By Corrine L.
As an MLIS graduate student, one of the first questions we were asked in our foundations class was “What Is A Library?” A pretty straightforward answer, right? That’s what most of the class thought until an hour-long debate about whether ancient cave paintings actually constituted a library or not. What I’ve loved about being a student over the last two years is being able to help create my own definition of what a “library” is. This may go against some of those purist ideals out there, but one of my biggest take-aways has been that a library can be anything you want it to be. Working with a grant-funded Mobile Makerspace this year on an academic campus, the ideas of creativity and learning through trial and error, and yes, even, failure have been integral to my studies. Fortunately, they have also shaped how I think about libraries, what they are capable of, and the courage it sometimes takes to embrace change. Making and makerspaces are important to the essential library mission – embracing change, providing access to knowledge and information, and helping users create their own knowledge. Libraries are awesome!M2k Tekno