The Maturation and Growth of Library Makers: A National Community of Practice

article by Scott Burg, re-published from Medium with permission

San Mateo Library Staff at the 2023 Bay Area Maker Faire

About two years ago, I wrote a short article describing the inception of what’s now known as Library Makers, a unique online community for librarians participating or interested in makerspace activities. Since its founding in 2021, the Library Makers community, supported by a grant from the Institute of Library and Museum Services (IMLS), has dramatically increased its membership, as well as expanded the breadth of services and resources to the national library makerspace community.

The primary goal of the Library Makers community is to serve all libraries according to the community’s values which includes ensuring diversity and equity and the participation of small and rural libraries. Communities of practice, like Library Makers, help niche communities grow their engagement by providing a structured space for all members to exchange knowledge and ideas about a shared passion or interest.

To help guide the development of Library Makers’ during its inaugural year, a group of seven Charter Library Members were recruited representing public libraries from diverse communities across the United States. Activities during this formative period included the collective development of a set of norms, values, decision-making processes, and problems of practice. Charter Members recognized the long-term importance and value of this work as critical to building and sustaining their community of practice.

Responses from interviews with Charter Members conducted as part of the program evaluation indicated that by taking the necessary time to develop these guidelines, members felt confident, safe and ready to take ownership of their community moving forward. Members also felt that their opinions mattered and had a direct impact on decision making.

With these guidelines in place, Charter Members then began to explore other issues such as organizational marketing, branding, alternative funding and fiscal models, and incentivization for participants For example, as a way to contribute to their own and their community’s professional development, Charter Members are provided support to present at and/or attend national virtual or in-person conferences and meetings. Participation in these activities recognizes Charter Members’ value as professionals, and provides valuable learning and networking experiences, as well as an increased national visibility for the community itself.

A Library Makers Ambassador presenting at the Play Make Learn conference in Madison, WI

Library Makers has also contributed to learning in the larger field in other ways. In the summer of 2022, Library Makers conducted a national survey of public librarians to identify maker-related practices and issues impacted by the pandemic. Results from the survey were shared across numerous web and social media sites.

In early 2023, Library Makers began their next phase of expansion. To facilitate communications between members of their community and to share resources with librarians more broadly Library Makers adopted the Mighty Networks online platform, which now serves as the community’s primary online presence and participatory hub

General feedback by members has been that the platform is intuitive, truly meeting a need among library makers, who in the past had felt isolated from the rest of the library community. Many were surprised at the number of other library makers across the country. As one member commented:, “I’m so glad I joined this group. It’s reactivating the passion that has been a little dormant due to burnout… Just scrolling through this group, seeing the passion and willingness to share, has given me such a boost! I feel like all the questions I haven’t had the time to research in the past 4 years, they’re all here and answered!”

Library Makers also maintains a fairly active presence on Facebook as well as publishes a bi-monthly online newsletter. However, one of the main draws to the community are the periodic professional development webinars for its members, as well as monthly ‘Happy Hours’ where library makers can meet and chat in an informal atmosphere.

In a strategic step to expand membership, Library Makers began recruitment of an inaugural cohort of project Ambassadors in the spring of 2023. The role of Ambassadors has been to provide support to the outreach and programming efforts of Library Makers by participating in community events, promoting the Library Makers platform in their personal networks, and helping create content and facilitate programs.

The first Ambassador cohort was selected from an application process and voted on by Leadership Team members. At present there are 14 Ambassadors from a mix of rural/urban/suburban locations representing 12 states. Bringing on these Ambassadors has been essential to supporting the community’s momentum and success. The inclusion of Ambassadors has helped offset the not unexpected burnout experienced by some of the community’s initial Charter Member group. The Ambassadors’ energy and enthusiasm has reenergized the community’s leadership team as many have stepped up to quickly fill voids and take on new roles. Several Ambassadors have been invited to join leadership committees and work directly with Charter Members to forge a strategic vision going forward.

Ambassadors have also been instrumental in helping to recruit new members to the community. As of January 2024, Library Makers has approximately 546 members from public libraries and other institutions across the US.

As their community continues to mature, Library Makers have begun to address some future challenges. These include trying to secure additional funding to support current and future community activities and infrastructure, transitioning to new leadership models (as Charter Members roll off from their positions), and managing growth expectations.

In sum, over the past two years the Library Makers community has demonstrated that the power and importance of careful planning, capacity building and inclusive processes are key to keeping their online community active and engaged. This community is providing a safe and welcoming space for library maker professionals to meet, to share and to learn from each other. In filling a gap, Library Makers has helped to shape and bring this community closer together. Membership is growing, and while challenges still exist, there is a collective spirit and commitment to expanding their reach and support to library maker communities across the country.