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

Abstract

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