosted application works best for their purpose. And as all these applications are generally made to work on as many devices as possible, the library can prioritize the strength of its broadband access and network over more individualized enhancements to single workstations.

Of course, this does not mean that the library is going to leave hosting software behind entirely. Not all programs are available for free on the internet, and many will still require specific hardware to use effectively. But as access to the internet becomes the primary source of software, libraries can strengthen their position as gateways to these resources for their users.