Megan Lotts

Lego® Play: Implementing a Culture of Creativity & Making in the Academic Library

Introduction As libraries continue to grow and change in the 21st century, we are seeing an increased emphasis on outreach, engagement, creativity, and innovation for academic libraries. The author believes these ideas are crucial to the future of academic libraries and that making spaces can be fun, affordable and a new way to connect to communities and engage with patrons.1 Creating innovative projects and engaging making events can help stimulate broader conversations among patrons and library employees about the value of academic libraries. These conversations can also be a way for library liaison’s to connect to their faculty, students, and staff. The Art Library Lego Playing Station was created to stimulate creativity and innovation within the Rutgers University Libraries. This paper will look at the ideas of innovation, engagement, and making in the academic library as a means to connect with departments on campus to further educate students, faculty, and staff, about the benefits of using the Library. In this paper the author will discuss the planning and implementation of the Lego® making station, including visual documentation and comments by makers and users of the Art Library Lego Playing Station. This paper will discuss working with the press, as well as developing partnerships to help implement the impact of this project. The author will show the value the Art Library Lego Playing Station, Legos, and hands on active learning activities have brought to a Big 10 academic research library. Making in the Academic Libraries Although we see Makerspaces and making activities in many public libraries, such as the Chicago Public Library Maker Lab, which won a social innovative award in 2013, the act of making and makerspaces is a concept that is starting to get more attention in academic libraries. Erin Fisher believes that “Makerspaces emerged around 2005 as an off shoot of the Do-it Yourself (DIY) movement”.2 Although I agree that the DIY movement has been a catalyst to Makerspaces, I believe it’s important to note that when it comes to the history of making we see making centric spaces happening in New York as early as 1873. The Gowanda Ladies Social Society who formed as a sewing, knitting, book discussing, and social circle later became the Ladies Library Association and received a state library charter as the Gowanda Free Library in 1900.3 This may one of the first times we see making occurring in a library. In the context of this paper the author defines making as, “to bring into existence by shaping or changing material, combining parts.”4 Although it is unlikely that the Gowanda Free Library had a 3D printer, it is important to note that this library began over the act of making, and in this case a sewing and knitting circle. First let’s define a Makerspace. When searching the Merrian-Webster dictionary online the author was unable to find a definition for a Makerspace. When visiting Wikipedia the author did not find a definition but was re-directed to the term Hackerspace, which was defined as a community space where people with

Foreign LIS degrees in contemporary US academic libraries

Purpose – The purpose of this case study is to summarize a task forces efforts to change the educational degree requirements for open librarian positions at a large university in the Midwestern USA.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews the literature on degree requirements in academic libraries and the nature of LIS degrees from countries outside the USA. It analyzes 136 position advertisements for academic librarians by required terminal degree and the type and Association of Research Libraries (ARL) status of the institution.Findings – The paper concludes that, while most position advertisements do not specifically address foreign Library and Information Science (LIS) degrees, many advertisements, especially those at ARL libraries, contain flexible language that allows for degrees that are “equivalent” to the American Library Association (ALA) accredited LIS degree.Research limitations/implications – The data collected from the relatively small sample of 136 job advertisements for academic li...

Floating castles, Legos, Candy, and Play: Counterplay 2016

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review the Counterplay 2016 conference. Design/methodology/approach An account of the conference and thoughts on play. Findings This was an exciting interactive conference discussing play in theory and practice. Originality/value This was an original conference and review.

On the Road, Playing with Legos®, and Learning about the Library: The Rutgers University Art Library Lego Playing Station, Part Two

ABSTRACT In Playing with LEGO®, Learning about the Library, and “Making” Campus Connections: The Rutgers University Art Library Lego Playing Station, Part One, the author discusses the importance of outreach, creativity, and innovation to the future of academic libraries. Low-cost making activities, can encourage creative problem-solving skills and be an innovative way to teach students, faculty, and staff more about academic libraries. In this article, the author will look more closely at the hands-on learning experiences that resulted when academic library faculty and staff were introduced to the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® methodology by means of a mobile makerspace.