Makerspaces

Makerspaces

There is value in making art - whether it's for yourself, friends, or the general public (or not so general public). Even if your art is bad or mediocre, there’s value in that, too. As one of my favorite directors, John Waters, has said, “Strive for art in reverse. To me, bad taste is what entertainment is all about.” Waters, in his career of 50+ years of filmmaking, has given space to people of various backgrounds: queer, women, drag queens, people of color, etc. The film Hairspray, set in 1960s Baltimore, is about a fat teenager who wants to dance on live television and also becomes an activist for equal rights in segregated Baltimore. John Waters saw the value in telling diverse, albeit campy, perverse, and disturbing (I mean this so lovingly!). His intention when filmmaking was always to create and always put his original ideas out there, even if they were not perceived well. 

But something we should note is that John Waters is a gay man and that certainly had its hurdles. He had to carve out his creative space on his own. Thankfully, we don’t have nearly as much discrimination but that doesn’t mean we are completely without bias. The library has the ability to empower all kinds of creators. We may not be looking for the next John Waters but the rise of makerspaces is certainly creating spaces for artists to make their own creations. Heather Moorefield-Lang and Ana Dubnjakovic have written about accessibility and what kinds of ways libraries are making sure that makerspaces are accessible to all. The authors gathered data about how librarians implemented accessibility and what that looks like. Specifically within a school setting, “These learning environments provide a wealth of opportunities for students in school library settings. Making their learning experience fully accessible and universally designed creates a user-friendly learning environment where students can grow.”

How do we go about these changes? The easiest and direct way is reaching out to our patrons. The amount of Americans with some kind of disability is about 13% and while that seems like a small number, that is higher than Americans who identify as LGBTQ (9.3%), Indigenous (2.9%), or librarians (0.04%). Inclusive space benefits everyone and if our mission is to serve the community in the libraries we work in, that means ALL members of the community.

*Ariana Johnson-Lopez

Anderson, A. M., & Phillips, A. L. (2022). Meeting Every Maker: Enhancing accessibility in                                makerspaces. American Libraries, 53(5), 49. 

Moorefield-Lang, H., & Dubnjakovic, A. (2020). Factors Influencing Intention to Introduce                                       Accessibility in Makerspace Planning and Implementation. School Libraries Worldwide, 26(2), 14–26.