Maker spaces should be more than 3D printers

The idea of a "maker space" is very appealing. For me it conjures a vision of walls of tools and cluttered work benches. For others it seems to simply be a 3D printer. Don't get me wrong, I think 3D printers are pretty amazing tools. But when I let my mind wander though and think about what people want to do compared to what tools they can acquire themselves, I see a more wide-ranging maker space. I see a sound lab for recording and editing music or the spoken word, such as collecting local oral histories. I see a video recording studio. I see a place with tools not easily afforded by the individual citizen. I see a place to connect with an editor for one's literary work and even a place to print a book. I see the library becoming a place where knowledge is created in many ways along with the creation of actual "things".

These spaces are being created in libraries all over the country. In this article about Oregon libraries, you can read about what some libraries there are doing. It's happening in larger places all over, but I think it could happen in the middle of Kansas as well.

Plans are shaping up!

As we move in to the heart of winter, plans are being completed for sprucing up the library! We will be working on the children's story time room, the children's bathrooms, doing a little work on the children's entrance, and a lot of work on the Main Street entrance. The Main street part of the project will include a new second floor reading area. If everything stays on track, we plan to have a bid opening for this work in early March and have work started later in the spring!

But wait, there's more! We are still taking suggestions for milliondollarideas@hutchpl.org regarding what to do with the large bequest that was left to HPL. Our goal is to do something that will have the biggest impact possible on the lives of our patrons and the life of the community. We're trying to think big. We're looking for something amazing, unique, and potentially life-changing for our users.

A Library of Things?

I can't decide if this is horrifying (thinking about everything that will have to be repaired all the time) or fantastic:

Sacramento Public Library : borrow a sewing machine?

What do you think would happen here in little ol' Hutchinson with such a project? What would be popular? Places like Auto Zone allow you to use tools to repair vehicles, locally, Reger Rental will rent you all sorts of things you might only need occasionally, but what about those folks who can't afford a rental?