Wednesday, October 19, 2016

As public libraries introduce makerspaces, discovery centers and innovation hubs, they often face opposition. Board members, staff, politicians and the public question why these services belong in public libraries. Libraries are often seen as places were ideas and knowledge are distributed, not as places of creation. Roberts traces how new, creation-based library services both return us to our roots and embrace the reasons public libraries were first formed. He emphasizes how public library services that stress personal discovery and creation mesh with the origins of public libraries and are central to their mission. The session is useful for those seeking to explain—in simple terms that honor our past—why library services that stress personal creativity are critical to our future.