This week, Beth proposed that Michelle and I consider attending the ALISE and/or mid-winter ALA conferences in Chicago in January, with the goal of presenting a poster at one or the other. After some research, we realized that ALISE hosts a Works In Progress poster session during their annual conference. This is especially exciting for me, because it presents a number of great opportunities (not to sound self-centered or anything). One, it gives me the opportunity to attend some of my first conferences as a soon-to-be professional librarian. It also gives me the opportunity to visit Chicago, somewhere I’ve never been and a city that holds some special significance to my family (my grandmother’s sister lived there for most of her adult life). Finally, it gives me the chance to come up with a really great deliverable for the practicum/independent study portion of my role with the team.
I am also quite excited about the possibility to present a poster on such an interesting and relatively innovative topic and something that I am so interested in sharing. The Mobile Makerspace project is remarkably in line with the “Re-imagining LIS Education” portion of the poster session theme. Below is our abstract/poster description that will hopefully land us a spot at the ALISE conference. Here’s hoping!
LIS Education - Making Makers
In the past few years, there has been a shift in thinking that libraries have a responsibility as spaces for creation. With that in mind, it is important to prepare and familiarize librarians-in-making with makerspaces. The Mobile Makerspace Team at the University of North Carolina Greensboro’s Jackson Library received a Library Services and Technology (LSTA) grant from the North Carolina State Library for the 2014 - 2015 year. The grant furthers the team’s goal of educating LIS students and others about the world of makers and makerspaces with the message that EVERYONE IS A MAKER. As two LIS students working on this grant project, we have helped spearhead this project for our classmates and colleagues. Our resources include a 3D printer, Arduino kits, a laptop with open source software, and a mobile cart to hold them all - comprising the Mobile Makerspace. Our poster will include discussion on our involvement in the initiative, what we have accomplished so far, such as workshops and assessment creation, what we have learned and what comes next. The poster will bring the products and results of our venture to the conference with a three-dimensional twist and will include LED lights and sample 3D modeling projects. Preliminary assessment results will also be available to explore the impact our workshop sessions may have had on participants’ perceptions of their “maker” abilities.
I am also quite excited about the possibility to present a poster on such an interesting and relatively innovative topic and something that I am so interested in sharing. The Mobile Makerspace project is remarkably in line with the “Re-imagining LIS Education” portion of the poster session theme. Below is our abstract/poster description that will hopefully land us a spot at the ALISE conference. Here’s hoping!
LIS Education - Making Makers
In the past few years, there has been a shift in thinking that libraries have a responsibility as spaces for creation. With that in mind, it is important to prepare and familiarize librarians-in-making with makerspaces. The Mobile Makerspace Team at the University of North Carolina Greensboro’s Jackson Library received a Library Services and Technology (LSTA) grant from the North Carolina State Library for the 2014 - 2015 year. The grant furthers the team’s goal of educating LIS students and others about the world of makers and makerspaces with the message that EVERYONE IS A MAKER. As two LIS students working on this grant project, we have helped spearhead this project for our classmates and colleagues. Our resources include a 3D printer, Arduino kits, a laptop with open source software, and a mobile cart to hold them all - comprising the Mobile Makerspace. Our poster will include discussion on our involvement in the initiative, what we have accomplished so far, such as workshops and assessment creation, what we have learned and what comes next. The poster will bring the products and results of our venture to the conference with a three-dimensional twist and will include LED lights and sample 3D modeling projects. Preliminary assessment results will also be available to explore the impact our workshop sessions may have had on participants’ perceptions of their “maker” abilities.