Skip to main content

Markerspaces by Emilce Sirkin

 

Markerspaces

By Emilce Sirkin

Markerspaces is a relatively new concept for me. The first time I read about it was last semester while searching for information for one paper that I needed to write for my Intro to Libraries class. I read that one library in North California, Redwood City Public Library has honey bees on its roof, and it offers educational talks about bees at its Bee Wall Interpretive Center. I am not really sure if this falls into the makerspaces concept; however, it is pretty impressive and educational. Also, it shows how libraries are creative and inspirational entities.

“Markerspaces are defined as DIY (Do-it-Yourself) spaces where people can gather to create, invent, and learn” (Apodaca). It is a new trend that helps libraries to expand their services in science, technology, engineering, and math to their communities. For example, the Ramona Library’s Dick Wayman Technology Center features MarkerBot 3D printer, HP Sprout 3D Scanner, computers with large Monitors and Corel VideoStudio an editing software. Also, the library provides classes to teach patrons how to use these resources.

According to Antonio Apodaca, the Markerspace librarian for the Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, “a makerspace is successful if its users feel, know, and act like they can make a real difference in the world around them,” and “makerspaces need to be messy, noisy places of innovation.” And this is why I think that those bees living at the Redwood City Public Library roof can be part of this makerspace trend.

References

Apodaca, Antonio. “Makerspace Next.” CSLA Journal, vol. 40, no. 2, Winter 2017, pp. 5–8. EBSCOhost,search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lxh&AN=120994601&site=ehost-live. Accessed 5 April, 2021.

“RCPL's Honey Bees.” RCPL's Honey Bees | City of Redwood City, www.redwoodcity.org/departments/library/rcpl-info/rcpl-s-honey-bees. Accessed 5 April 2021.

San Diego County Library, www.sdcl.org/dick-wayman-technology-center.html. Accessed 5              April 2021.




Comments

Post a Comment

"About LMT" Page

The Demise of School Libraries

The Demise of School Libraries by Shannon Rapo The demise of school libraries has been a hot topic in the world of public schools for over a decade. Budget cuts in education have forced many schools to shutter its library or significantly reduce funding. There is also the issue of loss of librarians. According to Keith Curry Lance, a reporter for the School Library Journal, “ Between the 1999–2000 and 2015–16 school years, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports that the profession lost the equivalent of more than 10,000 full-time school librarian positions nationwide.”  In her article “Denver Teacher Librarian Brings Students Back to Library”, Kara Yorio showcases a teacher librarian who saw the demise of her library due to lack of focus on reading in the district as well as a complete lack of support from the teachers. The article suggests that if no one is using the library then of course it becomes obsolete. Fortunately, the librarian recognized this and be...
1 comment
Read more

The State of School Libraries --- by Patty Hiebert

  According to the American Association of Libraries (ALA), there is a positive correlation between the number of certified librarians in a school and higher test scores among students, yet we see a trend: fewer librarians, lower funding, and higher students per librarian ratios (ALA, “State of America’s Libraries 2020”). How can schools support student success if libraries are taken out of the equation? Case and point: In California, the 2000-2001 academic school year reported ratios of one librarian to 4,306 students (1:4,306) as compared to 2014-2015 when the number of students per librarian increased to 7,187 – that’s about a 67% increase (“State of America’s Libraries 2020”). Another 2016 report published by PACE (Policy Analysis for California Education) compares California to the U.S. average: California with one librarian to 32,216 student ratio as compared to the U.S average of one librarian to 1,178 students ( edpolicyinca.org ). Funding in California is a complicated ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Demise of School Libraries: Creating a Culture of Collaboration by Sara Zeller

The Demise of School Libraries: Creating a Culture of Collaboration By Sara Zeller       If I were to ask any parent, teacher or administrator to advocate for the “why” of a school library I would be inundated with personal stories of the benefits the library provides not only the students but also the teachers.  Depending on the demographics of the neighborhood I might hear of how the availability of the intranet and use of computers in the library is essential to students who don’t have it at home, or I might have, at least before COVID-19 shut schools down and demanded the distribution and purchase of technology to all students who didn’t have access. For the remainder of this blog post I am going to do my best to reference a pre-COVID school experience based on available articles and data, but I will not ignore that the push to help all students get access to the internet and have working laptops or Ipad’s could change the needs landscape yet again of t...
Post a Comment
Read more