The most important resource for creating a successful library maker space—whether in a school or public library—is one’s own community, according to librarians Justin Hoenke, Amy Koester, and Michelle Cooper. Strong relationships and community involvement, not big budgets and high-tech gadgetry, are key to reaching children and teens, the trio of makers say.

The experts shared details of their programming for kids and their top maker strategies during “The Community Joins In: Library Maker Spaces,” a midday session of The Digital Shift: Reinventing Libraries (#TDS13) webcast on October 16, moderated by Hoenke, the new teen librarian at the Chattanooga (TN) Public Library and 2013 Library Journal Mover &  Shaker. And since the event, the trio has created a Pinterest page filled with maker space advice, links, and takeaways.

Read more: Community Is Key to Successful Library Maker Spaces | The Digital Shift.

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• A Librarian’s Guide to Makerspaces: 16 Resources – iLibrarian