The ‘stone soup’ approach to creating a library makerspace

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Students acquire, communicate, share, and create knowledge through more than the printed word. Libraries are in a position to provide equitable access to a variety of multimodal resources enabling students in this learning process. Embracing this process, one medium-sized public academic library, in a state with major, well-publicized budget cuts to higher education, was determined to open a makerspace. Through collaborative relationships, intentional communication, and creative repurposing of what was available, the librarians successfully implemented a makerspace. This article focuses on communication strategies used to manage perceptions of such an undertaking in a climate of austerity.